Did you feel that your life began when you learned to fly?  That’s how teenager Lorna deBlicquy felt on October 19, 1946.  The stamp will be released on October 19, 2011, the 65^th anniversary of the date that Lorna first experienced the exhilaration of flying.  This flight began to open many doors for Lorna, though she sometimes also had to give the door an extra push!

Designed by Suzanne Wiltshire, the stamp features Lorna as a young girl holding an airplane aloft.  The stamp also includes a view of her a few years later, bundled up for a winter flight.   

As a youngster Lorna lived with her family in Blyth, Ontario where she was born.  By age 14 she was strongly committed to learning to fly.  Her parachute jump with the Ottawa Parachute Club in 1947 made her the youngest Canadian to skydive!   

When Lorna completed the Private Pilot License requirements at the age of 16, few career opportunities existed for female pilots.  Earning her Commercial License in 1952 and a BA in 1953, her first career was high school teaching, with flight instructing in her spare time.  She had found her passion in aviation and it wasn’t long before she moved into aviation fulltime.    

In Canadian Ninety-Nines: Here and Now, 2006, Lorna summarized her career as follows:

“I also earned a Commercial Helicopter License which I never used, and a Private Glider License which I used with joy.  Endorsements included Seaplane, Class 1 Instructor, Towing, Multi-Engine, Instrument, and Designated Flight Test Examiner.  Favourite aircraft included the Canadian Fleet Canuck, twin Otter, Beaver with its big tires, and working types like the DC3 and Waco Standard.     

Flying has taken me to many parts of the globe – to northern Ontario and Manitoba, including Thompson, before Thompson existed, and the high Arctic islands north of Resolute Bay.  I instructed in New Zealand, flew famine relief in Ethiopia during the summer of 1986, and flew in Saudi Arabia semi-disguised.  In 1977 I was hired as a D.O.T. inspector, an achievement of which I am proud.

I have had the best flying life possible for one who never wanted to do anything else - as a Canadian who was healthy, reasonably well educated (BA ’53) and had the ability and breaks necessary to pay my own way by working after school to pay for an early start, with the guarded support of both bewildered parents, (Dad was an anti-aircraft gunner in W W I!).  I am lucky, thankful and pleased to have spent most of my life doing what I loved.

I would not change anything – except it might have been nice to be born thirty years later.” 

Lorna had a strong sense of fairness.  She never wanted to be given a position simply because she was a woman.  But neither did she want to be denied a position because she was a woman.  She strongly believed that everyone should be treated fairly based on their abilities, knowledge and experience, herself included.  At times she was outspoken in her efforts to achieve that fairness for herself and others. 

Through her career Lorna has not only advanced aviation in Canada but she has brought credit to Canada within the international community.  She was a dedicated and talented pilot who inspired many of us, young and not so young, to follow our dreams to pursue careers in aviation or achieve excellence even when flying recreationally. 

Lorna deBlicquy stamps are available in three forms.  Order forms may be found on the Canadian 99s website http:/www.canadian99s.org 

Domestic Postage sheets of 40 can be used as regular letter postage, even after the rate increases  - $46.   

The Keepsake sheet features 20 regular sized stamps plus one large picture of the stamp - $32.  

A limited number of First Day Covers are available for $5 each.  They will be of particular interest to the stamp collectors among your friends and family.   

Sheets of 40 stamps, Keepsake sheets and First Day Covers may be ordered by mail from Bev Fraser, Box 56060, Fiesta Outlet, Stoney Creek, ON, L8G 5C9.  An additional $3 cost will be required for mail orders.   

Stamp orders must be received by Friday, September 30, 2011.  Stamps and First Day Covers will be mailed in time for you to use them on Christmas cards, or to give to the stamp collectors on your shopping list.

Help make more Canadians aware of Lorna deBlicquy, a remarkable aviation pioneer.  Buy and use stamps celebrating Lorna’s career.  Stamp purchasers will also receive a printed summary of the highlights of Lorna’s career with an invitation to copy the information and send it along with correspondence featuring the stamp. 

Please note that Lorna deBlicquy stamps are not available at postal outlets.

Click here to go to the Order Form.