(Write-up from the Ninety-Nines
News)
I started flying when I was in
diapers! My father, an air traffic controller and private pilot,
has owned over two dozen aircraft in the last 50 years, mostly small
two-seaters like Piper Cub, Taylorcraft and Champion. His last
purchase was the very same Fleet Canuck he had gotten his licence in
50 years ago in Victoria, BC. At the age of 74, he flew it solo
across the Rockies, all the way to the Atlantic coast to accomplish
an old dream.
I started my training at 17 at
Chicoutimi College where I graduated with a commercial multi-IFR. I
worked in a maintenance shop to learn English and complete my
instructor rating. I instructed in various flying schools across
the province of Quebec and ended up a Class 2 instructor at
Chicoutimi College within 3 years. I was then hired at Air Inuit as
their first woman pilot to fly the Twin Otter and Hawker Siddeley
748 across northern Quebec to remote villages and fishing and
hunting camps.
In July 1989 I was finally hired
at Air Canada as a first officer on a Boeing 727 based in Toronto.
I was laid off during the restructuring of the industry in 1993, and
flew the Dash08 on the East Coast until being recalled as a first
officer on the DC-9. I have flown the Airbus 320 and 319 and
currently fly the Boeing 767 to Europe and the Middle East.
I have been a 99 since 1989 when
Denise Egglestone, Montreal Chapter Chair and my instructor during
initial training at Air Canada, introduced me to them. I have met
many wonderful ladies through the 99s, which is why I continue to
support this organization. I have held the Montreal Chapter Chair
for three years now, and it has been a wonderful experience. The
99s have b\given me the opportunity to promote aviation and give
back to the community what has been given to me.
Update: Suzanne Pettigrew is
now an Air Canada Captain flying an Airbus out of Toronto!
