EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — This weekend, thousands of girls will get an up-close look at the world of aviation, and maybe they'll find a knack for flying.
It's part of the annual Girls in Aviation Day event. Some 2,000 students are expected to tour airplanes, hear from pilots and learn about the industry and what it's like to be a pilot, mechanic and engineer.
Lynn Ojala will be there and showing her airplane, that she helped build with her then-husband Denny.
"This plane, it was Denny's baby," Ojala said, while sitting in her home-built aerobatic bi-plane.
It took the couple eight years to build it, and when it was done they made lasting memories flying all over the country.
"This airplane allowed us to fly to Kitty Hawk and the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and circle the Old Faithful geyser and things I wouldn't be able to do in a commercial airliner," said Ojala.
Denny has since passed away, but Lynn still flies and enjoys it.
"I feel sad in some ways because I can't share this with Denny anymore, but he is still with me and I just feel like its changed my life in ways that inspire me every day," said Ojala.
Saturday, she'll spread her passion for flight at Girls in Aviation Day, an event to try and get kids interested in science, technology, engineering, math and aviation.
"I'm hoping that they're inspired to see something that just lights a fire in them and stays with them for a long time so that some day they'll get to have a life that makes them smile," said Ojala.
Girls in Aviation Day is on Saturday Sept. 21 at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie from 10 a.m. to 3 pm.
