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RCAF's first female tactical helicopter pilot retires. Claire De Repentigny grew up northeast of Montreal in the town that bears her name - Repentigny. Always interested in aviation, she wanted to be a military pilot long before women were allowed in that role. So, she obtained her civilian license and was soon a fixed wing instructor teaching in and around the Montreal area. In the spring of 1986, it was announced that women would be allowed to become pilots in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Claire was at the recruiting station the very next day and six months later she was enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces. In this photo below, pilots Captain Claire De Repentigny (left) and Captain Sue Weiker (right), with Flight Engineer Master Corporal Lyne Deshaies (centre), formed the Royal Canadian Air Force’s first ever all-female tactical aviation crew during an exercise in Wainwright, Alberta, in 1991. Source: rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca |
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