Elise Macgill 25 Coin Roll Colourized 2023 $1 Coins Royal Canadian Mint Qeii

  

At the top is the Maple Leaf Trainer II - the first aircraft to be produced and designed by a woman, while the larger colourized plane is the WWII era Hawker Hurricane which MacGill played a key role in producing. Mintage is limited to just 15,000 rolls.

Elsie was the first Canadian woman to graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, the first woman in North America with an advanced degree in aeronautics, and the world's first woman to become an aircraft designer. She designed, oversaw production and was aboard the test flight of the Maple Leaf Trainer II. She was "Queen of the Hurricanes" and pivotal in the production of the Hawker Hurricane in Canada during World War II and designed a series of modifications including de-icing and skis to equip the plane for cold weather flying.

She went on to serve on aeronautical research and regulatory committees for the National Research Council and the United Nations. Among several awards, Elsie earned four honourary doctorates, made an officer of the Order of Canada, and The Ninety-Nines, Inc.

International Organization of Women Pilots presented her with the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship medallion. All her work and achievements were accomplished even though she contracted polio at the age of 24. The only thing that this stopped was her deep desire to obtain a pilot's certificate. However, from the rear seat of the Maple Leaf Trainer and for thousands of hours hovering over her engineering drafting table, Elsie flew.