RCAF ground-breaking pilot to be inducted into Canadian aviation hall of fame
Captain Mary Cameron-Kelly considers herself a flying-under-the-radar kind of person, a member of a team, “not someone who barks a lot.” She’s had a pretty hard time keeping that preferred low profile in the later years of her 42-years (and counting) Royal Canadian Air Force career.
The first female technical instructor at 404 Squadron in 1986; the first female CP140 Aurora pilot in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1991; the world’s first female maritime patrol crew commander in 1995; the first pilot instructor on the Aurora; a Nova Scotia Woman of Excellence in 2007; a Canadian 99’s aviator stamp recipient in 2018; highlighted in “High Flyers,” a book of women military pilots, in 2018; a top-20 military Women in Defence in 2019; the Elsie MacGill Award as an aviation pioneer in 2019…. Soon, she’ll be a member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame at the September induction.
“I like to not make a big deal out of things sometimes,” she says. “This is overwhelming and humbling, I’m not going to lie. This – and the other awards, it really shows me the support I have, how a lot of doors opened for me.”
MCK did her fair share of determinedly opening those doors. Joining the military out of high school to become a pilot, she trained as an airframe technician. Her fourth attempt to transfer to the pilot trade was successful. Thousands of hours in the air, and years later, MCK has her eye on at least one more goal: marking a year in the air, 8,760 flying hours.
“December 5, I had 8,682 – I need 78 hours to get it – I’m hoping it’ll be before September,” she says, acknowledging recent surgery has her “chomping at the bit.
“Hopefully, mid-January, I’ll be clear to go. Then, I’m going at ‘er. I’ll just take whatever is going – there are a lot of air shows in 2024. Everyone at work knows I want the hours, and they’ll help me out. I’m Regular Force CRA 65, and I can take bragging rights as the oldest Aurora pilot.”
MCK loves her job: flying, flying the Aurora, teaching others to fly the Aurora.
“I like the job of the Aurora, and the day depends on the mission. There are days taskings are not quite interesting or exciting, but you go out and do your job. Other times, you get to help people and make a difference.”
In 2003, she flew the Aurora over the Arabian Gulf in the international fight against terrorism. In 2015, she was one of two female aircraft commanders involved in a search off Baffin Island, pinpointing crew from the sinking Atlantic Charger for boat rescue.
“I remember there were seven or eight girls between the two aircraft, and we had a toast on the balcony at Iqaluit in flip flops and shorts after – that was a blast, just a fluke there were so many women involved.”
Most recently with 404 (Long Range Patrol and Training) Squadron at 14 Wing Greenwood – where she’s spent 20 years off and on, MCK teaches aircrew.
“I went through my logbook – I’ve trained over 160 students, all doing pilot things. Half my Aurora hours are here at 404. I feel like an old fart – it’s hard to believe I’m in the older generation, and some of these crew are in their 20s and 30s. I could be their mother.
“Trust them? Yes. It’s part of their training, to see how they handle themselves, the crew and the plane. This is a different type of generation – so tech savvy. I’ve got people skills and old-school stuff, and know things often works a couple ways and I can rely on working things out. If everyone is safe, I’ll see where things are going, see what decisions people make. That’s how they learn.”
On her 2024 to-do list: attend a string of scheduled air shows, showcasing the Aurora as part of the RCAF centennial. MCK is often the go-to at 14 Wing for fly-pasts and air shows.
“I’ve flown every Aurora. Every one, even the one on the pedestal at the museum. Once you fly a plane a couple times, and go away with it, you know it’s quirks – some of them have them, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I remember that, oh yeah.’
“I’m trying to train up a couple guys for air shows, and show them the ‘tricks of the trade.’ You have to keep everything within normal limits, but there are ways you handle the plane to show better aspects and keep things tight.”
Over the years, MCK has had the opportunity to fly the Muskateer, Tutor, Hercules and F18; single Heuy and Kiowa helicopters, a Boeing 707, the Nimrod while on exchange in the United Kingdom, the Arcturus: “I have an Excel spreadsheet of how many hours on each. Aurora 108 could be the most hours.”
In September, she booked an hour on a small training plane in London, Ontario, for kicks.
“It was a stick, power in the middle, kind of awkward. We went out, farted around, landed, did another circuit…. It was a lot of fun – but slow!
“The Aurora is fast.”
