page 16 - Ninety

uwHHnBius
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN'S PILOTS
JU LY -A U G U S T 1977
Baja Bush Pilot
page 18
NIFA SAFECON — page 9
99s Visit South Pole
page 16
—
—
Volume 4
Number 6
July-August 1977
TH E N IN E T Y -N IN E S , IN C O R P O R A T E D
International H e a d q u a rte rs
Term inal D rive and A m e lia Earhart L a n e
P. 0 . B o x 59965
W ill R o g e r s W o rld A irpo rt
O k la h o m a City, O k la h o m a 73 1 5 9
R eturn form 3 5 7 9 to a b o v e a d d re s s
2nd C la ss Postage paid at O klahom a City, O klahom a
and at additional mailing offices
under 2nd c la ss publication #390740.
Publisher........................... The N in ety-N in es, Inc.
Editor................................................ Jon M illion (405) 682-4425
Circulation Manager ................................................. Loretta Gragg
Headquarters Secretary
Virginia Oualine
Contributing Editors..............................Sylvia Paoli, Joan Kerwin
Editorial Assistants .................... Nema Masonhall, Nancy Smith
Advertising Manager
Jan M illion (405) 682-4425
Special Articles and Features
A E Memorabilia
Collection purchased by Sacramento C h a p te r...................... 6
Aviation Field Day, Valley High S chool..................................... 14
Central America and Panama w ith the Baja Bush Pilots . . . 17
Mini-Tour of Silver H ill..................................................................... 20
NIFA SAFECON................................................................................... 9
Ninety-Nines V isit South P o le ................................................... 16
San Francisco Convention U p d a te ............................................... 12
Regular Features
Aviation L a w ...................................................................................... 5
AWTAR U p d a te .............................................................................. 11
C a le nda r............................................................................................. 5
Chapter P ersonalities..................................................................... 22
Chapter R epo rts................................................................................. 23
Legislation In fo rm a tio n .................................................................. 4
Advertisers
C essna.................................................................................................... 7
C essna................................................................................ 3rd Cover
P ip e r .................................................................................. 4th Cover
S p o rty 's ............................................................................................ 26
INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS
Vice-President
Set
Tn
Lois Feigenbaum, 26 Pinewood Dr., Carbondale, IL 62901
Thon Griffith, 314 Robinhood Ln., Costo Mesa, CA 92627
Jonet Green, Rt. 7, Box 293W, Ocean Springs, M S 39564
Hozel H. Jones, 8536 Mediterranean, Dallas, TX 75238
KING
UP
WITH LOIS
E ach m o n th , as I read my copy o f th e N inety-Nine News, I
find th a t so m any o f o u r m em bers have accom plished m any
things, such as new ratings, special ap p o in tm en ts, o r recipients
o f aw ards. It gives m e great pleasure to co n g ratu late these
m em bers o n these achievem ents. A t this tim e, th o u g h , I w ould
like to tak e this o p p o rtu n ity to w rite an o pen letter o f co n g ratu ­
lations to A L L N inety-N ines, b o th individually and collectively,
an d , I w rite it w ith pride.
M any people are n o t fam iliar with all o f o u r accom plishm ents
as an o rg an izatio n , an d are surprised to learn o f them . T he
N inety-N ines:
• H ave sponsored m ost o f th e FA A Safety Sem inars.
• W ere asked by th e FA A to develop th e new A ccident P re­
vention program s.
• W ere asked to co-sponsor the Flight Instructor and M echanic
A w ards o f th e Year P rogram , and were asked to help re-write
th e applicatio n form for these aw ards, an d to help in the
judging.
• W ere asked by th e F A A to investigate an d possibly tak e on a
n atio n al pro g ram o f airp o rt wire airm arking.
• W ere asked by G .A .M .A . to help p ro m o te their new
“ T a k e O ff” Sw eepstakes p rogram .
• H elped at th e three day FA A A viation E ducation W orkshop
in Indianapolis.
• H elp w herever needed in any phase o f aviation.
A rem ark by o u r T reasurer, H azel Jones, gave rise to this
overdue letter o f co ngratulations. “ I have never in my life been
so p ro u d to be a N inety-N ine, and o f the N inety-N ines, th an at
th e recent N atio n al Intercollegiate Flying A ssociation Meet in
S tillw ater.” H azel was a judge o n th e field fo r several events
d urin g this com petitio n . F o r each event, she was assigned people
to act as assistants an d spotters. O n tw o successive m ornings, at
6 o ’clock, w hether th ro u g h oversight o r con fu sio n , her helpers
failed to show u p . She m ade a quick call to th e dozen o r so
N inety-N ines atten d in g this event, an d w ithin th irty m inutes,
they were all on h an d at th e a irp o rt to assist o r help an d m ake
th e holding o f these events possible. W ere you surprised. Hazel?
N ot really, since every N inety-N ine will com e to help any tim e,
any place, anyw here, if needed. Ju st give a call.
I extend my deepest ap p reciation to every N inety-N ine for
y o u r continued dedication and fo r allowing m e to f e e l .................
•‘H A P P IN E SS IS BEING A N IN E T Y -N IN E ”
ON THE COVER
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charlene Falkenberg, 618 S. Washington St., Hobard, IN 46342
Gene Nora Jessen, 2814 Cassia, Boise, Idaho 83705
Betty Wharton, 6441 Montezuma Rd , Son Diego, CA 92115
Esme Williams, P. 0. Box 3283, Tequesta, FL 33458
Pat McEwen, 16206 E. Central, Wichita, KS 67201
HEADQUARTERS HOSTESS
Nancy Smith, 7528 NW 11th, Oklahoma City, OK 73127 (405) 787-7923
Published ten times yearly. Jan-Feb and July-Aug issues combined.
Annual subscription rate is S7.00 and is included as port of the annual
membership of The Ninety-Nines, Inc.
Additional subscriptions: S7.00 per year
M e m b e r s h ip C o u n t : 4 7 2 4 J u n e 20, 1 9 7 7
J IIL Y .A IIO IIS T
1Q77
Ready for Oshkosh
Rita Eaves, Oklahoma 99, stands beside “ S keeter” , the
ho m ebuilt in w hich she an d h u sb an d L eo n ard will soon be
flying to O shkosh fo r th e E A A C onvention.
R ita, one o f the instigators o f “ W o m en ’s A ctivities” at the
E A A C o n v en tio n , will be looking fo r you at O shkosh - as will
99 President Lois Feigenbaum an d W o m en ’s A ctivities C o o r­
d in a to r Jayne Schieck. Fulfillm ent com es from w orking
to g eth er. If y o u ’re in O shkosh, w hy n o t stop by th e W om en’s
T en t an d see w hat you can do to help?
M en and W o m en In stru cto rs
N eed ed at O sh k o sh
We are looking for volunteer
ground o r flight in stru cto rs w ho
w ould be willing to give a few hours
o f their tim e to help instruct stu ­
dents on the A .T .C . S im ulators.
These students will have taken the
A .O .P .A . Basic Instrum ent o r Pinch
H itter C ourses. If you are going to
be at O shkosh an d are willing to
help please write:
Jayne Schiek
1341 Parkview Drive
M acom b, 111. 61455
S tate the days you will be a tte n d ­
ing O shkosh and the am o u n t o f tim e
you are willing to help.
SKYSCAPES
in oil
AIRPLANES
ject to this, I do wonder at what point the
blood alcohol tests would be conducted. I f
it would be before a flight, how would they
know that the pilot was intoxicated unless
they had stopped him fo r "careless or reck­
less”, fo r which they could suspend or
revoke his license anyway. I f it was after an
accident, they could still invoke "careless
and reckless”, with the same results. It
Joan Kerwin
would be impossible to check everyone out
L anghom e B ond, form er Secretary o f
before each flight and might even be
Illinois D epartm ent o f T ran sp o rtatio n , has
unconstitutional to do so i f there was
been sworn in as new F .A .A . A dm inistra­
merely a suspicion that he might be intoxi­
to r. Q uentin T aylor was sworn in as D eputy
cated. W ould this be an enforceable regu­
A dm inistrator.
lation? I f not, it would be foolish to add
another to the already long list o f well
A .D .A .P . allocations totaling $135.7 mil­ meaning but unenforceable rules.
lion were approved by F .A .A . during the
second q u arter o f fiscal 1977. F .A .A . ap ­
proved 65 general aviation airport projects
w orth $20.9 million and 102 air carrier
projects w orth $5(0.5 million. (Is th at our
“ fair share” — one-third?)
D .O .T . Secretary Brock A dam s is calling
for full cost recovery via user charges - for
barge operators. N o reason to think he will
feel differently ab o u t aviation.
painted on commission
JO AN HOOPER
MARBLEHEAD M ASS
( 617) 631-7487
MOVING?
Let the 99s know you are m oving. O ne
report o f address change takes care o f all
mailings from International H ead q u arters,
including the 99 NEW S. Let us know 6
weeks in advance to avoid delays and
forw arding.
