A Campbell River resident is celebrating the milestone of becoming Canada鈥檚 first-ever student pilot to fly solo in an electric airplane.

Catherine Check said she has wanted to be a pilot since she was five years old and decided a few years ago to pursue it as a profession. 

After gaining experience with conventional airplanes, her instructor at Sealand Flight School offered her the opportunity to test an electric plane.

On Dec. 18, with about 10 hours of training experience, the 18-year-old became the country's first-ever student pilot to fly solo in an electric airplane.

"The plane is a lot lighter, so you feel more turbulence," Check said. "But at the same time, the technology difference is remarkable."

Flying the electric plane felt safer than a conventional plane, Check explained, because she could monitor what's happening with the engine, batteries, and power more confidentially during the 50-minute flight. 

"It's really safe in my opinion," she said. "Because it's a glider, it's not going to go in a nosedive."

Check said the achievement means a lot to her, as she is a female pilot in a male-dominated field. She said she hopes her success will encourage others to consider becoming pilots, especially because the future of air travel is more sustainable. 

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Called a Velis Electro, the electric plane Check flew is ultra-quiet. It produces zero emissions and is expected to be less expensive than conventional training aircraft.

According to Sealand Flight School, the flight represents a major milestone in the aviation industry鈥檚 pursuit of sustainability.

With the backing of Clean BC, BC Hydro, and Transport Canada, Sealand Flight is leading this initiative and takes immense pride in Check's achievement.

鈥淎fter sending students solo in conventional airplanes for over 20 years, it was exciting and rewarding to watch Catherine solo in an electric airplane for the first time,鈥� said Ian Lamont, the company's chief flight instructor.

This pioneering initiative serves as a foundation for implementing more commercial zero-emissions aircrafts reads a media release from the flight school. Through the electric airplane training flights, Canada's regulators and industry members are studying and evaluating how aviation can feasibly adopt these emerging technologies, it says.