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On March 8 1910, Raymonde de Laroche of France became the first woman to earn a pilot license worldwide. In September of the same year, Bessica Medlar Raiche, a Wisconsin native, became the first woman to solo an airplane on the American continent.

One hundred year later, to celebrate the achievements of these trailblazing women, pilots introduced 1647 girls and women to the joys of flying in 29 countries on 4 continents. They conducted the flights in balloons, gliders, ultralights, airplanes and helicopters.

The winner of Karlene Petitt's $100 challenge is announced. Congratulations to helicopter pilot extraordinaire, Amanda Sargent.

What's more, 10 pilots who flew it forward during the year of the Centennial of Women Pilots won t-shirts from Wintee Aviation T-Shirts.

10 girls and women who got a chance to fly on New Year's Eve in Renton, WA, won free passes to the Boeing Flight Museum in Seattle, WA.

To learn more about the prizes and the winners, please visit Karlene's blog.

Amanda Sargent was only 2 years old when she took her first flight in the back of the Piper Tri-Pacer her father had recently bought. The big smile that flying put on her face never faded until her father sold the plane. She knew then that she had to do whatever it took to fly again.

Nothing could stop her... Well, life has funny ways to test resolve. Her training was touch and go. She endured three successive flight school closures. But nothing could keep her away from her end goal. Today, she is a helicopter tour pilot and a helicopter flight instructor in Seattle.

Flight reports are coming in steadily. The competition for the various awards is fierce and flying events are taking place up to December 31st.

In order to allow the competition to be as fair as possible, I will no longer update the flight counters as of today, December 29.

The final results will be revealed on Jan 14, 2011. Good luck, everyone!

The son of a soldier who fought in three wars, Austin Watson grew up with the guidance of his mother and his grand-mother, both military wives. His sister and his wife also helped shape his perception and huge respect for women.

As a child, rock and roll and space age were two of his main fascinations but so was building aircraft models and rockets.

Although he was always interested in learning to fly, somehow taking flying lessons always stayed on the back burner. His career as a Boeing engineer and raising a family came first.

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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!