High flyers
British Columbia’s Elsie MacGill was the first Canadian woman to earn degrees in electrical engineering and aeronautical engineering. She was also the first woman in the world to design and test an airplane. She designed skis and de-icing techniques for the Hawker Hurricane in wartime Canada, earning her the title of Queen of the Hurricanes.
The first time Eileen Vollick went up in a plane, the instructor tried to scare her by doing loops and spins, but it didn’t work. Vollick went on to become the first Canadian woman to earn her pilot’s licence, which she did at just 19 years old in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1928.