High School Hangar Days aims to inspire future female aviators at the New Century AirCenter

By Alan Shope

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    GARDNER, Kansas (KMBC) — Aviation is a male-dominated field that many say doesn’t need to.

A special event going on this week aims to introduce more young women to the profession.

The event purposefully falls on Women Of Aviation Worldwide Week 2024, which runs between March 4 and March 10.

18-year-old Shawnee Mission West Senior Lyrissa Peiker has a good idea of what she wants to do as she gets older.

“I want to get my pilot’s license for sure, and I want to start working towards that after I graduate,” Peiker said.

That made Tuesday’s Women of Aviation event hosted by Garmin an excellent fit for her.

“Because it just widens the scope of what women think that they can do, it just allows for women to actually see what they can do while still maintaining a family outside of work life,” Peiker said.

Garmin held the event at New Century Airport. High school girls got a tour of the hangar and several smaller jet planes while learning what it takes to fly them.

“It’s an opportunity for them to see other women being successful in this industry and being a pilot,” Jessica Koss with the Garmin Corporate Flight Department said.

Garmin says that about 75 high school students will participate in the two-day women’s aviation event.

The organization puts on tours every year with the goal of getting more women involved in aviation. They have one message in particular that they’re hoping to get through.

“If they want to be in this industry, they can absolutely pursue a really, really rewarding career,” Koss said.

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