Michelle Goodeve has been flying since she was 16. She went up for the first time on her second date with Glenn Norman. The partners have been inseparable ever since. Michelle immediately started Ground School, but her professional dance career temporarily put a pilot’s license on the back burner.
Michelle and Glenn bought their first airplane (a 1940 Luscombe) when she was 18 and flew it all over middle-America before trading in the bird for a Thruxton Jackaroo biplane (a rare 4-seat version of the DH Tiger Moth). The couple flew the Jackaroo across the continent – then did it again the following year in a 1929 Gipsy Moth (surviving 3 engine failures, including one over the ocean – half-way from Prince Edward Island to the mainland!)
In the late 70’s, the couple Wrote, Produced and Co-Starred in “Flier, the Musical History of Flight.” This multi-media play had two major effects on Michelle: 1) She fell in love with acting, and 2) She wanted a Pietenpol Air Camper, like the one flown by her fictional character.
Goodeve took a course on Homebuilt Aircraft Construction from Bill Tee (her soon-to-be-friend & Mentor), and was actually building her first rib when friends told her an entire Piet was for sale – cheap. It was love at first sight, and Michelle bought her Piet on the spot. When the engine proved to be on its last legs, Michelle signed up for an Engine Overhaul course, took her dismantled engine to class for repairs, then re-built the power plant on her kitchen table.
In the mid-eighties, her acting career took off and she gained world-wide fame as teacher “Ms. Avery” on the cult-hit-teen TV series, “Degrassi Jr. High” (and its spin-off, “Degrassi High”). Michelle built on that fame a) to be cast as a Pilot in several TV series, b) to finally get her Private Pilot License, and c) to promote women in aviation whenever she could.
She became a screenwriter in the early 90’s, then a story editor (head writer), before moving into producing.
In 2003, Michelle was awarded The Canadian Owner & Pilot’s Association’s prestigious Award of Merit “…for the outstanding work Michelle has undertaken during her life promoting general aviation, and actively encouraging women to become pilots.”
Her creation of and starring role in the Outdoor Life Network’s “Barnstormers” led Michelle & Glenn to create their own production company, which in turn led to the idea of Why Fly.