Send to: The 99s
P .O . Box 59965
O klahom a C ity, OK 73159
A dm inistrator B ond h asn ’t decided
whether o r n o t to fill th e post o f A ssistant
A dm inistrator
for
G eneral
A viation
A ffairs. Jo h n Baker, w ho at one time held
th at position, an d w ho is now A O P A presi­
dent, feels an effective general aviation o f­
fice could be an asset, b u t adds, “ It now
has no operational function and no power
to influence.” O thers, including form er
cam paign pilot, T om Peterson, feel the o f­
fice should be elim inated completely. “ As
it’s now structured, it’s n o t very effective,”
he said.
COMMENT: Sounds like the position o f
Assistant Adm inistrator fo r General Avia­
tion A ffairs is merely an honorary position.
(Or to use the vernacular, a hush puppy,
thrown out to the general aviation com ­
m unity to m ake them think they really have
someone in the administration representing
them, when in reality it's a cheap ploy to
keep them quiet and contented. Why can’t
the position be restructured and given some
influence? I f general aviation really consti­
tutes the largest number o f airplanes and
pilots in the aviation system in the United
States, why is it that we do not have the
commensurate am ount o f influence?
General aviation needs a strong advocate in
the Adm inistrator’s office to represent us.
Write On.
The NTSB has recom m ended th a t the
FA A am end P a rt 91 to specify alcohol
levels at which pilots may be considered in­
toxicated. Pilots w ould then have to agree
to subm it to blood alcohol tests as a condi­
tion o f obtaining their licenses. M any states
have adopted “ im plied consent” regula­
tions for m otorists.
COMMENT: While I certainly d o n ’t ob-
ACTI VI TI ES
P a t M lady, C hairm an
D id you realize there was only one wo­
m an co ntestant at th e U .S . Precision
Flight T eam C ham p io n sh ip last May?
(T hat co n testan t was Carolyn Pilaar o f the
Blue Ridge Chapter.) W e really should be
better represented at these events since we
have so m any really good pilots in the
N inety-N ines. W e all should begin aim ing
som e e ffo rt to w ard the next cham pionship
w hich takes place in tw o years. A lthough
as individuals we all a re n ’t interested in
this type o f thing, every chapter has
m em bers w ho m ight be. L et’s find out
w ho those individuals are and encourage
them to p rep are fo r th e next C ham pion ­
ship. T w o years from now le t’s at least
have one w om an on th e U .S . T eam . There
are also o th e r com petitions, large and
sm all, at which we should be represented.
A s tim e goes by I’ll keep you advised
a b o u t th e dates an d o th e r in fo rm atio n for
th e 1979 U .S . Precision Flight Team
Regional an d N atio n al C ham pionships.
W o u ld n ’t it be fun to have chapter spot
landing an d navigation contests? These
contests can be a p art o f any regular fly-in
o r a special event. All it takes is a little
planning. L o ts o f chapters d o this regular­
ly already. I t ’s no t only fun, b u t it would
be a good o p p o rtu n ity to see w ho m ight be
good prospects fo r th e larger contests. In
ad d itio n to th a t, it w ould help keep us all
a little sharper.
I ’ve been reading reports subm itted to
m e by th e sections on th e y ear’s activities.
It’s am azing how m any d ifferent im por­
ta n t, fascinating, an d interesting things we
do . By th e w ay, Section G overnors and
A ctivities C hairm en, even if you missed
th e d eadline established in th e report re­
quest, please send m e the in fo rm ation any­
way. Let m e know w h a t’s going on out
there!
a a Calendar
nvm non LAID
JULY
1
Sylvia Paoli
No deadline for 99 N EW S
July 99 Renewals due
D eadline for 99 C atalog
1-4
A W TA R C om m em orative Flight
Palm Springs, C A . — T am p a , FL
16-17 D etroit City A ir Show
16-19 Air Race Classic, Inc.
Sonom a C ounty, CA —
Toledo, O H
21-24 N orthw est Sectional
A nchorage, AK
30-Aug 6
E A A , O shkosh
AUGUST
1
Deadline for 99 N EW S
August 99 Renewals due
12-14 Palm s-to-Pines A ir Race
17-21 International C onvention
San Francisco, C A .
27-28 A puepuelele, A loha C h ap ter
SEPTEMBER
1
3
Deadline for 99 NEW S
Septem ber 99 Renewals due
Lake Erie C hapter
Proficiency Race
23-25 Southeast Section M eeting
Pickwick L anding Inn
Pickwick D am , TN
23-24 N orth C entral Section M eeting
Cleveland, O H
27-29 FAA Flight Instructor R evalidation
Clinic. A irport M arina H otel, LA
Sponsored by LA C hap ter
O ne o f th e ever-increasing problem s,
b o th in th e field o f aviation an d in gen­
eral, is th e pow er o f regulatory agencies o f
th e governm ent an d th e o ften nearly
im possible task o f o b tain in g redress from
such an agency fo r a w rong inflicted on an
individual. T h e U .S . S uprem e C o u rt
considered th e scope o f a legislative act al­
low ing the C .A .B . to issue a “ cease and
desist” o rd er to an airline fo r “ deceptive
practices” in relation to th e “ o v erb o o k ­
ing” practices o f th e airline. T h e case was
one in which A llegheny A irlines had
oversold one o f th eir flights an d h ad the
u n fo rtu n ate b ad luck to “ b u m p ” R alph
N ader from th a t flight.
M r. N ader was o n his way from W ash ­
ington, D .C . to H a rtfo rd , C onnecticut to
m ake tw o speeches. H e was to arrive in
H a rtfo rd at 11:15 a .m ., w ith his first
speech scheduled fo r n o o n . W hen he a r­
rived at th e airp o rt five m inutes before
scheduled ta k e-o ff, he was inform ed th a t
all seats on th e flight were occupied and he
could n o t be acco m m o d ated . E xplaining
th e urgency o f his tak in g th a t p articu lar
flight, M r. N ad er asked the agent to d eter­
m ine if a stan d by passenger m ight have
b o ard ed by m istake, o r, in th e alternative,
if a seated passenger w ould voluntarily
give u p his seat. T he agent refused b o th
requests, and in accordance w ith th e a ir­
line’s stan d ard practice, offered M r. N ader
either
alternative
tra n sp o rtatio n
or
“ denied b o arding c o m p en satio n ” . T he
alternative tra n sp o rtatio n was by air taxi
to P hilad elp h ia, to connect w ith an o th e r
A llegheny flight scheduled to arrive in
H a rtfo rd at 12:15 p .m . W ith only ten
m inutes betw een planes in Philadelphia,
M r. N ader was afraid th e connection was
to o close, an d chose to fly to B oston,
w here he was m et by a m em ber o f th e
sponsoring g ro u p an d driven to th e speech
8
K achina D oll D erby an d R oadru n n er Rally
7-9
S outh C en tral Section M eeting
Flagship H otel
G alveston, T X
OCTOBER
1
Deadline for 99 N EW S
O ctober 99 Renewals Due
1
A M PA R ( All M en’s P alo m ar Air
Race)
P alom ar 99s, C arlsbad, C A .
7-9
Michigan SM A LL Race
■I I I V A I i n i l C T
1077
15-17 New Y ork-N ew Jersey Section
M eeting
Gov. M orris Inn
M orristow n, N J
29
H IS & H E R S A ir Race
Salinas, CA M unicipal A irport
Sponsored by M onterey Bay 99s.
location.
The “ denied bo ard in g co m p en sation”
was an am o u n t equal to the value o f the
passenger’s ticket. M r. N ader rejected this
o ffer, to o , an d elected to file a com m onlaw suit fo r dam ages instead. His lawsuit
sought dam ages based on: (1) fraudulent
m isrepresentation arising from A llegheny’s
alleged failure to in fo rm him in advance o f
its deliberate overbooking practices, and
(2) on a statu to ry action u n d er a U .S . law
fo r alleged failure o f A llegheny to affo rd
him th e bo ard in g priority specified in the
law for the h older o f a valid, confirm ed
reservation.
T he low er co u rt fo u n d fo r M r. N ader,
aw arding him $10 in com pensatory
(actual) dam ages, an d $25,000 in punitive
(“ punishing” ) dam ages. H ow ever, the
C o u rt o f A ppeals reversed th e ju d gm ent.
They
denied
th e
punitive
dam ages
alto g ether on th e statu to ry claim , on the
grounds th a t the airline’s conduct showed
“ no elem ents o f in tentional w rongdoing or
conscious disregard fo r petitio n er’s rights”
as to denying him bo ard in g priority. (This
was in spite o f testim ony show ing th a t in
this p articu lar year,
A llegheny had
oversold
6.3
seats
per
10,000
enplanem ents. A lthough there is only one
chance in 2,000 th a t any particular
passenger w ould be “ b u m p ed ” on a given
flight, th e to ta l num ber o f confirm ed
ticket holders denied seats is quite
substantial,
num bering
over
82,000
passengers in 1972.)
