“My name is Kim and I’m a third-generation pilot with almost thirty years of flying. My grandfather and father were both licensed pilots with a passion for flight, so clearly it runs in the family. Growing up, we always had airplanes and I was constantly exposed to aviation. Today, I’m a Captain with Air Canada, fully qualified to fly Boeing 737, Airbus 320 and Embraer aircraft, and I’m also a training instructor for other pilots in our flight simulator.
It is important to me to mentor young girls in aviation. I’m the Vice-Governor for the East Canada section of a group called the Ninety-Nines. Amelia Earhart founded the Ninety-Nines in 1929 as an international group of female pilots and we provide aviation opportunities to females, including scholarships and a mentorship.
I never had a female mentor when I was training for my private commercial license, but my dad was my biggest supporter. Once I started gaining experience as a pilot, I met a woman who was flying with Kelowna Flightcraft out of Hamilton. She was the first female Captain I had ever met and she made my dreams more realistic by setting a path for my career.
I really feel it is important to give back as a mentor because it was something I didn’t really have during my training. I now have close to ten mentees through different organizations, including Elevate Aviation and the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.”
-Kim, Captain, Air Canada — at Toronto Pearson International Airport.