Girls In Aviation Day Hosted by St. Louis University - Expanded Edition

By Carmelo Turdo

St. Louis University's Oliver L. Parks Department of Aviation Science hosted Girls In Aviation Day September 18 at their St. Louis Downtown Airport flight operations facility. Over 100 students from area high schools arrived for registration by 9:00 A.M. to begin a fun and informative day of aviation activities. This annual event continues to grow, with several attractions added this year. Sponsors include GoJet Airlines, Gulfstream Aerospace, Ideal Aviation and the Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association (GSLBAA). The keynote speaker was Stephanie McCloud, a Delta Airlines flight attendant, U.S. Air Force Reservist and Founder of Take Flight Girls, a nonprofit organization formed to introduce girls and minorities to aviation and entrepreneurship. 

The Aero Experience coverage begins with a look at the aircraft on display outside of the hangar prior to the student arrivals. Organizations represented include AeroCareers, St. Louis University and Gateway Jets.

St. Louis University provided three aircraft for display on the apron outside of their hangar, including the primary and instrument trainer Diamond DA-20, a new-generation Piper Archer used for commercial and cross-country training and a Piper Seminole twin-engine trainer. The students climbed aboard the aircraft and learned about the university's flight program from the instructors stationed near each one. St. Louis University's Parks Air College heritage goes back to its founding in 1927 as the first federally certified flight school in the country. Celebrations are already being planned for the centennial anniversary just a few short years away.

AeroCareers was also represented with an outdoor aircraft display. Students explored the Lancair Columbia, The New Spirit of St. Louis, that Erik Lindbergh used in 2002 to recreate his famous grandfather's solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean seventy-five years earlier in 1927. The aircraft will again take to the air soon after having been hangared at the airport for over a decade. Also on display was a full-scale reproduction of the original Spirit of St. Louis cockpit produced by Parks College for the Flight City Exhibition held at the Missouri Historical Society in 2007. AeroCareers is a nonprofit organization that provides career education and mentoring for those seeking aviation and aerospace careers. Special thanks to Bob McDaniel, Nick Turk and Eve Cascella for supporting Girls In Aviation Day. 

Gateway Jets provided a Cessna Citation CJ2+ jet to represent the business aviation sector of the aviation industry at Girls In Aviation Day. Corey Tomczak, Owner of Gateway Jets, was on site to explain the features of the jet and show the students the interior comfort it provides. Gateway Jets is an aircraft management and brokerage company based at St. Louis Downtown Airport that specializes in the Cessna Citation line of business jets, from the entry-level Mustang through the CJ Series to the Excel. We thank Corey Tomczak for bringing this Citation to Girls In Aviation Day.

The St. Louis Downtown Airport Fire Department was also represented at Girls In Aviation Day. The students received a tour of the Panther Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) vehicle and met Airport Director Sandra Shore.

A special highlight of the event came with the arrival of the GoJet/United Express CRJ-550 regional jet after a short flight from St. Louis-Lambert International Airport. Along with being a sponsor of the event, GoJet is the St. Louis-based regional carrier that exclusively flies the Bombardier CRJ-550 under the United Express banner to over fifty destinations from the Midwest to the east coast. Although St. Louis Downtown Airport receives sports team and entertainment artist charter aircraft, it was unusual to see the United Express jet arrive and await a tug for the tow back to the St. Louis University hangar.  

Here we show the sequence of the arrival of the GoJet CRJ-550 on Girls In Aviation Day. First to deplane were St. Louis University students, members of the Parks College of St. Louis University Chapter of Women In Aviation International, who assisted Amy Preis, Outreach Coordinator for St. Louis University's School of Science and Engineering, with planning of the event. GoJet's President and CEO, Richard Leach, followed the students off the aircraft along with the flight crew and support staff. 

The students were eager to explore the GoJet CRJ-550, and they soon got their opportunity. Here we show them in the first-class section and in the cockpit, accompanied by the very helpful and friendly crew. The aircraft remained on site until the end of the event before being towed out for departure shortly after 2:00 P.M. Special thanks to GoJet for investing significant resources into making this event a great success. 

Local aviation and aerospace organizations provided exhibits in the hangar throughout the event. Sponsors St. Louis University, Ideal Aviation, GSLBAA and Gulfstream Aerospace were joined by West Star Aviation, St. Louis-Lambert International Airport, Transportation Security Administration, St. Louis Air Traffic Control and Scott AFB among others.

Several speakers were part of the program, lending their knowledge and experience to the benefit of the students. Amy Preis introduced each speaker, starting with Stephen Magoc, Chair of Aviation Science, School of Science and Engineering, at St. Louis University. He can often be found at community events promoting aviation careers and the opportunities offered by St. Louis University. Also, a panel of St. Louis University students answered questions pertaining to their experience in the Aviation Science program, flight training and career development. One of the students, Mary Cortesi (center), has qualified for a USAF pilot training slot after she graduates next year.

Richard Leach, President and CEO of GoJet Airlines, addressed the students briefly before the Keynote speaker. His remarks, in part:

This is really an honor. We need amazing folks in our industry. The future of our industry is bright, and when I look around this room, there are a lot of leaders that could be leaders in our industry as well...

It's so great that you're coming to a program like this because there is a pathway, there is a roadmap, and it's not that difficult to navigate. It is achievable. It's so important, and so great, that you're here participating in this. This is your first step of what could be a great career for you...

The aviation sector is not so much a job, it really is like a way of life. You find a way to incorporate it into your life and make it something very exciting. I mean the world becomes a smaller place when you work in aviation. You can have breakfast in one city, lunch in another one, dinner in another...

After forty-three years in the business, when I see this much interest in our community, it excites me and it makes me remember why I got in the business...It takes a passion, it takes a commitment, but I think it's something you can do very well.

The keynote speaker, Stephanie McCloud, an advocate for aviation careers for women and minorities, leads by example as a U.S. Air Force Reservist, Delta Airlines Flight Attendant and Founder of Take Flight Girls.  Her remarks, in part:

We set forth with a mission to expose, enrich, educate and empower girls on the vast aviation and aerospace careers and opportunities. We made it our goal to provide resources and hold events aimed to do this. We've issued over ten thousand scholarships, we've connected countless girls to resources and mentors and inspired them to pursue their dreams in aviation, aerospace and entrepreneurship... 

I love what I do. It's the most rewarding and flexible job you can imagine. Once you join the aviation industry, it's more like a lifestyle, not just a career.

The Aero Experience thanks St. Louis University, GoJet Airlines and all of the organizations that contributed to making this event a success.