Secondly, the Court o f Appeals held that
federal law required all co u rt proceedings
to be stayed (postponed) pending a
decision by th e C .A .B . as to w hether the
airline’s
o v erbooking
practices
were
“ deceptive” u n d er U .S . law, an d could be
m ade th e subject o f a “ cease an d desist”
o rd er by th e C .A .B . A ccording to the
co u rt, should th e C .A .B . find the practice
was N O T deceptive, such a determ ination
w ould preclude any co u rt action by M r.
N ader on th e m isrepresentation theory.
A lthough th a t second p o in t is seem ing­
ly a very m inute one, it is th e very center
o f th e theo ry , called th e “ do ctrin e o f pri­
m ary ju risd ictio n ” , th a t defeats so m any
recoveries when an adm inistrative agency
is involved. If M r. N ader could n ot bring
his m isrepresentation action, his only al­
ternative, in th e face o f an adverse ruling
by the C .A .B ., w ould be to appeal th at
ruling. H ow ever, o n appeal, th e appellate
court w ould consider w hether o r not the
C .A .B . ruling was properly w ithin that
Continued on page 7
5
by Mary Ben McClave
S acram ento
Ninety-Nines
A cquire
Collection
Sacramento 99s and friends with Amelia Earhart Memorabilia collector, Mr. Ancil Michael.
&njelia Earhart Mcnjorabilia
by Mary Ben McClave
O n Jan u ary 16, 1977, th e Sacramento Valley Chapter
scheduled a fly-in to M ariposa, C alifo rn ia, to purchase a collec­
tion o f A m elia E arh art m em orabilia from M r. A ncil R.
M ichael.
It was a bright, sunny day in M ariposa even th o u g h th e valley
was shrouded in fog and S acram ento was below IF R m inim um s
which caused m any o f us to drive. T he Sacramento NinetyNines were joined by m em bers o f M t. D iablo, Bay Cities, and
Santa Clara chapters an d Verna W est, G o v ern o r o f the S o u th ­
west Section.
M r. M ichael, an ex-pilot, becam e interested in collecting
A m elia E arh art m em orabilia while w orking fo r L ockheed.
(A m elia test hopped the P-38.) O ver a five year perio d , he
bought the bulk o f the collection from Miss Betty Bowers, w ho
had taken care o f A m elia’s aging m o th er, an d displayed it in his
M ariposa store, M ichael F u rn itu re Store an d Sw ap Shop.
I flew back to M ariposa in A pril to talk w ith M r. M ichael and
acquired some interesting anecdotes regarding some o f the pieces
in the collection. T here are eighty-seven item s in to tal, b u t I will
m ention only a few outstan d in g ones in this article.
A citation brevetting A m elia as an “ A v iato r P ilo t” o f the
F ederation A eronautique In tern atio n ale, dated 1934, was
purchased from a m an living near th e desert tow n o f L ancaster,
C alifornia. H e agreed to sell it only if M r. M ichael also b ought
Copy o f Amelia's Certificate from N A A .
th e stacks u p o n stacks o f old p h o n o g rap h records ab o u t his
trailer. In a d d itio n , a copy o f A m elia’s p ilo t’s license was given
him by Jo e G arvis, a u th o r o f Amelia Earhart Lives.
A m elia was given an O ath o f O ffice to carry th e U .S. M ail so
she could fly a sm all issue o f M exican com m em orative stam ps
from M exico to th e U nited States on a goodw ill flight. Seven
hu n d red eighty stam ps were overprinted w ith “ A m elia E arh art,
V uelo de b u en a v o lu n tad , M exico, 1935.” C onsequently, the
stam p in o u r possession is a valuable collector’s item .
A citatio n from P resident F ranklin D elano R oosevelt is in the
collection. A m elia was a guest in th e W hite H ouse m any times,
an d she gave M rs. R oosevelt flying lessons.
A m elia was an in stru cto r and a test pilot at P u rd u e U niver­
sity. All th e latest navigational equipm ent for th e E lectra was
supplied by P u rd u e thro u g h governm ent grants. In the collec­
tio n is a fuel load diagram designed by P au l M antz, fam ed stunt
flier, an d a picture o f her taking o ff from H o n o lu lu o n her
a ro u n d -th e-w o rld flight.
A very significant item to all o f us is her d iam ond set N inetyNines p resid en t’s pin. T here are several pair o f goggles, gloves,
an d p h o to g rap h s to m ention som e o f th e oth er personal items.
See the collection in its entirety at the H yatt Regency in San
F rancisco durin g o u r intern atio n al convention this A ugust. The
S acram ento c h ap ter will present it to N inety-N ines, Inc. at that
tim e.
Fuel load
M antz.
diagram
8 7 laU Gasoline Tank Each']
designed
by
Paul
Aviation Law (Con’t)
agency’s “ discretion” to m a k e -th a t is, if
the C .A .B . had the pow er and au th o rity to
m ake th at type o f decision. If they did,
then the court w ould affirm th eir decision
w ithout considering the actual facts behind
the decision, and the case w ould be closed.
T he Suprem e C o u rt, in analyzing care­
fully the “ cease and desist” law giving the
C .A .B . the pow er to m ake such an o rder,
found that it did N O T preclude bringing
another action in the courts, regardless o f
the C .A .B .’s ruling. R ather, th e tw o
remedies were co-existent, an d th e injured
party, M r. N ader, could bring an action
under either theory. T hus, th e high co u rt
allowed him to proceed w ith his m isrep­
resentation law suit, regardless o f w hether
o r not the C .A .B . fo u n d th e practice de­
ceptive. T he reasoning is im p o rta n t. The
Suprem e C o urt fou nd th a t this case re­
quired no special o r expert know ledge o n a
technical subject held m ore properly to be
within the expertise o f the adm inistrative
agency, the C .A .B . If it had , as is so often
the case, th e court w ould have d eferred to
the ruling o f that agency.
The result from the Suprem e C o u rt,
then, was to overturn the reversal o f the
C ourt o f A ppeals. T his m eant th a t it was
not necessary to get a C .A .B . ruling before
allowing the court action to proceed to
trial, and the trial court ju d g m en t for
N ader was allowed as to the com pensatory
damages. H ow ever, the case was sent back
to the trial court to ascertain if M r. N ader
had presented sufficient evidence to su p ­
port his punitive dam ages aw ard o n the
m isrepresentation theory.
Cessna
wants to clear the air
about avionics.
There seems to be a layer of haze surrounding the
subject of avionics. Like how to choose from all the
brands. Which equipment is needed to make the most
out of today's airways. How it all works together. Who
should install your avionics. Etcetera, etcetera.
Whether you fly VFR or IFR, Cessna has prepared a
booklet you ought to read. It gives you a clear
understanding of what avionics you need for your
kind of flying. Plus you'll see the m any advantages of
buying a "complete" airplane.
"The sky is not the limit. It's only the beginning." For
your free copy, see your Cessna Dealer. Or mail
coupon below.
This free booklet does it.
The sky
is not
the limit.
Want to Visit
99 H E A D Q U A R T E R S
AIRCRAFT COMPANY/WICHITA, KANSAS
On a W eekend?
H eadquarters is norm ally open durin g
regular working hours ( ’cept lunch) on
weekdays, but we will be happy to m ake
special arrangem ents for you to visit o n a
weekend if your path happens to cross
OKC. Why not m ake a visit to H e a d q u a r­
ters a chapter flying activity this spring or
summer? If you w ould like to set u p a
special weekend visit for yourself o r your
chapter, contact Nancy S m ith, H ostess
C hairm an (front o f roster) three weeks in
advance and she will m ake plans to meet
you and give you the grand to u r.
It’s only
the beginning
with Cessna.
Cessna, please send
me your free,
full-color 28-page
brochure:
A ddress
City
State
Zip
Mail to: C essna, Dept. N, Wichita, Kansas 67201.
AIRCRAFT COMPANY/WICHITA. KANSAS
©
Number one in the sky lor some very down-to-earth reasons.
M#mtxKol GAMA
Safety-tip
A timely and well executed g o -aro u n d is
the best landing accident prevention tech­
nique that will ever be invented!
Good by to a
NIFA WINNERS
of
GREAT
OLD BIRD
by Wendy Fowler
It was tim e to p art. T he Stinson is a
great old bird, stable, room y, a 1947
Cadillac o f the air, but it had its lim ita­
tions. W hen the new radio was installed, it
proved to be a drain on th e battery.
Always h ad good clear com m unications
and VOR reception at the beginning o f the
flight, but half an h o u r later it w ould de­
teriorate to hissings and rum blings and
needle gyrations — eventually nothing.
T he com pass developed inconsistent leaks
(never perm anently cured); the first tim e it
happened, she bored her way solidly from
T o ro n to to P hiladelphia — via C hicago.
