Founder Lynda Meeks Introduces “Girls with Wings” To Aero-TV

E-I-C Note: The Aero-TV Team -- Jim, Tom, Tim, Paul, Sarah, Nathan, The 'Other' Jim, Laura, Wes, Klyde, Anjin, and the rest of the aero-gnomes -- want to wish you Happy New Year while we all pursue our own various and sundry holiday diversions. Our regular daily webcasting schedule will resume promptly on Monday, January 4th. In the meantime, please enjoy this 'classic' episode of Aero-TV from the past year as we all attempt to get a start on our New Year's resolutions...

Lynda Meeks is not one who takes a challenge lightly; after her college Army ROTC instructor informed her that Army Aviation was the toughest branch to get in, she embarked on a seven-year mission with the armed forces.  At the time, only 4% of military pilots were women; yet, Meeks became an accomplished pilot, first as a UH-1 “Huey” Helicopter pilot and than as a C-12 fixed wing pilot. 

Through her years, however, she felt as though she continuously had to prove herself because of her gender.  As her Army commitment drew to a close, a chance encounter with a young girl on a commercial flight changed Meeks’ life path.  The little girl, sitting next to her mother, asked curiously, “Mom, how come you never hear any girl pilots?”

It was this encounter that haunted Lynda Meeks over the years.  Too often, she had heard story after story from fellow female pilots who though, after years of incredible experience, were still looked upon as anything but “real” pilots.  Finally, in 2005, Meeks founded Very Important Pilots, LLC., and subsequently, Girls With Wings.

The organization serves as an unwavering introduction to aviation and aviation related fields for young girls.  Through their mentorship program, Girls With Wings hopes to encourage young women to achieve their full potential, despite the portrayal of aviation as a “male dominated industry.”  In addition, the organization supports education by way of speaker-related events and scholarships.

FMI: www.girlswithwings.com, http://thegirlswithwingsblog.blogspot.com/, http://twitter.com/GirlsWithWings, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews