Women Build, Fly, and Fix Airplanes

Written By Beth White

Breaking Barriers for Women in Aviation

Rayan El-Kotob, Women Build Planes team member, holds a rivet gun

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. 

In September 2023, our Women Builds Planes team received our Rans S-21 airplane and our "kit opening ceremony" honored the trailblazing women who came before us — The Rosies — who broke seemingly insurmountable barriers in the field during WWII. We took a moment to honor these heroines, and all the women who have followed in their footsteps. 

Women Build Planes’ Rans S-21 kit in one of two crates

Donning our red and white polka dot bandanas we meticulously unpacked and cataloged the thousands of airplane parts as we channeled the spirit of the women who built aircraft in factories during WWII. Led by the expert guidance of mentors Jane Thomson and Bianca Marrier, two of maybe five A&P mechanics in the entire state of Vermont, the connection to the legacy of women in aviation became palpable. In a series of a dozen build days since, we have made significant progress having completed the rudder and vertical stabilizer, one rivet at a time.

Beth White’s mixed-media artwork of Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter

Habitat for Aviation’s Modern-Day Rosies will pull the strength and determination from the past and carry it through to the future, until we reach parody with men in the field. Excitement generated from our build has been nothing short of extraordinary.

A special nod of appreciation goes to Hangar Mom, Genevieve Gallagher, an extraordinary thorough librarian we are lucky to call our own, who, through diligent and meticulous research, has yet to find an example of an all-female youth-adult team who has built an airplane together. As we rivet together ribs and cover them with aluminum skins in our little hangar on the border of Canada at Franklin County State Airport in Vermont, we acknowledge the historical significance of our all-female team and we are keenly aware of the incredible talent and dedication each member brings to the project.

Solving industry shortages

We recognize the trailblazing women who have taken on the challenge of building an airplane all by themselves and have reached out to some for mentorship and guidance — if you are a woman building a plane, please connect, we’d love to hear your story!

It's an honor and privilege to not only build an airplane, but to be afforded the opportunity to form lasting connections — with each rivet and piece assembled, we are not only contributing to the broader narrative of women in aviation and creating a space where dreams take flight and barriers are gracefully dismantled, we are strengthening our local community connections, one youth and adult at a time.

Beth White

The great John Dewey believed that we “learn best what we live,”—that individualized, first-hand experiences offer opportunity for individuals to develop deep understandings and interests. For me, an ideal learning environment is where transdisciplinary partnerships support personalized learning. These are places that offer experiences, events, and situations that inform, encourage, and reinforce learners’ self-conceptualizations of future possibilities.

Prior to starting Habitat for Aviation, I worked in a variety of New England schools, including The Met High School in Providence, RI (the “mothership” of the Big Picture Learning Network). After 10 years as a high school teacher, I returned to the classroom and earned a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Vermont.

My first-hand experiences include designing and running advisory programs, supporting democratically-oriented schooling, building service-learning and internship programs, teaching teachers and pre-service educators, and designing and implementing alternative forms of assessment. I love working for Big Picture Learning where I am heavily involved with the Harbor Freight Fellowship Initiative to get youth into the skilled trades and B-Unbound, which connects youth to supportive adults who share their interests.

In the earliest days of my career, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies with New Hampshire teaching certificates in biology and earth and space sciences from Antioch New England University.

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Igniting the Aviation Workforce One Youth at a Time