T he hands th at guided h er sw ore and
argued at each o th er (as only h u sb an d and
wife in small plane can d o ). T h en there
was th at trip from the E ast C oast back to
O ttaw a over countryside u n m ark ed by any
distinguishing feature in barely legal haze,
com pass lolling to one side, D G in o p era­
tive, radio already silent — th e artificial
horizon gave up. But she alw ays cam e to
roost safely and her engine never faltered.
W hat to do? M oney could be spent
replacing radio fo r a new transistorized
one, com pass and o th er o ffending in stru ­
m ents could be replaced o r refurbished.
But she still w ould never be an instrum ent
airplane and the ow ners increasingly talked
o f instrum ent flying.
They flew her up to S tan h o p e one day.
Left her there fo r three days while they
went fishing on a nearby lake. W hile they
were gone, a S tinson enthusiast peeked in
her w indow s, kicked her tires (why d o they
do th at?) and peered in th ro u g h an inspec­
tion panel at her wing spars. W hen the
ow ners returned, her new friend m ade in­
terested noises, brought o u t an engineer,
and they all clim bed in to “ go fo r a fly” .
A barely audible click. B attery u n acco u n t­
ably dead? N ever before h ad she d one
such a thing . . . em barrassm ent! O h well,
charge battery and try tom o rro w . T he next
day she turned over easily, b u t taxiing out
to the runw ay blew a seal on the right
brake. W ith m any circlings-to-the-left-only
and cries o f never before had such a thing
. . . she was guided back to th e tie-dow n.
But her new friend bought her, paid the
full asking price an d prom ised to cherish
an d obey.
I’ve never forgo tten her. T here is a very
special feeling ab o u t a first airp lan e an d all
th o se irrita tin g q u irk s b eco m e fo n d
reminiscences.
F rom th e Niagara Trillium Chapter’s
Tale Spin’r.
NINETY-NINE ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
by Linda Hooker
T his year a to ta l o f 10 applicants were
interview ed. E ach was o u tstan d in g an d a
w inner in her own right - m aking the
ju d g es com m ittee decision a m ost difficult
one. F irst, Second an d T h ird place w inners
each received cash aw ards along w ith their
gold, silver an d b ronze A m elia E arh art
medals.
F irst place an d G old m edal w inner was
18 year old V alerie T h ai o f C ochise
College. V alerie received h er P riv ate tw o
weeks after her 17th b irth d ay , w ent on to
a d d an in strum ent ratin g an d o n her 18th
b irthday
received
her
C om m ercial
certificate. She will take her C FI and
m ulti-engine check rides follow ing her
retu rn fro m th e N IF A finals at Stillw ater.
V alerie will en ter A rizo n a S tate U niversity
this fall as a ju n io r m ajo rin g in A e ro n a u ti­
cal T echnology. T his sum m er an d while
attending A S U , V alerie will w ork as a
Flight In stru cto r at P recision Flight. In a d ­
d itio n to th e heavy flight course load car­
ried at C ochise, V alerie attem p ted and
earned a to ta l o f 63 academ ic credits
durin g th e last 11 m o n th s w ith an overall
scholastic average o f 3.4. Valerie aspires to
a career w ith th e airlines.
T h e second place Silver m edal w inner
was Kendall Wynn o f th e O k lah o m a S tate
U niversity Flying Aggies team . K endall
will enter her S enior year at O SU m ajo rin g
in A ccounting w ith a 3.0 grade p o in t av­
erage. T he Flying Aggies have elected her
th eir C lub P resid en t fo r th e 77-78 year she will be only th e 3rd w om an ever to
serve as P resident in th e C lu b ’s 27 year
history. H o ld er o f a P riv ate certificate,
Kendall is very p ro u d o f the fact th a t she
has earned th e m oney herself to pay for
b o th her flying an d school. T his was
K endall’s th ird N IF A N atio n al A irm eet she com peted in P ow er-O n an d P o w er-O ff
L andings, M essage d ro p an d th e C o m p u ­
ter A ccuracy events. She is a 3 year m em ­
ber o f P h i B eta L am b d a, business frate r­
nity, was selected M s. F u tu re Business
Executive at O SU a n d in n ational
co m petition
placed 7 th . A dditionally
Kendall is a 99 an d m em ber o f th e.
Oklahoma Chapter. Kendall hopes to
com bine h er flying w ith a career in ac­
counting w ith o n e o f th e airc ra ft m an u ­
facturers.
B ronze m edal w inner Beverly D o rsk o ff
will be a Senior at San Jo se S tate this fall
m ajoring in A ero n au tics O p eratio n s with
an A & P an d carries a 3.2 grade po in t
average in her m a jo r. A t 21 Beverly holds
a C om m ercial certificate w ith In stru m en t
ratin g
plus
Basic, A dvanced
and
In strum ent G ro u n d In stru c to r. C u rren tly
she is serving as P resident o f th e Pacific
C oast Intercollegiate Flying A ssociation;
C o o rd in a to r fo r th e ’78 P C IF A m eet; and
S ecretary /T reasu rer
of
th e
G eneral
A viation
Flying
C lub.
A dditionally,
Beverly has served as Secretary, T reasurer
and Vice P resident o f O p erations o f her
school flying club, the Flying T w enty’s;
c o o rd in a to r o f th e Indian airlift; is a
m em ber o f W om en in A viation and N PA ;
and w orked on th e co-op program for the
N ational W eath er Service as an observer.
Due to h er flight experience, certificates
and o u tstan d in g perfo rm an ce in class, she
has been able to w ork th e past two
sem esters as a teaching assistant in the
flight techniques class, helping students in
b o th th e F rasca an d Boeing 707 flight
sim ulators. Beverly plans a career as a
flight in stru cto r an d hopefully som eday in
the left seat o f one o f th e com m ercial air­
lines.
T his year’s judges fo r th e N inety Nine
Achievem ent A w ard were Linda H ooker Golden Triangle Chapter, Amy Pilkinton Shreveport Chapter an d Barbara Solee Greater Seattle Chapter. A w ards were
presented by L inda H ooker.
NIFA
Chairman's
Report
by Arlene Walkup
D espite rain an d high w inds an d threats
o f to rn ado es, the N IFA S afecon held at
Stillw ater was a very successful one, and
the In tern atio n al N inety-N ines can tak e a
big bow and a pat o n th e back fo r being a
very integral (how a b o u t th a t big w ord?)
part o f th a t success. F ifty chapters and
sections d o n ated m oney and H arold W ood
tells me th a t it was th e biggest contribution
the 99s have ever m ade. T h an k you! We
have m ailed a souvenir program to all the
chapters th a t helped. If you d o not receive
your copy please d ro p me a n o te and I will
see th a t you get one.
M any th a n k s to all th e girls w ho were
on h an d in person to help w ith all the
w orking an d ju d g in g th a t had to be done.
Y ou were all fantastic. T he FlyingAggies,
A lan Stephens an d I know th a t it co u ld n ’t
have gone so well w ithout you.
I ’ve enjoyed being th e N IF A C hairm an
o f th e In tern atio n al 99s. I hope th at you
will be as responsive to next year’s
chairm an as you have been to me. A sk any
99 w ho has ever been involved w ith the
N IFA an d they will tell you, “ These young
men an d w om en are g re a t!”
The Wierd
Blanche N oyes, Judge
Shown as she soloed Dec. 18, 1928.
Flight #148 Pilot Barbara Goetz
co-pilot Thelma Cull
AWTAR Update
by W anda Cummings
June 1:
Salt tablets packed and seat belts fastened for th e final R oute
Survey. T hen C om anche 113MB will w ear “ T A R A ” o n her tail
to report for O fficial Ship du ty in P alm Springs. T h ere are the
usual last-m inute frantic additio n s an d corrections, brow s fu r­
rowed and typew riters h o t, b u t even th e B oard M em bers are
looking forw ard to the July F u n Flight.
As o f today, we have verification o f T A R B, piloted by
M AGGIE BURCH and P E G G Y L A W T O N o f th e F ullerton
C hapter, to share the chores along th e way. (A n d we th o u g h t it
would be fun before?)
C om m ent on o u r fine list o f Judges: A t th e S tart, C h ief
Judge IRIS C R 1T C H E L L , 1957 w inning co-pilot, has taken
over for BETTY W H A R T O N , long-tim e A W T A R B oard
Inspection C hief, w ho decided to go flighting to o . Iris will be
assisted by EVE M cH E N R Y and A V A C A R M IC H A E L (my
losing co-pilot in three races), bo th San Diego 99s. A va is
author o f “ From W hite Knuckles to C ockpit C o o l” , soon o ff
the press at A ero Publishers.
