On Monday December 6, over 100 people gathered at the Qantas Events Venue in Sydney, Australia, to celebrate the launch of Rosemary Arnold's newest book titled "Females Above Australia".

This book, written by Australia's first woman helicopter pilot, is a collection of portraits of the first women pilots to grace the skies of Australia. To learn more about it, please visit the book's website.

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Emily Winter Hiller never planned to have a career in aviation. She studied biochemistry. After a couple years working in corporate pharmaceutical research, she chose to become a sled dog keeper.

She drove her dogs from Vermont to Alaska, a journey of 4500 miles, and lived on a glacier giving rides to tourists. During that stay, her link to showers and supplies was a helicopter. She fell in love.

On December 5, Karlene Pettit is organizing a huge celebration event in Renton, WA, with the goal of introducing between 150 and 1000 girls and women to flying.

I am calling on all pilots to show his or her support for Karlene’s effort. Please conduct introductory flights at your local airport on December 5. If you can’t fly, please ask one of your pilot friends to take a girl or women on an introductory flight for you.

Let’s make sure that girls and women worldwide know that we welcome them to our unique world and that we are eager to share flying with them.

Soon, flights in celebration of the Centennial of Women Pilots will have been conducted on all 5 continents.

Marty Khoury, pilot and instructor for Virgin Airlines Australia, Podcaster, and entrepreneur is organizing introductory flights in Sydney, Australia, in mid-December.

Looking forward to summertime flights photo album!

At three years of age, Patrick was sitting on the first officer's lap eating cookies while flying from Germany to Brazil via Senegal. A passion was born. Today, he is one year away from his goal, an ATP license. He knows that joyously sharing flying can spark lifelong quests. That's why he is taking part of the Centennial of Women Pilots campaign. Patrick is Karlene's Friday's Flyer.

Karlene Pettit, Delta Airlines A330 pilot, wants to make Renton Airport, WA, the ‘most female pilot friendly airport in the world'.

In order to get a chance to win the title, at least 100 girls and women (not holding any pilot licenses) must take a short flight at the Renton Airport. This will set a one-day record for Renton Airport.

Researcher and pilot, Dr. Penny Rafferty Hamilton, has completed her study to identify strategies to improve female success in aviation. Some of the highlights of her study includes the need for:

• More “female friendly” atmosphere at the flight center with photos of successful, smiling female pilots getting in airplanes and at the controls.
• Development of a “buddy” network
• More female general aviation pilot role models seen in magazine articles

One of the first male pilots to raise his hand and say, "I think there should be more women flying and I want to help", Patrick is an ex air force soldier, a NASA astronomer, an experience parachute jumper, a pilot, and Karlene's Friday Flyer. Follow his career path and learn why contributing to the Centennial of Women Pilots' campaign is important to him, read this week's Friday Flyer.