Serup, Sheila C. Spitfire Girls Trailblazer

Helen Marcelle Harrison. ATA Ferry Pilot, Wartime Instructor, and Flying Boat and Jet Aviator

As a truly pioneering aviator, Helen Marcelle Harrison rose above societal norms to become the world's first female military flight instructor, training student pilots as part of the South African Air Force's "1,000-Pilot Plan" and the "British Commonwealth Air Training Plan" in Canada. Over the course of her illustrious 35-year career, she earned pilot licenses in four different countries and learned to fly seaplanes in Singapore during the era of flying boats. Harrison's flying prowess did not go unnoticed; consequently, in 1942, she was selectedas one of only 25 female pilots, then considered the finest in North Americato travel to Great Britain and join the renowned Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). In doing so, Harrison became the first Canadian woman to serve in the ATA. The ATA played a pivotal role during the war, employing both male and female pilots to ferry aircraft between factories, maintenance units, and frontline squadrons. As First Officer Helen Harrison, she braved the most adverse weather conditions, technical malfunctions, barrage balloons, and much more, all while ferrying 34 different types of combat aircraftincluding Spitfires, Mosquitos, and Mustangswith consummate composure. First Officer Harrison made history once again when she became the first Canadian woman to complete a transatlantic ferry flight, piloting a North American B-25 Mitchell to Great Britain. The ATA had effectively dismantled barriers and paved the way for the inclusion of female pilots. The "Atta Girls"as the ATA's female pilots were affectionately knownemerged as the vanguard for future generations of female aviators. After World War II, when her dream of becoming a professional pilot initially seemed out of reach, she remained undeterred, steadfastly continuing to pursue her aviation career. "The future for female pilots looks, I believe, definitely brighter," she remarked with confidence. "It lies, of course, entirely with the individual woman herself to earn her opportunities in aviation." From her early yearstaking off in an open-cockpit biplane for pleasure flights and aerobatic maneuversto her brilliant service with the ATA, where she piloted fast fighter aircraft, she eventually evolved into "Floats Harrison": the finest seaplane flight instructor in British Columbia, Canada. Defying the prevailing institutional prejudices and discrimination of the era, Helen Harrison nurtured her passion for flying by training hundreds of pilots. She retired with a record of 14,000 accident-free flight hours as pilot-in-commanda career during which she had flown a total of over 100 different aircraft types. Helen became the first woman to be inducted into Canadas Aviation Hall of Fame.