M ARION A N D R E W S, talented gal w ho designed o ur Race
Program covers for m any years, and w ho does th a t beautiful
lettering on C ontestant C ertificates, is th e C h ief Judge at
T am pa. W ith her will be FR A N N O L D E , w ho w on in 1948, and
A NN RO ETH K E, w ho is also chairm an o f the T im ers/S corers
C om m ittee.
,
.
H onorary Judges are tw o gracious an d charm ing C h arter
M em bers o f the 99s, B L A N C H E N O Y ES and LO U ISE
T H A D E N . W e hope Louise will be surprised an d pleased with
the portrait o f her to be presented at th e A w ards B anquet. This
is destined to hang in 99 H ead q u arters, in recognition o f
Louise’s valuable guidance in the fo rm atio n o f th e 99s.
T opping on the T erm inus C ake will be th e O fficial G reeter,
VIOLA G EN TR Y , an o th er rem arkable C h a rte r M em ber.
Speaking o f G reeters, P ulitzer Prize W inning Jo u rn alist,
llll V .A I ir ^ llC T
1077
B ILL M A U L D IN will be w aiting fo r us all in El P aso. W e never
to ld th e m an w ho sued for entry in ’75 th a t Bill was the first
(and only) m ale to fly th e P P D . . . . H e was given special per­
mission to d o o u r story in 1955.
T his year, in ad d itio n to the custom ary to p -ten trophies, every
co n testan t will receive a C om m em orative Race T rophy. These
th ro u g h th e generosity o f M RS. A N T H O N Y “ S P E E D ”
H A N Z L IK an d veteran race organizer C L IF F H E N D E R SO N .
Som ething to rem ind each o f us, alw ays, o f a p ro u d old Race.
By th e tim e you read this, th e 30th A nniversary o f the
P ow der P u ff D erby will have been w ell-celebrated, and th e first
m eeting o f th e A W T A R A ssociation held. I ’m h o n o red to be­
long . . . . it is distinguished com pany.
Please send a gift subscription o f T he 99 N EW S to
N AM E
ADD RESS.
Street
C it y ----------------------------------- S ta te ------------------ Zip
E nclosed is $ __________ ($7.00) e a c h /y e a r)------------G ift o f ____________________ a n d / o r .
N am e
C h ap ter
9
NIFA
SAFECO *
Jan Million
Navigation pilot supervises fueling o f his
airplane while check pilot looks on.
Anxious crowd lines the fence (above) as
they await the arrival (below) o f “ the
Queen” ,
played by
NIFA
supporter,
Hoyt
Walkup.
Former Flying Aggie, Sue M ason, arrived
in a Navy T-28 from Pensacola, FL.
A m bling u p to the contest co o rd in ato r,
th e tow ering college stu d en t — w ho lo o k ­
ed m ore like a fo o tb all player th a n a pilot
— said, “ I need a ju d g e w ho weighs less
th an 110 p o u n d s.”
“ Hey, N inety-N ines,”
hollered the
c o o rd in ato r. “ H ave you got som eone
ready to ride in th e N avigation event w ho
weighs 110 o r less?”
N ot all N inety-N ines o n h a n d to act as
judges in this event could have d o n e as
m uch as Bobbie Andrews, Oklahoma
Chapter, to help this pilot stay under
gross, b u t plenty were on h an d and flexible
com binations were w orked out to enable
the student com petitors in the 1977 N IFA
SA FEC O N to get their planes, predom i­
nantly Cessna 150s, into the air.
Judges were paired up with com petitors
and the waiting began as the official plane
flew the ro u te to determ ine if VFR con­
ditions prevailed. Tension was suddenly dis­
sipated, however, by the arrival o f “ the
Q ueen” . A private jet taxied up to the
ram p and out stepped the generously en­
dowed,
flam boyantly-dressed
Russian
Beauty Queen bearing greetings for all and
gifts for o u r celebrities. Claim ing to have
gotten her start as a Russian street-sweeper,
the “ Q ueen” passed o u t symbolic broom s
to N IFA sponsor H arold W oods and N IFA
Judge Hazel Jones.
W eather was m arginal and less than half
o f the 50 entries in the N avigation event
were allowed to fly the course th at after­
noon.
Friday m orning the pow er-off spot land­
ings were due to begin at 6:30 a.m . W ith
100 entries in each o f the landing and mes­
sage drop com petitions, it was essential to
take advantage o f all the daylight hours.
Hazel Jones, Ninety-Nines International
T reasurer, was C hief Judge for the Spot
Landing events. Also o n hand were Judges
Joyce Case, Kansas 99, and Flying editor
Richard Collins. In addition, Hazel was to
have several “ spotters” out on the runway
with her to judge th e exact place where
each aircraft touched dow n. H er inquiries
to N IFA officials a b o u t the “ spotters”
were always met w ith, “ W e’ll get with you
later on th at, H azel.”
N um erous Oklahoma Chapter 99s along
with Susan Horstman from Kansas, Amy
Pilkinton from Shreveport, Linda Hooker
from Arkansas and Hazel Jones had found
a welcome bed in the “ W alkup Bunkhouse” during the N IFA meet. A t 6:30 on
Friday m orning the p hone rang at the
“ B u nkhouse” an d H azel, already o u t at
the field, put in a hasty SOS fo r additional
spotters. By 7:00 a.m . the planes were com­
ing in for landings, five-to-a-heat, with 99s
and other spotters lined up and dow n the
runw ay ready to measure their touchdow n
distance from the line.
The rest o f the m orning was one o f
“ hurry-up-and-w ait” . Each heat was allow­
ed one practice landing before the judging
began, and we all took this opportunity to
rush back to the van parked along the run­
way to gulp ano th er cup o f coffee to ward
o ff the dam p chill from the overcast
m orning. O u r w arming efforts soon
brought on problem s o f their ow n, how­
ever, as it becam e apparent that w ithout
transportation, we could not m ake it to the
term inal and back for “ p o tty ” breaks be­
tween heats. The radio crackled with re­
quests for transportation a n d /o r to have a
m otor hom e “ with facilities” brought out
to the runw ay. Requests repeated! Finally,
the ultim atum . G et the m otor hom e out
here o r we’re going to have to shut down
“ Pappy” Boyington and his lovely wife were guests o f honor at a reception. Thurs­
day evening. Gathered around him in the picture are many Ninety-Nines from Okla­
homa and several visiting chapters who were on hand to assist with N IFA.
this event! M otor hom e arrives and rest o f
morning goes smoothly.
Meanwhile, back on the ram p, m ore 99s
were involved in keeping the events going.
Barbara Solee, Greater Seattle, and
Florida’s Gold Coast Fran Sargent, were
giving moral support to their hom e team s.
Oklahoma 99 Ann Catlin was pressed into
service recording scores for the sim ulator
events. A ir E ducation C hairm an Linda
Hooker, was interviewing applicants for the
Ninety-Nines Achievem ent A w ard. N um er­
ous Oklahoma 99s were brew ing coffee,
carying ice and serving up the goodies in
the food booth. Feeding hungry pilots at an
airport with no restaurant facilities can be a
real problem , so O klahom a C h ap ter had
agreed to operate a coke and hot dog stand.
A short break and it was back to the
field for the message drop event. T he balsa
wood message containers with their bright
streamers drifted dow n so slowly th at it
took alm ost one judge per plane-in-the-heat
to keep track o f them . Once the drops were
caught by the unpredictable O klahom a
winds, the target proved to be the safest
place to be during the drop.
Dusk approaching, we all hurried back to
the “ W alkup B unkhouse” for a quick
cleanup before dinner. G uest speaker
Pappy Boyington’s speech Friday night was
slightly delayed when a torn ad o sighting
emptied the banquet hall for ab o u t 30 m in­
utes but it was an orderly and good-natured
retreat to the basem ent o f the Student
Union before festivities resum ed.
Despite the thunderous night, Saturday
dawned bright and clear, enabling the
power-on landings to be com pleted. C om ­
petitors banded together to pull all the 150s
from their now-swampy parking areas so
that events could start on time.
Ninety-Nines came away from the SA FECON with tired feet, m uddy shoes, w ind­
blown hair and “ aches and pains all over
the bods” . They also gained a firm and
deep respect for these fine college students.
G ood natured and w ell-m annered, they are
outstanding examples o f w hat o u r young
people today can be. A nd their skill as
pilots left us extremely im pressed — and
Waiting for the next event, NIFA
compare notes and team progress.
JULY-AUG UST, 1977
team
ready to hop back hom e and practice.
Twenty-five team s com peted in the
N ational SA FEC O N . Each team had
qualified by placing 1st o r 2nd in Regional
com petitions held earlier in the year. The
N IFA and th e SA FEC O N are organized
and operated by students. T he national
officers all com e from th e host school in
charge o f th at year’s meet. Carla Steinert,
an O klahom a State University student and
Oklahoma 99, was Secretary o f the N IFA
this year. A nother Oklahoma 99, Kendall
Wynn, was team captain o f the OSU Flying
Aggies during this year’s meet. Kendall has
also been elected president o f the Flying
Aggies for the com ing year.
