‘Something for everybody’: Hundreds get hands-on experience at Girls in Aviation Day in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Professionals from across Nebraska’s aviation community came together Sunday to share their passion and knowledge.

The Cornhusker Chapter of Women in Aviation hosted a Girls in Aviation Day at LNK Airport.

From hands-on demonstrations to one-on-one conversations, girls aged 8-18 got a chance to experience a day in the life of a pilot.

“It really just gives girls an opportunity to see that there’s much more to aviation than just becoming a pilot,” said Rachel Barth, the community outreach chair for LNK Airport. “And really just exposing them at a younger age will hopefully maybe trigger them later in life to be like oh that’s something I want to do.”

The President of the Cornhusker Chapter of Women in Aviation, Cara Houk, said the experience the girls have today may spark an interest that could turn into a lifelong career.

“The objective of Women in Aviation when they came up with the idea behind this event, which I believe it’s in it’s tenth year, was to help inspire the next generation of girls to become passionate believers in aviation,” she said. “And to understand that they’re not limited by their gender, and they’re not limited by what the industry says you can do.”

Many organizations including Girls on the Run, Lincoln North Star High School, Duncan Aviation and more came out to give those who attended the best experience possible.

Pilot Jessy Panzer said this also helps the industry build a stronger future workforce.

“Learning that this is an available option for them as something they can do in their future and there’s so many wonderful fascits to aviation,” she said. “Whether it’s flying as a pilot, working in the maintenance field or the management, it’s such a rich industry. There’s something for everybody.”