AMHERST, N.S. – Autumn Ruzycki is the first female member of the 154 Amherst Anson Royal Air Cadet squadron to earn her wings.
“There’s a lot of young female cadets who have come up to me and said, ‘I want to do what you did,’” Ruzycki said.
The 17-year-old attended an intensive seven-week course this summer at the Gander Flight Training school in Gander, Nfld.
One week into training she flew her first solo flight, without an instructor by her side, in a Cessna 152.
“For the first couple of air lessons you go up with an instructor and they show you all the maneuvers like steep turns and stalls and stuff like that,” Ruzycki said. “After about a week of flying you get sent up for your first solo flight. You go up and do a circuit, land, and then taxi in. After that you do hour-long solos in the training area to practice your maneuvers.”
Ruzycki is the first Amherst Anson Air Cadet in seven years who has earned wings.
She attended the course with 15 other cadets. The selection process for the flight school is rigorous. Applicants have to present their school marks, write an essay, do an interview, and write an exam.
“You have to be successful in all four of those categories, and each weighs into your selection process,” Ruzycki said.
Ruzycki attends cadets with several males who have applied for the flight school but were unsuccessful.
“When I said I was going to try out they said, ‘don’t be disappointed if you don’t get it. We couldn’t do it, so it’s OK if can’t get it,’” Ruzycki said. “I ended up getting the courses. It was shocking for some people, but my squadron is really proud of me, including those who doubted me in the beginning.”
She said flying by herself is a unique experience.
“There’s nothing else like it. A lot of people would compare it to driving a car alone for the first time. It’s complete freedom. You can do anything you want to. It’s amazing.”
Ruzycki graduated with honours from Amherst Regional High School this year.
She loves mathematics and would like to get a degree in mathematics at university. She says she would like to fly military and commercial aircraft.
“If I get into the military and they pay for my university then I’ll go to the Royal Military College of Canada and get my degree there but If I go to a civilian university I will look around a bit more,” Ruzycki said. “I want to get a degree, get into the military and become a pilot in the military. That’s my end goal.”
Ruzycki was born in Yarmouth Nova Scotia, lived in Saanichton and Lillooet, B.C., and then moved to Oxford, and, finally, Amherst.
She joined the cadets in Oxford one month before she turned 12-years-old.
“I started in the Army Cadets in Oxford and I wanted to try air cadets, so I drove from Oxford to Amherst twice a week for marksmanship and regular training, so I could be in the 154 squadron.”
Cadets has offered her many opportunities to pursue her goals.
“Without cadets, I don’t know if I would have taken the initiative to try new things,” Ruzycki said. “There’s a lot of opportunities I’ve been presented with in air cadets. If you want to do it, you can. If you study, you can achieve your goals.”
When cadets get into full gear again this fall, Ruzycki hopes to inspire other young cadets to earn their wings.
“On Monday night we have ground school for three hours where we teach about aviation, so I’m going to be going back to teach the ground school in the armoury in Amherst,” Ruzycki said.