Overall team winners were selected after
points were com puted for the m any events
including: P ow er-off and Pow er-on P re­
cision Landings, N avigation, A ir D rop,
Instrum ent Proficiency, A ircraft Recogni­
tion, C om puter A ccuracy, Pre-Flight, and
G ro u n d Events. The 1977 Team C ham pion­
ship was aw arded to the Flying Salukis o f
Southern Illinois University. Second went
to P ark s College, St. Louis University, and
T hird to San Jose State College.
The T o p W om an Pilot A w ard, spon­
sored by the All-Ohio Chapter o f the 99s
went to Jean Schich W u o f the U niversity o f
M ichigan. T he N inety-Nines Achievem ent
A w ard went to: First Place, Valerie T hai,
Cochise College; Second, Kendall Wynn,
O klahom a State University; and T hird,
Beverly D o rsto ff, Sante Fe.
The Ninety-Nines as chapters an d indi­
viduals have really gotten behind this event
with their financial support this year. The
support from Ninety-Nines in evidence on
the field did not go unnoticed either. C hief
Judge, Allan Stephens called o u r Inter­
national NIFA Chairman Arlene Walkup
before leaving Stillwater to say thanks and
th at w ithout the Ninety-Nines’ help, he
c ouldn’t have done the jo b .
T here are eleven separate N IFA regions,
all with regional com petitions before the
next N ational SA FEC O N . C ontact your
local college team and find o u t w hat you
can do to help. The rew ards com e with
getting together with oth er 99s and “ getting
involved” .
gathers to
Judges (below) stand along distance mark­
ers as NIFA plane tries to hit the spot for
landing (above).
Nancy Smith believes target is the safest
place to be during message drop.
Dana Gibson retrieves message that missed the target (above). (Below)
up and w ait.” Judges had a lot o f time on their hands in between
heats.
“ Hurry
11
<b
M
C h an ged Y o u r M in d ?
T here m ay be cancellations
(unthinkable) a fter A ugust 14.
For LA T E R E G IST R A T IO N :
N ina R ookaird
1779 S haron Drive
C oncord, C A 94519
(415) 682-4535
SFO IS THE PLACE TO GO!
NEW
RATINGS
M IDDLE EAST
M arllc P carct - H am pton Roads - Comm, C FI, Glid
Polly Carico - W ashington, DC - IFR
Helen King - Washington, DC - IFR
NEW YORK — NEW JERSEY
Carol Rubman - Long Island - IFR
NORTH CENTRAL
Bonnie McSwain - AU-Ohio - BAGI
Mary Carolyn Jenkins - Michigan - ME
Terry Miller Ziedler - Comm, ME, IFR, AGI
SOUTH CENTRAL
Claudie Beckner - A lbuquerque - ME
Diane Titerington - H ouston - Comm
Lenora H eathm an - Kansas - Comm, IFR
M arcia Solomon - Kansas - Glider
Lyn LeCrone - Kansas - IFR
M arian Piper - Shreveport - IFR
SOUTHEAST
Louise While - Blue Ridge - IFR
SOUTHW EST
Bobble Bemis - Imperial So-Lo - Comm, IFR
Marie Woods - Imperial So-Lo - Glider
Mary Firth - Los Angeles - IFR
Anne Molina - Sacramento Valley - Comm, ME
Margaret Lawson - San Gabriel Valley - ATP
Bienvenidos
San Francisco
The City o f St. Francis bids you welcome! In tern atio n al C onvention ’77 com m ittee
reports all systems go, with m em bers ready, willing, an d eager to greet you in person.
C o n tem p o rary 49'/2ers d o n o t have to carry pick, shovel, an d pan as did th eir goldseeking forebears in o rd er to carry hom e a poke full o f treasured m em ories follow ing
th eir visit, an d it follow s th a t 99s should reap twice th e rew ards!
N uggets o f aeronautical w isdom m ay be plucked from th e stream o f the E ducation
P ro g ram , as o utlined in th e M ay issue. W ith subjects ranging from theory and appli­
cation (psychology, parliam en tary procedure) th ro u g h fact (charts, sim ulators,
engines), including inform ative discussions and en tertaining film s, it does indeed offer
som ething fo r everyone. D o n ’t forget th e FA A V ertigon E xperience, previously
m entioned b u t w orth repeating. N A SA will also have a display ad jo in in g th e E duca­
tio n area.
Prospectors searching th e exhibit hall will find such varied gems as flight jackets
from C layton & Scott o f B ro ck to n , M ass., M arion Springer G yrocopters (Benson),
literature on A ustralia in ’78 by Interco n tin en tal T o u rs and Q an tas, avionics by
C ollins, an d decorative and useful household item s, clothing an d stationery with avia­
tio n designs from H an g ar 17 in H u n tin g to n Beach, C alif. O th er b o o th s not listed ear­
lier include th e N o rth L ake T ah o e C h am b er o f C om m erce an d C o nvention Bureau;
M arin A viation fo r C al A ir ,a com m uter line; A lcor A viation; V ictor 6 with aviation
supplies from its S acram en to shop; an d V indar, a C essna FBO from G noss Field.
E xhibits are open to th e public, an d w ith a little luck an d a lot o f local publicity we
h ope to crow d th e hall at all tim es. W hat a golden o p p o rtu n ity for each 99 to project
her best P R image!
A s if all th e above were n o t stim ulating enough, one need only stroll th rough the
lobby o f th e H y att Regency to feel a surge o f excitem ent. F ro m th e “ p aten t leather”
fo u n tain (my term ) to th e revolving E quinox L ounge topside, th e sh arp co ntrast be­
tween to d a y ’s m etropolis and th e Spanish trading po rt o f Y erba B uena (pop. 30) may
be sensed. T h e original settlem ent to o k its nam e fr<jm th e “ good h e rb ” m int o r per­
haps th e pro fu se lem on verbena w hich still thrives in th e cool grey fog o f A ugust.
This nam e now applies only to th e island m id-Bay th ro u g h w hich you tu nnel when
crossing from O ak lan d via the Bay Bridge.
T he C ity, as it is generally know n n o rth o f th e T ehachapis, was officially dubbed
San Francisco o n Ja n u a ry 30, 1847, follow ing by six m o n th s th e hoisting o f the
A m erican flag by C ap tain Jo h n M ontgom ery in P o rtsm o u th S quare, nam ed after his
ship. Slightly less th an one year later th e course o f h istory w as q uite literally changed
an d heralded th ro u g h o u t th e sam e plaza by an excited “ A lta C alifo rn ia” publisher
Sam B ran n an (notice how cleverly I am delivering S panish lesson num ero duo and
fu rth er explaining street nam es) shouting, “ G O L D , G O L D , G O L D from the
A m erican R iver!”
On January 24, 1848 carpen ter Jo h n M arshall w ent up to th e S o uth F o rk to check
on a sawmill under constructio n an d sp o tted yellowish glints in th e tail race. H e d u ti­
fully returned sam ples to his boss, w ho, ju s t as conscientiously, had them assayed,
and thus began the end fo r Jo h a n n S u tter, p ro sp ero u s Swiss im m igrant, at his fo rt in
Sacram ento (now you know why th e Sacto C h a p te r is on th e Bay A rea com m ittee).
First, the locals, then Valley ranchers, th en sailors from th e great h a rb o r arrived to
try their luck. By 1849 squatters fro m “ aro u n d the H o rn ” an d overland (it to o k a
little longer those days) had occupied all th e S u tter pro p erty and m ore.
Schooners by the h undred s ro d e deserted in San Francisco Bay, som e with full
cargo, and you m ight m use u p o n this as you lunch o r sip a sunset cocktail in the
Equinox while enjoying a 360° view durin g its 45-m inute revolution. In fact, you are
atop som e o f the tw o hun d red ships scuttled by lan d speculators w ho b ought u n d er­
water lots, extended the streets over fill, an d gained riches w ithout callouses. Stretch
your im agination beyond high-rises o f th e present an d envision a shanty-tow n o f tents
and shacks built o f m ahogany, teak , b am b o o o r w hatever was salvagable, huddled
below the seven hills, then bare except fo r a sem aphore signal erected in 1850 o n T ele­
graph Hill w here C oit T ow er now stands. N o w onder phrases like “ tw o b its” , “ in a
pinch” , “ C om pany, girls” , and o th er m ore un p rin tab le w ords entered o u r vocab u ­
lary!
W hile th e G old Rush co n trib u ted to th e initial grow th o f San Francisco, it is a mis­
take to attrib u te its ultim ate p rosperity to th a t perio d , excepting th e suppliers (m er­
chant class) w ho added stability to a shaky system . (O h yes . . . . th e earth q u ak e.
Referred to hereabouts as T he Fire o f ought-six, th e re ’s really noth in g to fret a b o u t.
