3 minute read
Monica Dauenhauer
AVIATION
MONICA DAUENHAUER
Pilot, Kenn Norek Air My Bio says that I’m a bush pilot. Technically, I am typically nowhere near bushes, trees or even grass. I am, however, more accustomed to walrus, polar bears, narwhal, muskox, penguins and some of the most breathtaking scenery you may ever see. People often ask me how I got into flying. When I was fourteen, my cousin, Rob, flew into Edmonton for a visit in his single engine aircraft and took me for a flight. The excitement of taking off, being up in the air with those views of the city and the river system and then setting up for final to land is something I will never forget. The seed to fly was planted.
At that time, I had no idea where it would take me. In my international travels as a young adult, I met Pippa, a young British woman, while sitting on a catamaran in the Great Barrier Reef. She had just received a telegram from her parents about a pilot position for her with a regional airline called British Midlands. Her news really inspired me. My travelling was over. I was on a plane home to start my training.
I decided that knowing how to maintain aircraft would be an invaluable asset. I enrolled at SAIT to become an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME). After I graduated, I worked for Field Aviation, a large aircraft overhaul company, to start gaining my skills as an engineer. One of the contracts Field had was to maintain four Twin Otters and a DHC-7 belonging to The British Antarctic Survey (BAS). They needed an apprentice to work in Antarctica for the next season. The idea of working in Antarctica REALLY piqued my interest. I signed up for the opportunity right away. Unfortunately, there was another apprentice who signed up and he got the position. Who would have thought seven years later, instead of working as an apprentice in Antarctica, I would be flying there! I carried on working for Field Aviation with a view to achieve my AME license. This job also allowed me to build flight hours for my commercial licence by gaining well-rounded experience to be a capable pilot in the bush. During this time, I befriended a group of aviators in High River, Alberta, and volunteered with the Nanton museum helping to rebuild their WWII Bristol Blenheim Bomber. In my first year with Kenn Borek Air Ltd., I was not only advancing my flying skills but I was also becoming expert at loading aircraft with items such as drill rods, seismic equipment, camp equipment, snow mobiles, Kubota tractors, 400lb fuel drums, frozen caribou, inmates for the RCMP, medevac patients and boxes of apples to name a few. I spent another two years learning the many skills needed to land the Twin Otter safely in all sorts of conditions. These skills include reading the sea ice for thickness, reading the glaciers to avoid sastrugi and crevassing and reading the tundra to avoid sharp rocks, marshy ground and permafrost cracks. Most importantly, the experience I gained is vital to taking on the responsibility of being in command.
Why is celebrating the achievements of women
critical? When women are focused and driven to accomplish their goals it is difficult for them to notice or recognize that they are making a difference in people’s lives. To have the possibility to be recognized allows women to know they are on the right track and have accomplished more than they realize. It also gives them an opportunity to be part of a community of like-minded women.
