We were thrilled to welcome Seven Days reporter, Alison Novak, who spent an afternoon with our Women Build Planes Team on February 11, 2024. Her delightful article Fly Girls: A Franklin County Nonprofit Is Drawing Young Women Into Aviation Careers, beautifully captured the essence of our mission and highlighted the transformative journey on which we’ve embarked to encourage youth, especially women, to explore careers in aviation.

We are thrilled to share this new short film from the talented Brief But Spectacular team from PBS NewsHour who visited Habitat For Aviation to capture the magic happening in our little hangar at Franklin County State Airport.

For the past 80 years the Rosie the Riveter image symbolized strong women who build planes. We acknowledge that while we've made strides, there's much work ahead, particularly in increasing gender diversity. With only 2.6% of airplane mechanics and 5% of pilots being women, we're eager to create welcoming and supportive environments for more girls and women to explore aviation.

An Outpouring of Support Makes Youth Apprenticeship Possible

Miranda Gallagher is a passionate young aviator and mechanic whose journey into the world of aviation began at 11. Her fascination with flying took root when she attended the Aviation Summer Camp at Franklin County Airport, where she took her first Young Eagles Flight with Beth White, a pivotal moment that ignited her aviation dreams.

Just a year ago, in the midst of recovering from my last surgery culminating my 10 month battle with breast cancer, I could not have foreseen the incredible journey and strides Habitat for Aviation would make since forming our non-profit. Our progress is a testament to the unwavering support and dedication of our aviation family, our incredible partnerships with Big Picture Learning and BETA Technologies, and the many individuals and organizations that sponsor our work.

On December 7, 2023, the halls of the Vermont State House echoed with the powerful voices of change as Habitat for Aviation's Women Build Planes team took the stage to celebrate Vermont's Flexible Pathways to Graduation, Act 77.

Check out the Vermont Community Foundation Guest Blog post by Beth that highlights the newly released Youth at the Center film that was released to the world in December, 2023.

Our journey at Habitat for Aviation has been nothing short of extraordinary, marked by milestones that resonate far beyond the walls of our hangar. An incredible honor came our way as PBS Newshour's Brief But Spectacular series on the future of education invited us to share our story.