COVINGTON, Ga. – Rain did not halt the festivities at Covington Municipal Airport this past weekend. On Saturday, the Wheels Down South chapter of Women in Aviation International (WIA) hosted its annual Girls In Aviation Day event for the second consecutive year at the airport.

This year’s event accumulated 226 attendees – 133 of which were students. Though all school-aged children are welcome, Lexi Caverly, outreach chair and representative for the chapter, explained the importance of gearing the event towards girls.

“The percentage of women in aviation is so small,” Caverly said. “Before COVID, it was six percent. It’s changed a lot since then. So, the goal is to grow women’s presence in aviation, but we found students just don’t know it’s a possibility.” 

Representatives from Delta, Aerodox, Endeavor Air, the Commemorative Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Technical Women’s Organization and more provided activities for event participants to become acclimated with the field of aviation.

Some of the activities included making bracelets out of airplane parts, air traffic control (ATC) language workshops and representatives discussing the many opportunities women have in the FAA and the education required to obtain those roles.

Caverly shared that one of the participants’ favorite parts of the event is how women from the Commemorative Air Force dress as Rosie the Riveter and discuss women in history, particularly how women built airplanes during World War II.

From pilots, flight attendants and officers to plane mechanics, learning about how to make those careers become a reality is something Caverly considers to be one of the event’s goals.

“I think our goal is just to make sure students and even their parents or their chaperones or some of the adults in their world know that this is an opportunity and it’s not as complicated as people might think to get into those different career choices,” Caverly said.

Beginning in 2015, the annual Girls In Aviation Day event has been held in Covington for the last two years due to its convenient location, as most attendees of events in the past are near the area, according to Caverly. The Covington airport also provides opportunities for students to experience planes firsthand by seeing and sitting in them. 

Caverly shared that WIA plans to host the event again next year and that they strive for “education and inspiration for the future of aviation.”