GOSHEN, Ind. -- Girls with Altitude gives young women hands-on flight experience and direct access to women pilots, mechanics, and aviation professionals — addressing an industry where women make up fewer than 10 percent of pilots. 

STAY Indiana (STEM in Aviation Youth Indiana), is a nonprofit organization engaging high school students across Northern Indiana in hands-on aircraft building, flight training, and aviation career pathways. The organization operates at Mishawaka Pilots Club Airport, Goshen Municipal Airport, and South Bend International Airport.

The free event, on July 10, at 4p.m. at Goshen Municipal Airport, is designed to introduce girls and young women to careers in aviation through hands-on, immersive experiences.

Attendees will have the opportunity to experience flight firsthand, build actual airplane parts, and speak directly with women currently working in aviation, including pilots, mechanics, and other industry professionals.

Women currently make up fewer than 10 percent of pilots nationwide, a statistic organizers say underscores the importance of early, hands-on exposure to aviation careers for young women.

“When girls get to sit in the cockpit, hold a rivet gun, or talk to a woman who flies for a living, something clicks — aviation stops being someone else’s career and starts being a real option for them,” said Matt Branson, Founder and Executive Director of STAY Indiana. “Girls with Altitude is about closing that gap, one airport visit at a time.” 

This year’s event builds on the success of the inaugural Girls with Altitude, expanding programming and bringing back partners including Regality and the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots.

Girls and young women interested in aviation are invited, along with families and community members.