A fter all, we all do have o u r “ fau lts” , an d th a t one cleaned o u t gam bling dens,
“ cribs” , and som e politicians and gave rise to a neo-Classic architectural style devoid
o f m uch V ictorian gim crackery — w hen you see such, you know you are beyond the
fire line.)
SILV ER from the C om stock L ode in V irginia C ity, N evada m ade this a C ity in the
early 1860s. The Silver Kings (M ackay, F air, O ’B rien, and F lood, later challenged by
A dolph S utro) all m ade fortu n es which b ro u g h t m ansions, E astern oysters, E u ro p ean
crystal, and cham pagne to th e W est. C om stock silver financed th e N o rth during th e
Civil W ar (hence, U nion Square). B etter tra n sp o rta tio n becam e a necessity, and sure
enough, there were H u n tin g to n , C ro ck er, M ark H op k in s, and L eland S tan fo rd ju st
itching to drive a gold spike at P ro v o , U tah to com plete a tran sco n tin en tal railroad
and fill their pockets.
Banking and stock m arket speculation follow ed to create m ore w ealth. O pera
houses and grand hotels shared blocks w ith free-lunch saloons, an d — well, I could
go on and o n , into the B ohem ian tw enties, th e w artim e forties, the sixties o f the
flower children, an d m ore. See m e at th e C onv en tio n — I ’ll sure be looking fo r YOU!
. . . . Jeanne Abramson
W
993
C onvention Schedule
T U E SD A Y
1:00- 5:00
3:30- 9:30
Registration
•W ine C ountry Tour
W ED N ESD A Y
8:00-12:00
9:00- 1:00
1:00- 6:00
1:00- 5:00
4:30- 5:30
7:00-10:00
Registration
'C osm opolitan City Tour
Registration
Jeppesen/Sanderson Seminar
Welcome Party
C om m unications Session
T H U R SD A Y
8:00- 2:00 Registration
8:00- 9:00 Governors Breakfast
9:00-10:00 C hairm an’s Coffee
(All 99s Welcome)
9:00-12:00 Film “ To Fly”
10:00-12:00 Round Table Discussions
9:00- 1:30 ’ Yacht Tour for Men
1:30- 5:00 Business Meeting
1:30- 5:00 Lycoming
6:00-10:30 'B a y C ruise/D inner
FR IDAY
8:00-11:00
12:30- 2:30
2:30- 3:30
3:00- 5:00
3:00- 6:00
3:00- 6 30
8:00-10:00
Business Meeting
AE Luncheon
AE W inners/B oard Reception
Preventive M aintenance Seminar
’ Tennis Tournam ent
’ M uir W oods/Sausalito
Preventive M aintenance (Cont)
CONVENTION PHOTOGRAPHER
99 SALES ROOM
The Sales R oom will be a separate
room next to the H ospitality Room .
There is still plenty o f space available
and last minute decisions by chapters
to push their wares will be O .K.
The merchandise may be left in the
room safely as the doors will be
locked except during sales hours,
which are:
W ednesday Aug. 17th 1 p.m . - 4 p.m .
Thursday Aug. 18th 10 a.m . - 1 p.m .
Friday Aug. 19th
1 p.m . - 4 p.m .
JU LY-AUG UST. 1977
A rrangem ents have been m ade to
have Ray D eA ragon be the official
Convention P hotographer. Ray took
the beautiful aerial photograph o f
“ T he City” used in th e M ay issue. It
has been called to o u r attention that
his credit line was om itted, and we
certainly w ant to m ake you aware
th at Ray is the one to credit for such
fine work.
Ray has been w orking with the
W est C oast 99s for m any years and
we are sure you will be pleased with
his coverage o f o u r convention this
sum mer.
SA T U R D A Y
9:00-12:00
1:00- 5:00
1:30- 2:30
6:30- 7:30
7:30
Family Awareness Seminar
’ Stanford C am pus/L inear
A ccelerator
Australian Film - Convention ’78
Cocktails
Banquet
• O p tio n a l T o u rs
13
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS IN A ER O SPA C E ED U C A T IO N
600 Valley High School S tudents
185 Visiting S tudents
18 Schools
17 Speakers
16 A ircraft
10 Activities
H andful o f M aterials
7 C .A .P . M em bers
3 School Buses
L arge A m o u n ts o f O rganization
Pinches o f Sunshine an d W inds
Assem ble and m easure ingredients in an organized m anner. In a large schoolground shaped bow l, melt sunshine an d fair w inds together. A d d Valley High and
visiting students, being careful to rem ove from school containers with flexible spatula.
Fold in speakers, aircraft, aviation m aterials, an d activities and beat until sm ooth.
Sprinkle evenly with C .A .P . cadets an d school buses, an d carefully p o u r into a 2600
fo ot runw ay-shaped pan. Bake until brow ned evenly. G arnish with co o p eratio n , en ­
thusiasm , energy, and excitem ent. T h ere you have it — th e piece d e ’ resistance!
Nebraska chefs share their original
RECIPE for
SUCCESS in AEROSPACE EDUCATION
A erospace education is one area o f
learning where to d a y ’s “ tu r n e d - o f f ’ stu ­
dents are “ tu rn ed -b ack -o n ” by at least
one facet o f the curriculum . W ith to d a y ’s
availability o f resources, it is an easy task
to involve young people in this exciting
learning endeavor. All it requires is initia­
tive, energy, and cooperatio n .
W hen we realized th at a fter five years o f
teaching aerospace educatio n at Valley
High School, we were still th e only school
in the area to offer such a p ro g ram , we
looked aro u n d us and asked the q uestion,
“ W hy are n ’t o th er schools involved in the
‘w onderful w orld o f flying’? ” It could not
be due to lack o f m aterials, because a
w ealth o f them ab o u n d from such sources
as federal and state agencies, airline com ­
panies, private organizations and textbook
com panies, and m any are free o r m inim al
in cost. It could not be d u e to lack o f re­
sources, because pilots an d flight sp o n ­
soring organizations are alw ays m ore th an
willing to help, and m any consider it an
h o n o r to speak before a gro u p o f in ter­
ested aviation novices. A nd it could n o t be
due to lack o f qualified teachers, because
any science teacher, pilot o r n o t, with
m inim al training, can easily qualify as an
aerospace instructor. So, we had to co n ­
clude th a t ignorance o f w hat th e field o f
aviation had to o ffer, o r lack o f know ­
ledge o f student interest in aviatio n , o r
both had to be the reason.
F rom this realization, cam e th e next
question, “ W hat could we d o to advance a
greater aw areness in this field?” T h e only
logical answ er was to encourage people to
actually participate in as m any activities as
could be presented th roug h th e p ro m o tio n
o f an aviation field day. A s fa r as we
could ascertain, this type o f activity had
never been done on the secondary level
and so o u r third question becam e, “ W here
should we begin?”
O f course, we knew planning w ould be
the key to success. Valley, N ebraska, a
tow n o f about 1500 people, located thirtyfive miles from O m aha, has a high tax
base, an d , therefore, we could n o t look to
the school o r the ad m inistratio n to provide
a budget fo r th e day. So, we plan n ed , with
the reality o f little availability o f funds,
but with vo lu n tary assistance o n th e part
o f com m unity an d area individuals in
m ind.
In F eb ru ary th e planning stages began
by setting th e d ate, A pril 27. A survey was
sent to schools in an attem p t to establish
areas o f interest and stu d en t num bers.
T w enty-tw o schools from a forty-m ile
radius indicated interest in seventeen areas:
ballooning, p arach u tin g , com m ercial a ir­
lines, soaring, experim ental airc ra ft, FA A
offices, m aintenance o ccu p atio n s, m ilitary
careers, flying org an izatio n s, aviation his­
to ry , aerobatics, space, m odel rocketry,
radio-controlled aircraft, personal flying,
h ang gliding, an d a irp o rt m anagem ent.
T h u s, o u r fo rm at was set an d we could
venture o u t to find speakers an d gather
m aterials representative o f these areas.
W hen we realized th e m o u n tain s o f co r­
respondence th a t loom ed b efo re us, we
yelled “ m ay d ay ” over all frequencies and
assistance cam e from : school ad m in istra­
to rs, w ho gave th eir app ro v al fo r use o f
th e building and release tim e; school sec­
retaries, w ho typed letters, d u plicated m a­
terials, an d relayed messages; interested in­
dividuals in th e com m unity, w ho provided
pilots, airc raft, rides, m aterials, w orkers,
an d speakers; th e S tate D ep artm en ts o f
A eronautics an d E d u catio n , th a t offered
Students take a close look at a helicopter
at the Valley High School Aviation Field
Day.
technical an d legal advice; private com ­
panies, colleges an d universities, that fur­
nished displays and m aterials; area pilots,
who flew in m any an d various types o f air­
craft; th e branches o f th e m ilitary, that
prom oted aviation careers; th e s ta ff o f our
own school, w ho provided lunch, super­
vised students an d co o p erated in any way
they could.
