An all-women air crew from the West Virginia National Guard participated in the 3rd annual Girls in Aviation Day held at the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center, in Clarksburg, W.Va., Sept. 28, 2024. The air crew piloted their “unmanned” UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter to the event, landing to the cheers and applause of hundreds of young girls and teens who came to the event meant to inspire and expose young girls to the broad range of career opportunities in the aviation industry. (Edwin Wriston/U.S. Army National Guard)
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (Tribune News Service) — There was a new star of the show at Girls in Aviation Day on Saturday.
The first all-women UH-60 Black Hawk crew from the West Virginia Army National Guard touched down outside the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center in Bridgeport. The chopper was one of 26 exhibits organized by the Mountain State Chapter of Women in Aviation International for a day dedicated to planting the love of flight into the next generation of women.
“I was definitely excited to see the helicopter and I got more excited when I found out it was the first all female crew to fly a Black Hawk,” Elise Linn, from the West Virginia University Experimental Rocketry Club, said. “That was a great moment to watch as a girl who’s interested in this field and wants a career path in it.”
Linn snuck away from her table representing the rocketry club so she could sit in the pilot’s seat. She said doing so checked a box off of her bucket list.
The Black Hawk’s crew was Capt. Hollianne Houck, pilot-in-command, Capt. Rebekah Williams, pilot for the flight in, 2nd Lt. Bethany Ramsey, pilot for the flight out, Staff Sgt. Lexi Beach, flight medic and crew chief, Spc. Jasmine Towns, crew chief, and Staff Sgt. Emma Harrison, crew chief.
An all-women air crew from the West Virginia National Guard participated in the 3rd annual Girls in Aviation Day held at the Robert C. Byrd National Aerospace Education Center, in Clarksburg, W.Va., Sept. 28, 2024. The air crew piloted their “unmanned” UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter to the event, landing to the cheers and applause of hundreds of young girls and teens who came to the event meant to inspire and expose young girls to the broad range of career opportunities in the aviation industry. (Edwin Wriston/U.S. Army National Guard)
Girls of all ages let their curiosity loose, crawling throughout the interior and exploring every inch of the vehicle, including the flight controls. The flight crew expected to have to reset every switch and button, before turning the helicopter over to the children. They removed batteries, keys, the checklist for starting the chopper and anything else that could cause trouble if accessed inappropriately. But the helicopter didn’t need to be live for imagination to take flight.
“It’s really important because a lot of girls just don’t see themselves in these roles,” Capt. Williams said. “It’s so important that they get that demonstrated for them at a young age, so that they can see that there are no limitations to what they can accomplish and what they can do.”
Williams was already a military police officer in the National Guard, but an opportunity to go through basic aviator training school provided the opportunity for a change of pace. Williams always thought flying would be something cool to do. She’s been a pilot for about five years. Williams said being a role model is important because it sparks the notion for a young girl that she to, can be a pilot.
It’s an exciting time for women in aviation in the guard, Williams said. Up until this year, she and Capt. Houck were the only two women Black Hawk pilots in the state. Second Lt. Ramsey just graduated from flight school and there’s two more women in flight school right now. There are also a lot more women serving as crew chiefs than before, she said.
“The more people we have and the more mindsets and perspectives we have in any field is always for the better, right,” she said. “I think that’s very true in the aviation field. It’s been a good ‘ol boys club for so long time. Time to shake that up and maybe try to do some new and better things.”
This year’s Girls in Aviation Day was bigger than last year’s, it’s the third year of the event. Paige Skaggs, president of the Mountain State Chapter, said 525 guests pre-registered. Heidi Cogar, vice president, said the goal overall was to get youth exposed to different aviation jobs and get them excited about the industry in general. There’s a need for it.
Currently, less than three percent of airframe mechanics are women, while pilots are less than six percent, she said. Cogar hopes the event helps bring more women in the industry.
Jrhonda Staples brought a group of children from the After School Enrichment Program in Fairmont to the event.
“We just saw their eyes just light up by the things they saw, in terms of the engine, talking about the engine and hearing other women talk about aviation,” Staples said.
She said making those connections early is empowering because it lets kids see themselves in the pilot seat. The event as a whole also provides exposure to other career opportunities beyond pilot.
“There’s so many other career paths that tie into the industry of aviation,” she said. “And that’s what we’ve been learning about today. So it’s been a wonderful experience.”
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