Dawn Bartsch (née Dawson; born 1932) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormally ...

and flight instructor.

Biography

Bartsch was born in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

, British Columbia, Canada, in 1932. She was interested in becoming a pilot from a young age, although careers counsellors at her high school advised her that becoming a female pilot was impossible, and to train as a nurse instead. Nevertheless, she applied to

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

's aviation school. She was rejected due to her gender, and had to apply elsewhere until a flight school in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

agreed to give her a place in their programme. The teachers were impressed with her aptitude and skills, however on completion of her studies, in 1951, the government inspector refused to give Bartsch the flying test. Bartsch's teacher persuaded the inspector to take her for the test; he later told the teacher that Bartsch flew so well he couldn't refuse her a license. When Bartsch and her flight school classmates were hired to what would become Air Canada, the company changed their job offer on realising her sex, and she was offered a flight attendant position rather than a pilot position. Bartsch declined and found work as a flight instructor in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta, instead, although at half the pay of her male colleagues. Although more progressive airlines eventually agreed to hire her as a pilot, the Canadian Air Line Pilots’ Association refused to accept women members. In the late 1950s Bartsch moved to

Dawson City, Yukon Dawson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Dawson (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Dawson (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places Antarctica ...

, and set up an air transport business in partnership with her father and a fellow pilot, Ron Connelly. The company, Connelly-Dawson Airways, flew mail, fuel and food supplies to remote communities in the Yukon and Arctic Circle regions. Many of the communities lacked airfields, and Bartsch frequently had to land on sandbars and frozen lakes. In the early 1970s Bartsch retired from the business and moved to Hawaii. Bartsch continued to fly, in international race events - in 1997 she won a bronze medal in the

1997 World Air Games 1997 World Air Games (1997 WAG) was an international competition of air sports, held between September 15–21, 1997 in Selçuk, Turkey, hosted by Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK). It was the first of World Air Games organized by Fédératio ...

long distance race. Bartsch also participated in the London to Sydney event, then crossing the Pacific to Hawaii.

Recognition

In 2011, Bartsch was inducted into the Yukon Transportation Hall of Fame and received the

Yukon Territory Order of Polaris The Order of Polaris is awarded by the Government of Yukon's Transportation Hall of Fame for meritorious service in Yukon in the field of aviation. The Order of Polaris was created by the Government of Yukon in 1973, to honour members of the Can ...

in recognition of her work in the region. In 2015, Bartsch received the

Elsie MacGill Elsie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Elsie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lily Elsie (1886–1952), English actress and singer born Elsie Hodder * Robert Elsie (1950–2017), Canadian expert in Albanian ...

Northern Lights Award for Pioneers.

Personal life

In 1962, Bartsch married Gordon Bartsch, a pilot she had hired to work at Connelly-Dawson Airways.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartsch, Dawn Living people 1932 births People from Penticton Canadian aviators Canadian women aviators Bush pilots Canadian company founders Canadian women company founders Canadian flight instructors