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Supporting Inclusivity & Diversity in General Aviation

6/19/2018

5 Comments

 
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British Columbia has, for me, been one of the best places I have ever been a pilot. Beautiful landscapes, great airports, and sometimes decent weather to experience them all in. More importantly, I have always found "hangar talk" in BC to be reasonable and inclusive. I started my path to becoming a pilot in upstate New York, finished my license in Montana, and spent time in Idaho and elsewhere along the way. To say that some of the opinions shared in the hangars I have been in outside BC were appalling would be an understatement. 

I am really grateful that here in BC I haven't really experienced that, but that being said it's always great to have an organization that is full of people who have shared experiences and backgrounds. For women we have organizations like the 99s, and for LGBTQ+ pilots we have nationally the Canadian Aviation Pride and locally Cascade Flying Club.

The National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) is largely an American based commercial pilot organization which has been a safe place for pilots to be themselves without fear of losing their job and now represents over 4000 LGBTQ+ people in the United States and Canada. They offer scholarship and advocacy programs.

Canadian Aviation Pride is a fantastic Canadian organization which has an emphasis on inclusive aviation passion with a name that appeals to more than just gay men and is open to not just pilots but anyone with an interest in aviation that is open minded and wants to be part of a vibrant community. I was lucky enough to participate in a Christmas event they put on and everyone was friendly and as a pretty awkward dude I was pulled in and made a friend real fast which was fantastic.


Cascade Flyers are Pacific Northwest focused and hold events in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Their big annual event is the Orcas Island Fly-in https://www.facebook.com/events/107800073425127/, which I haven't participated in yet, but Orcas Island is honestly one of my favourite places to land in the San Juans and you should consider it anyway (aside: number one is AJ Eisenberg for cheap gas and a fun landing). Cascade Flyers are mostly just a Facebook group and an out-of-date website, but a great group of people who know this area. There are many commercial pilots who are members but they also have a strong GA population (hence the fly-in, something Canadian Aviation Pride doesn't do around here). 

​The only problem I find with both organizations (and I am sure this is partly due to demographics, but does represent a problem within gay organizations in general) are the lack of representation within the LBTQ+ part of LGBTQ+. As with many things aviation they are pretty dude heavy, but the Canadian Aviation Pride meeting I was at was at least racially diverse. It should however be mentioned that the Canadian Aviation Pride group has over 25% female membership which is well above aviation industry norms.

Supporting the growth of General Aviation means supporting diversity. I think BC proves that, the airports that I mentioned at the beginning of this article are dying, the average age in those hangars is probably somewhere between dinosaur and rocks. While GA isn't exactly a boom industry anywhere, I think our presence here in BC and the wider age demographics show that when you are inclusive you gain a younger base and that keeps GA alive.

If these are organizations that interest you you can find the Canadian Aviation Pride at Vancouver Pride in August, and online at aviationpride.ca. You can find Cascade Flyers in Orcas Island July 19th and on their Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeflyers/. These organizations are cooperative and there is no reason you can't join or support both.

Americans can also consider supporting the National Gay Pilot Association (NGPA) who was initially put in this article as the same organization as Aviation Pride. We have updated this post to correct it.

Article By: Travis McCrea (BCGA Director)

5 Comments
Peter Litherland link
6/20/2018 03:40:25 am

Travis, thanks for writing and sharing your article, and I am happy to hear that the aviation community in BC is generally accepting. Your article you didn't mention, Canadian Aviation Pride, an organization dedicated to supporting, and promoting a more diverse and inclusive community. www.AviationPride.ca so there is a domestic organization that is here too working to make thing better.

Reply
Adrian Walker
6/20/2018 09:55:53 am

Travis, it was good to hear your positive view of aviation in BC. I have spent over 40 years flying in BC and it is one of the most beautiful places to fly, and progressive attitudes generally prevail. I echo Peter's comments - the NGPA is almost entirely a US-based organization although it has one local group in Toronto. Canadian Aviation Pride is a not-for-profit LGBTQ aviation organization, this year celebrating our 10th anniversary. We maintain a friendly relationship with the U.S. NGPA of course but we are completely independent. You'll find our Pride booths this summer in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Reply
BC General Aviation
6/20/2018 10:05:31 am

The original article has been updated to include the Canadian Aviation Pride organization.

Reply
Adrian Walker
6/20/2018 10:40:42 am

Sorry, though I appreciate the thought, changing the name from NGPA to Canadian Aviation Pride causes a number of errors. CAP is not 4000 members in the US, the NGPA is. CAP is exclusively in Canada, is not composed of largely commercial pilots, and our national Chair is an experienced airline pilot, not a private pilot. We do not yet offer scholarships, but we are proud of the fact that 25% of our members are women. Canadian Aviation Pride would be happy to write a description that may help you.

Reply
BC General Aviation
6/20/2018 10:56:58 am

Thank you for the correction. The article was published as submitted. We will update and t this evening when time permits.

Reply



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