Eileen Vollick (2 August 1908 – 27 September 1968) became Canada's first licensed female pilot on 13 March 1928. She was also the first Canadian woman to parachute into water.Allen, Shirley

''Canadian99s''. Retrieved: 26 June 2010.

Early life

Mary Eileen Vene Riley was born at home on August 2, 1908 to James and Mary Riley in

Wiarton, Ontario Wiarton () is a community in the town of South Bruce Peninsula, Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the western end of Colpoys Bay, an inlet off Georgian Bay, on the Bruce Peninsula. Wiarton is notable for the Wiarton Willie Festiva ...

.Vlerebome, Peggy. "Canada Honors Pioneer Aviatrix Posthumously." ''Largo-Seminole Times'', 1976. James Riley was killed in a mining accident in 1911. Mary Riley remarried to George Vollick and the newly formed family moved to

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

. Eileen was three years old when she received her stepfather's last name.Kastner, Paul
“Wiarton Event to Honour Pioneering Woman Aviator”.
''Wiarton Echo''. Retrieved: 26 June 2010. She graduated from St. Patrick's High School in Hamilton, Ontario.

Career

Eileen Vollick worked at the Hamilton Cotton Co. as a textile analyst and assistant designer. Both from her bedroom window and on her way to work each morning, she watched takeoffs and landings at Jack V. Elliot's Air Service and longed for the opportunity to learn to fly. Vollick applied for government permission to learn to fly commercially and was granted permission to take flying lessons when she turned 19. While waiting for her 19th birthday, Eileen became the first Canadian woman to parachute into water. She walked the wings of a Curtiss JN-4 (often called a "Jenny") and parachuted 2,800 feet into Hamilton Bay, which has since been renamed

Burlington Bay Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington B ...

. When her 19th birthday arrived, Vollick officially became a student at Jack V. Elliot's Flying School at Ghents Crossing overlooking Hamilton Bay. Despite doubts, she was determined to earn her license. She took 6 a.m. lessons before going to work at 8:30 a.m. Pilots Joseph Earle Jellison and Leonard Tripp served as her instructors and also taught her aviation mechanics.Vollick, Eileen
“How I Became Canada’s First Licensed Woman Pilot”.
''Owen Sound Sun Times'', 2009. Retrieved: 26 June 2010. Since Vollick weighed a mere 89 pounds and was only 5 feet 1 inch tall, she used pillows to prop herself up to see out of the cockpit of the

Curtiss JN-4 The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

. On 13 March 1928, Vollick received time off from her job at the Hamilton Cotton Co. in order to take her federal aviation test. She demonstrated her knowledge of take-offs and landings on the frozen bay. In order to pass the test, the applicant had to make four landings from 1,500 feet and land within 150 feet of a designated point on the ground. An additional landing had to be executed with the motor off and the pilot had to land within 5,000 feet of a designated point. Other requirements of the test included performing five figure-eight turns between two designated points and completing a 175-mile cross-country trip. Vollick successfully passed the test on 13 March 1928 along with 10 other male cadets of the Elliot Flying School. Eileen Vollick was issued Private Pilot Certificate No. 77 on 22 March 1928.

Marriage

Shortly after obtaining her license, Vollick met James Hopkin. They married on 28 September 1929 in St. Patrick's Church Rectory,

. The couple moved to

Elmhurst, Queens Elmhurst (formerly Newtown) is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Junction Boulevard on the east; and the New York Connecting R ...

in New York City and raised two daughters, Audrey Joyce Miles and Eileen Barnes. Eileen Vollick lived in New York until her death in 1968. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

Legacy and honors

In 1975, the First Canadian Chapter posthumously awarded Vollick with an Amelia Earhart Medallion. In 1976, the

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

, an international organization of female pilots, and the Ontario Heritage Foundation held a ceremony to reveal a plaque at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport commemorating Vollick's accomplishments. One of her instructors, Lennard Tripp was present at this ceremony. On August 2, 2008 (what would have been her 100th birthday) the Eileen Vollick Terminal was named in her honor at the Wiarton-Keppel International Airport. According to researcher and writer, Marilyn Dickson, this is the first Canadian airport to name a terminal after a woman.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Ellis, Frank H. ''In Canadian Skies.'' Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Ryerson Press, 1959. * Forster, Merna. ''100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces.'' Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundurn Press, 2004. . * Render, Shirley. ''No Place for a Lady: The Story of Canadian Women Pilots, 1928-1992.'' Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Portage & Main Press, 1992. .

External links

"Eileen Vollick Plaque in Hamilton"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vollick, Eileen 1908 births 1968 deaths Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Canadian aviators Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Bruce County People from Long Island Canadian women aviators Aviation pioneers People from Elmhurst, Queens