It was a special group of graduates from this year’s Power Pilot Scholarship program in Regina.
14 graduates, all young women from different provinces including Saskatchewan, officially earned their wings during a parade and ceremony held on Thursday at the Regina Flying Club.
Three of the cadets are from Regina, while the others came in from communities in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
All 14 women were presented with their private pilot’s license following a seven-week course that included ground school classes, a Transport Canada exam, and many other requirements.
Considering many pilots are men, it was an inspiring ceremony seeing the cadets receive their wings at the Flying Club.
Regina’s Allison Bennett, one of the graduates from the course, said now that she’s completed this program, she’d love to teach other young women.
“I’d really like to become a glider instructor so that I can teach other people how to fly as well,” she explained. “I’m lucky enough that I get to stay here at the Regina Flying Club which has been so amazing for us.”
While Bennett and her colleagues are able to fly planes with their private pilot’s license, they can’t do so commercially without proper documents first.
Regardless, some of the cadets are hoping to continue working towards being instructors or fighter pilots.
Others may use this as a stepping stone to explore other industries or fields or they may just want the license so they can fly as a hobby.
Katherine Latosinsky, who travelled from London, Ontario to be a part of the program, said it was an experience she’ll never forget.
“Just having the other 13 girls on the course was fantastic, they’re a fantastic group and I couldn’t have asked for better peers,” she stated. “The instructors and the Flying Club were incredible, too.”
Latosinsky also earned herself the top overall pilot award from her instructors after finishing the course with a 93 per cent overall average.
During the event, it was mentioned that the cadets saved around $11,000 from receiving this scholarship for this training.
