Percival part of long-standing flying group

If you look up from Wendy Percival's Oxford Centre home, chances are good that you will see an aircraft overhead. That's because her home is right on the flight path between Brantford and London airports.

It's quite a coincidence, considering this 41-year-old wife and mother is a pilot and now chairperson of the Maple Leaf Chapter of The Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots.

Percival started flying in 1996 at the Brantford airport.

"I had extra time on my hands," she said. "But I thought it (flying) was something people only did as a career. I didn't realize people did it as recreation."

Once she got started, Percival was bit by the flying bug. She started out earning her recreational pilot's licence. That limited her to flying only in Canada, during daylight with only one passenger. When she got that far she decided she wanted her night rating.

"It's awesome to be up there at night," she said.

From there she went on to earn her private licence. But that wasn't enough. The next step was to become an instructor, which meant Percival had to earn her commercial licence. When she received her commercial licence in 1999, she was able to begin charging people for her pilot services.

She is now licensed to operate a single-engine, non-performance Cessna 152 and 172. It would take more education and testing to be able to fly, say a Harvard.

All of this ground school and flight practice comes with a price, which Percival said isn't as expensive as some people think. The first level of licencing costs about $4,000 and night rating is another $6,000, but the programs can be completed over two years.

Percival got a hand up from The Ninety-Nines when she received the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship to help pay for her instructor's rating. She is one of 401 women to receive the prize since 1941. It is money given to help pay for the cost of training.

In fact, belonging to The Ninety-Nines has given Percival many opportunities. She has met other pilots and astronauts such as Roberta Bondar and Norm Beckham of Woodstock, who she calls one of North America's best Harvard pilots.

Each one has autographed her log book, which contains the details about the 270 hours worth of flying she has done since 1996. The longest trip was a 14-hour cross-country flight to Thunder Bay, a requirement of her commercial licence. It was an important journey for Percival; so important that she was moved to tears when she opened Roberta Bondar's photographic tribute to Canada's national parks and saw the entire flight path pictured there in a photo taken from the space shuttle.

Her husband, Murray, and son, Justin, aren't as enthusiastic about Percival's passion. She took her husband along on a flight to Muskoka.

"He calls what I fly a Chevette with wings," she laughed.

Luckily, she has the support of her fellow Ninety-Nines.

The Ninety-Nines was started in 1929 by 99 women pilots. Earhart was the first president. There are now 6,500 members around the world. There are 32 members in the Maple Leaf Chapter.

"What interested me most what, although The Ninety-Nines is a support group for women pilots, it was the work they do in the schools," she said.

Some of the education programs the organization has include Theory of Flight, which is a science-related course for intermediate level elementary students; and Air Bears, which introduces young children to the different jobs in aviation. After some in-class role-playing, the children are taken to the airport to see things first-hand.

"A lot of them would never have a chance to sit in an aircraft if we didn't do this," said Percival.

It was during one such tour that Percival had her first connection with The Ninety-Nines. Just after completing her private licence, Percival was at the airport and saw another woman given children a tour. She offered to help and shortly after joined The Ninety-Nines, jumping right into the role of vice-chair of the Maple Leaf Chapter, which takes in the 519 area code.

"Some of these women are older ladies and they've all had their turn doing things," Percival said about taking on her executive role.

She is also actively involved in a program called Words on Work, a program to introduce female professionals at career days. The Ninety-Nines make presentations featuring a full range of aviation-type jobs.

Members are not only pilots. There are mechanics, flight instructors, air traffic controllers, doctors, lawyers and others.

Percival has set her sights on being a flight instructor. She has no desire to move on to fly an airliner.

"The responsibility and the stress of the job are amazing," she said. "If I was a single person it would be very attractive to fly all over the world. But I really like to work with the kids."

So she'll stay closer to home and continue to enjoy her new passion.

As for owning her own plane some day, Percival said she keeps buying lottery tickets.