When Volo Mission co-founder Kim Hutchings staged her inaugural Ladies of Long Line event for female helicopter pilots in May 2024, “I had no idea how it was going to go,” she recalled. “It was an idea that I had been throwing around in my mind, and I thought, ‘You know what, I really want to get more women involved in the external load industry. There’s no reason that they shouldn’t be more involved and learn that this is a very viable avenue that they can take in their career.’”
As Vertical reported last year, the event was a success — so much so that the return of Ladies of Long Line was a foregone conclusion. “As it all came together, and that first year, the impact that it had on the women that attended . . . it was like, ‘How could we not do this again?’” Hutchings said.
