Skybus pilots Emily Curnow and Debi Peskett took part in the first Reach for the Sky festival at RNAS Culdrose in June, to inspire girls in Cornwall to explore careers in aviation and aerospace.
The family festival, organised by the award-winning TECgirls project, included real aircraft, a VR zone, science shows and hands-on activities and gave girls the chance to meet and talk to pilots, engineers and other professionals working in the industry.
In the UK, only 6% of pilots are female and there are similar challenges in engineering, manufacturing and tech sectors and the festival was set up to help tackle the gender imbalance.
Emily said: “What a privilege to be part of the inaugural Reach for the Sky festival. So many inspirational people engaging young people across the industries with exciting, hands-on and interactive activities.
“It is so important to have accessible and visible role models breaking down barriers, empowering girls, and as importantly, empowering boys to empower girls, into the wonderful opportunities that are theirs to fulfil.”
Catlin Gould, from TECgirls, said: “It was brilliant and both Emily and Debbie were the stars of the show. It was so inspiring for the girls who came a long and a lot of people feedback that the role model talks were their favourite part.”