Frederick Municipal Airport will host Maryland's only event marking Women of Aviation Worldwide Week from March 4 to 10.
`Women and girls who come to Women Fly It Forward will get a chance to fly in a small aircraft and see the Traveling Space Museum.
The museum features 15 exhibits, a space shuttle simulator and a space toilet.
The event aims to promote women in aviation. Only 6 percent of pilots are women, organizers said at a news conference Wednesday.
Pilot and event organizer Victoria Neuville said she hoped to create a network for women pilots through the weeklong event.
"When I finished all my training, I realized I didn't have a single role model," Neuville said. "Women Fly It Forward hopefully starts a support system."
Neuville has become a mentor herself. She inspired a young woman to take flying lessons after meeting her at Braxton County Airport in West Virginia, she said.
The event is now in its third year in Frederick, and this year it will have two new themes: women in space and breast cancer awareness, organizers said.
Astronaut Pam Melroy, the second woman to command a space shuttle, will speak March 9 in honor of 50 years of women in space. Women at NASA program manager Mamta Nagaraja will also speak that morning.
Fly It Forward will have free flights March 9 for women who have been affected by breast cancer.
"We're giving a special gift to those who have been through so much," Neuville said.
Organizers hope the event will be an opportunity for the community to learn more about the airport itself and the educational programs it offers, they said.
"People think that this airport here is just a commercial airport or a playground. It's not," said Gail Norman, public relations consultant. The airport is home to a flight school, restaurants and businesses.
Source: http://www.fredericknewspost.com
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