Above, Felicity stepping in to
her aviation career, May 1953, Kingston Flying Club
FELICITY (BENNETT) McKENDRY was in
love with planes and aviation at an early age. She was raised on a
farm in Eastern Ontario - miles from an Airport. Like many other
would be young aviators, she built balsa wood model aircraft and was
fascinated watching the Harvards fly aerobatics over the farm.
However, Felicity says that the
greatest influence in her love affair with flying, was a promotional
program initiated by Quaker Oats in Peterborough, Ontario, in the
early 40's. Everyone knows how good oatmeal is and apparently it was
also good for budding Canadian pilots. Children would send 2 Quaker
Oats box tops and 15 cents in return for a "How to Fly" kit. (Flight
Schools, take note!) The kit contained a cardboard mock-up of a very
real looking instrument panel with dials that could be manually set
on the flight and engine instruments, a control column, throttle and
rudder pedals, plus a well-illustrated booklet titled "How to Fly"
After school hours, 15 minute
lessons would be given on the radio and the "student" pilot would
follow through with the booklet in the kit in his/her pretend
aeroplane.
(Interestingly enough, after they
had been married for some time, Felicity and Spence McKendry
realized that they both had sent for one of these kits when they
were children, growing up several miles apart).
These sessions must have been
effective as many made aviation their career in life from this early
learning experience!
Felicity read everything she could
on aviation in those years, including a series of ground school
subjects in the magazine Mechanics Illustrated, which she studied
diligently. Even while driving the tractor on the farm, she
practiced keeping straight for "take-offs" and "landings."
After graduating from University,
she taught at the Ontario School for the Deaf, west of Kingston.
She started flying lessons in
December 1950 at the Kingston Flying Club and earned her Private
Pilot Licence in September, 1951 in a Fleet Canuck.
In 1952, she represented the Club
in the Webster Trophy Competition, placing first, then went on to
the finals in Ottawa, coming first in the flying segment and third
overall.
She decided that flying was what
she really wanted to do and in 1953 resigned from her teaching job
and applied herself completely to upgrading her Licence to become
one of the first few female instructors in Canada. Felicity was
qualified to teach on wheels, skis and floats.
She married Spence McKendry - a
pilot and air traffic controller in 1955. In 1956 Spence was posted
to Ottawa and Felicity was hired by Bradley Air Services in Carp,
Ontario. She was also one of the first woman Chief Flying
Instructors in Canada.
Felicity flew enough to keep
current when their son and daughter arrived. After they were in
school she instructed part-time with Margaret Carson at Ottawa Aero
Services for a year before getting her Class I Instructor’s Rating
and DFTE status at the Rockville Flying Club, where she taught for
12 years. At the end of this time, she was awarded an Honourary
Membership in the Flying Club. As a Designated Flight Test Examiner,
she also had the privilege and pleasure of conducting private pilot
flight tests for Astronauts, Marc Garneau and Steve McLean, as part
of their space training program.
The McKendry’s moved back to
Kingston in 1986 on retirement.
Above, Felicity with a C-172 (C-GVWT)
at the Rockcliffe Flying Club, DFTE, 1984
Felicity has been a dedicated
Ninety-Nine for 50 years! Felicity joined the First Canadian
Section, 99s in 1952. She has served in many capacities from its
inception - Section Education Chairman, Amelia Earhart Scholarship
Chairman, Trustee for the Canadian Award in Aviation for 6 years and
is still representing Section for Intl. Forest of Friendship
applications. She has fulfilled almost every office in the Eastern
Ontario Chapter in Ottawa, made presentations to many educational
groups and has written endless newsletters and aviation articles
over the years.
Competitive air racing was another
of Felicity’s activities. In 1955 she flew with Dorothy Rungeling in
the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race and again in 1956.
In 1975
she flew in the Angel Derby with Jean Hemming. In 1982 she judged
the Canadian General Shield Competition for the RCFCA.
In 1992, she voluntarily decided
not to renew her flying licence. Her last log entry was to take her
son and two grandchildren for a flight. When she retired, the
aviation students missed her dedicated skill as a pilot and
instructor, but Felicity continues to be very active in the 99s and
many other charitable fund raising community events. It was entirely
appropriate that her flying "alma mater" sponsored her induction in
the International Forest of Friendship, Atchison, Kansas, a few
years ago
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