Australia in a day to support Women in Aviation

• We are four women pilots entering the International Dawn to Dusk Challenge to raise funds for an Australian Women Pilots’ Association (AWPA) Aviation Award -The Freda Thompson and Claire Embling Aviation Award.

• The International Dawn to Dusk challenge was established in UK IN 1964

The Objective of the Dawn to Dusk challenge is:

”to encourage the most interesting employment of a Flying Machine within the limits of competent airmanship and to demonstrate the capabilities of pilot and machine in a day's flying, in the hours between Dawn and Dusk, whilst undertaking an original and praiseworthy objective anywhere in the world. “

• I am Theresa MacDonald, a pilot instructor who took my first flying lesson at age 52. Amanda, 26 years old, has a Commercial Pilots Licence and works for a scenic flight tour company at Uluru in the Northern Territory.

Our youngest aviatrix, Jess, at 20 years old, recently completed her Commercial Pilot Licence and is currently studying for her instrument rating so she can seek a career in aviation. All three of us have benefitted from AWPA scholarships in the past.

Gail, also a pilot will be joining us as our observer, journal and time keeper

• Currently, only 5% of pilots are women. We want to ensure that support continues to encourage more women and girls to take up aviation.

• The Victorian branch of AWPA awards the Freda Thompson and Claire Embling Aviation Award each year. When the award was initiated, it was a substantial sum helping aviatrixes access flying lessons. Sadly, as with everything else in this world, the cost of embarking on an aviation career has skyrocketed. We are raising funds to boost the value of the award, ensuring the award continues.

• I have been the coordinator for this award for several years in conjunction with the Victorian branch of AWPA. This award was set up in Freda’s memory by her sister Claire Embling. Freda Thompson was one of the first women to fly solo from England to Australia. Freda left from a small airfield in Kent (my home county of birth) and landed in Melbourne (my current hometown). She arrived on 7th December 1933 (my birthday).

Seeing these places and dates lining up inspired me to plan a sponsored adventure with two fellow women pilots to raise funds for this award. Freda’s Motto was ”fly for fun”, which is what we hope to do.

• We have decided to embark on this mammoth trip for the Dawn to Dusk challenge. Sharing the flying between us, we aim to land in every state and mainland territory of Australia, 6 states and 2 territories. The plan is to start the challenge from Flinders Island in Tasmania, visit every state and mainland territory in Australia, finishing in WA at Forrest. There we will rest up before returning home to Victoria.

• This will be approximately 2000nm and 12 hours of flying over the qualifying period for the challenge, from Dawn to Dusk

• We have chosen a date near the longest day of the year in December 2022 for this task as we will need all the daylight we can get.

• Our initial goal is to raise $5000 for the award, and any additional funds raised over and above this will go towards our flight costs for the challenge itself and boost the investment account for the award.