Ontario pilot pens memoir to share career experiences

An Ontario woman with a storied career as a commercialpilot ishoping to share her experience and inspire others.

Lola Reid Allinhas had a love for flying since she was a child, but pursuing aviation as a womandecades ago wasn't easy. Allin recalls her first flight when she was sevenyears old.It was in the 1960sand back then, her parents didn't support the dream.

"They wanted me to get married and have kids," she said. "My father thought aviation was a foolish dream for a girl."

Years later, she took flying lessons and was immediately hooked. In 1979, she left her husband and pursued her career as a commercial pilot.

"Once I realized I could control the airplane it's such a feeling of empowerment, it makes you feel like you'rereally doing something worthwhile with your life," Allin said.

Now she's sharing her experiences as a woman in the industry and highlighting the barriers many women still face in her new memoir: Highway to the Sky: An Aviator's Journey.

Allin isn't in the sky as much as she used to be, but she continues to give back through presentations at schools to encourage girls to work in aviation. She's also a part of advocacy groups that aimto recruit more women in the industry.

"Ifthe field is wide open for men it should be wide open for women too," she said."I think the barrier now is they just don't see enough female pilots."

Highway to the Sky: An Aviator's Journey will be on shelves in September.