Eileen Vollick
Encyclopedia
Eileen Vollick became Canada's first licensed female pilot on 13 March 1928. She was also the first Canadian woman to parachute into water.
. 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
. Eileen was three years old when she received her stepfather's last name. She graduated from St. Patrick’s High School in Hamilton, Ontario.
. 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 Earl Jellison, Lennard Tripp and Richard Turner served as her instructors and also taught her aviation mechanics. 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
. 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 1500 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 5000 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. She successfully passed the test on 13 March 1928 along with ten other male cadets of the Elliot Flying School. Eileen Vollick was issued Private Pilot Certificate No. 77 on 22 March 1928.
. The couple moved to Elmhurst, Queens
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.
Early life
Mary Eileen Vene Riley was born at home on 2 August 1908 to James and Mary Riley in Wiarton, OntarioWiarton, Ontario
Wiarton is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, at the western end of Colpoys Bay, an inlet off Georgian Bay, on the Bruce Peninsula. The community is part of the town of South Bruce Peninsula, Ontario....
. 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, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. Eileen was three years old when she received her stepfather's last name. 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 BayBurlington Bay
Burlington Bay, known more commonly as Hamilton Harbour, 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 and Burlington Beach...
. 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 Earl Jellison, Lennard Tripp and Richard Turner served as her instructors and also taught her aviation mechanics. 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
Curtiss JN-4
The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" was one of a series of "JN" 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 the U.S...
. 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 1500 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 5000 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. She successfully passed the test on 13 March 1928 along with ten 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, she met James Hopkin. They married on 28 September 1929 in St. Patrick’s Church Rectory, Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
. The couple moved to Elmhurst, Queens
Elmhurst, Queens
Elmhurst is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Roosevelt Avenue on the north; Corona to the northeast; Junction Boulevard on the east; Rego Park to the southeast; the Long Island Expressway on the south; Middle Village to the south and southwest; and Maspeth...
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 Eileen Vollick with an Amelia Earhart Medallion. In 1976, the Ninety-Nines, 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.Further reading
- Ellis, Frank H. In Canadian Skies. Ryerson Press- Toronto, 1959.
- Forster, Merna. 100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces. 2004.
- Render, Shirley. No Place for a Lady: The Story of Canadian Women Pilots, 1928-1992. Portage & Main Press, 1992.