By Mikayla van Loon
Aiming to increase the profile of aviation for women, four female pilots from Lilydale Airport will be setting off on an adventure and challenge to visit every mainland state and territory in one day.
Taking on the British based Dawn to Dusk challenge, Theresa MacDonald, Amanda Deed, Jessica Phillips and Gail Collins will set off in December to raise funds for the Freda Thompson and Clare Embling Aviation Award.
“We’re all members of the Women Pilots’ Association and I’ve been managing the scholarship for the aviation award for quite a few years now,” Theresa said.
“Because aviation costs have skyrocketed since it was introduced in 1992, the actual award doesn’t really cover very much, so we thought we’d try to raise some funds to double it for a few years.”
Amanda said with roughly only five per cent of pilots being female, it is still a very male dominated industry that can be challenging for women to break into.
“It’s slowly creeping up. We’re seeing more and more [women] come through but [we], the ones who are already in it can help the ones who may be wanting to get into it but finding it hard or difficult. I know when I first started, it was a bit daunting,” she said.
While much of the discrimination has diminished, Theresa said women are still not aware that aviation is a viable career.
“It’s what they say now, if they don’t see it, they don’t think they can be it,” she said.
“There’s certainly a demand for more females in the industry and they’re trying to make it even now but… [it can be] ‘you only got the job because you’re female’. I agree [it should be] the best person for the job but I think the best person sometimes will be a female,” Amanda said.
All excelling in the field of aviation, Amanda is a charter pilot working in the Red Centre, mostly at Uluru, Theresa is a flight instructor at Lilydale Flying School, Jessica is working as an aircraft engineer but is hoping to get into the commercial flying industry and Gail is recreational pilot with navigation and CTA endorsements.
Having wanted to compete in the Dawn to Dusk challenge a few years ago, the team decided it was finally time to make it happen.
Beginning the flight path at dawn in Flinders Island Tasmania, the team will travel to Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory to finish at Forrest Airport in Western Australia at dusk.
Part of the challenge requires the team to touch down and taxi off the runway before taking flight again.
“One of the competition rules is that you don’t take any risks. We have to produce flight plans and monitor weather and everything when we enter the competition at the end of it and do a log,” Theresa said.
Because Gail is unable to fly the style of plane known as a Beechcraft Bonanza, she will be keeping time and a log of all the activity that goes on while flying.
The Dawn to Dusk challenge began in 1964 in England and has only been won three times by the same Australian pilot from South Australia.
“So we’re in with a chance. We have contacted her to get a few tips about how to get ourselves at the top of the selection process,” Theresa said.
As the day gets closer, Amanda, Gail, Jessica and Theresa said it’s getting exciting.
With just a few weeks left, the team is hoping to raise $10,000 and find sponsorship to help cover the cost of fuel.
To donate and support a woman in her aviation journey, go to https://gofund.me/2a4eda98