Since o u r tow n had no a ircraft, our
fourth question becam e “ H ow are we
going to com bine the th eoretical w ith the
practical?” F ortu nately , th e ow ner o f a
private concrete airstrip generously offered
to let any aircraft land, if each pilot signed
a waiver before th e big day. A n d a C .A .P .
squad ro n , briefed in p arking airplanes and
com m unicating on th e 122.9 frequency
lent their services to provide safety and
organization.
A s A pril ap p ro ach ed , we kept one eye
cast to th e sky an d tw o ears glued to the
telephone, coordinating, expanding, and
creating. P rog ram s an d flyers w ere printed
and sent to the schools w ho had expressed
Continued on next page
A student participant about to receive a ride in a Steerman biplane.
initial interest, and the cooks laboriously
prepared for an additional 200.
We were ready! W e were w rong! A pril
twenty-sixth found us w orking in to the
wee hours ot the m orning with last m inute
details such as: stuffing in fo rm atio n
packets, preparing the registration area,
readying display b ooths, cleaning in spots
the janitors forgot, adding decorative
touches to the speaking areas, creating
nam e tags, and assigning tasks to students.
We went hom e weary and bedraggled, said
a quick prayer to the C hief M eteorologist,
and spent an all to o short night tossing,
turning, and w ondering w hat we had fo r­
gotten.
7:00 a .m ., out to the airp o rt to greet the
C .A .P ., and it was “ all systems g o !”
The day ’s events included a general as­
sembly at 9:00 a .m ., follow ed by individ­
ual speaking sessions until lunch tim e and
great yellow and black bus rides to the a ir­
port to view and ride in the planes, w hich
included: a bi-wing, an ag-plane, a pow er­
ed glider, Super C ubs, a T ri-P acer, a
Beechcraft King A ir, a G rum m an A m eri­
can Tiger, a Piper 140, a P ip er A rrow , a
Cessna 150, and a m ilitary helicoptor.
A fter fortifying the tro o p s w ith steakettes
and hom e-m ade rolls, everyone jo urneyed
to the school grounds to witness a heli­
coptor dem onstration,
m odel
rocket
launches, radio-controlled airplane m an eu ­
vers, and th e highlight o f th e day — an
aerobatic perform ance by E arl S an fo rd .
The only cancellation was a planned hotair balloon launch, because o f prevailing
winds by afternoon.
As we collapsed in chairs and pon d ered
the day, o u r final question becam e, “ W as
this a successful recipe?” O u r only answ er
could be, “ Y ou b et” ! In fact, we co n ­
cluded th at it is one o f those never fail re­
cipes th at when taken o u t o f th e oven and
cooled, becom es a delicacy th a t should be
savored fo r a long tim e, a n d , th en , be
made again in an o th er year.
Dawn K. Parkening & R obert A . H arp er
The above article was written by
Nebraska 99 Dawn K. Parkening and
Robert A . Harper, who are both teachers
at Valley High School, Valley, Nebraska.
Dawn is currently serving as Membership
Chairman o f the Nebraska Chapter.
Clara Johansen
M innesota 99s A ttend
Operation Raincheck
A pilot is in tro u b le - w hat help is avail­
able? T he answ er an d m uch pertin en t but
p erh ap s less d ram atic in fo rm atio n was re­
ceived as we p articip ated in O p eratio n
R aincheck. T he Minnesota Chapter m em ­
bers were invited by M inneapolis A R T C C ,
F arm in g to n , M N to atten d a three-night
session o f O p eratio n R aincheck, giving us
an o p p o rtu n ity to learn first h an d ab o u t
the staff, equ ip m ent, procedures, an d re­
sponsibilities o f th e A ir T raffic System.
T he first evening was an in tro d u ctio n to
th e C enter A rea an d it’s com plex
equipm ent along with an explanation o f
th e A rea o f O p eratio n (M SP is th e largest
C enter in th e co n tin ental U .S ., covering
260,000 square miles), th e present and p ro ­
posed rad ar sites, cu rren t frequencies and
air routes. Each m em ber was issued a head
set an d assigned to a specific co ntroller
thereby enabling her to w atch th e traffic
o n the scope an d h ear th e com m unica­
tion between pilot an d C enter. It was in ­
teresting to note the speed and ease with
w hich a p ilo t’s request fo r change o f
course, for exam ple, could be facilitated.
T he second evening was spent at the
T ow er for M SP In tern atio n al A irp o rt
w hich is a C lass II T C A . A few o f the
subjects covered were IFR an d VFR A ir­
space, F ar an d N ear G ates, T C A require­
m ents, P ractice A p p ro ach P ro ced u res, and
C o n tro llers’ priorities. A s pilots we gained
insight into co n tro llers’ problem s because
o f things we d o o r do not do.
O n th e th ird night, at M inneapolis FSS
an d G A D O , the first an d secondary duties
o f the FSS were explained, especially: the
B riefer’s check list and the im portance o f
n o t interru p tin g him ; filing an d closing o f
flight plans; search an d rescue, and Enro u te Flight A dvisory Service. W e were en­
couraged to practice DFs during the less
congested hours and to avail ourselves o f
EFA S on all cross co u n try flights. A c­
cident
P revention
Specialist
V erdon
K leim enhagen’s discussion and film on ac­
cidents an d d em o n stratio n o f th e Vertigo
C hair concluded th e session.
N inety-N ines w ho have atten d ed both
one-day and three-night sessions com ­
m ented th a t the latter were m ore
com prehensive. All agreed they gained
know ledge an d confidence in th e help
available th ro u g h o u r A ir T raffic C o n tro l
System an d th a t they w ould not hesitate to
call C enter w hich has vast resources for
helping a pilot in em ergencies.
T he very next day after O peration R ain­
check one o f o u r 99s benefited from the
use o f E FA S at M inneapolis FSS. T his 99
was on a Red C ross Life G u ard Flight to
A X N , an d a fter leaving th e local control
zone called E FA S fo r en ro u te w eather.
A n o th er 99 w ho was ju st leaving A X N
with the 2nd Blood Flight for the day wanted
to let th e 99 w ho was flying in fo r the
third blood pick-up th a t it had been
cancelled, so she called EFA S at M inneap­
olis. T h e tw o 99s h eard each o th er and the
EFA S con tro ller confirm ed th a t th e 99 for
th e third flight had copied th e message and
an unnecessary flight was averted.
M innesota 99s and 49Vier at Operation Raincheck.
V o lu n teers N eed ed fo r
O p eration T hirst
at O sh k o sh
W e need 8 w om en each m orning
from 8:30 to 9:30 to help m ake
sandwiches for O peration T hirst.
Please sign up at the W o m en ’s A c­
tivity T ent as SO O N as you get to
O shkosh . . . . o r show up at a b o u t
that time. We also need volunteers
(men and w omen . . . . and teen­
agers) to ride the O peration T hirst
Truck during the day. (D river and
four others each trip)
The Commander o f the flight, Capt. Ken Nicholson, takes time o ff from
flight deck duties to chat with fam ous aviatrix, Nancy-Bird W alton (R) and
Mrs. Annette Hand (L) who made radio contact with her husband stationed
at Australia’s David Base in the Antarctic. Photo: Qantas.
9 9 s V isit S ou th P ole
by Rosemary Colman.
Australian
99s
Marie
Richardson,
Frances Waggott and Nancy-Bird Walton
were on flights to the South M agnetic Pole
this year. T he first flight u n d er the
com m and o f C aptain Ken N icholson was a
charter flight from Sydney in a Q antas
Boeing 747.
T he idea o f taking people to A n tarctica
is not a new one; Q antas looked in to the
possibility o f taking passengers to McM urdo Sound in Electra aircraft from
Christchurch, New Z ealand, around fifteen
years ago, but nothing becam e o f this. In­
terest, however, never died as far as Q antas
was concerned.
T he present project arose from an idea
by Sydney businessman, Dick Smith, that
there w ould be sufficient people willing to
pay aro u n d $300 fo r a 12 h o u r flight from
Sydney to A ntarctica and retu rn to m ake a
charter flight feasible. O riginal plans were
to operate a Boeing 707 ch arter, b u t the
response soon indicated th a t a Boeing 747
w ould be required. T he 747 has o th er
advantages fo r this type o f flight because
it carries inertial navigation (INS) equip­
m ent.
Plans were m ade for a flight over M ac­
quarie Island, along the A ustralian coast o f
A ntarctica to the south m agnetic pole. A us­
tralia’s interest in this area was th e reason
for this choice; it was th e area visited by
the M awson E xpedition in 1910-13. The
Sydney
A ntarctic
A ssociation
had
requested a flight over C om m onw ealth
Bay to try to find M aw son’s h u t, which is
still supposed to be in good co ndition. It
was not seen by the Q an tas flight.
C om m onw ealth Bay is the windiest place
on earth; an average wind force o f 70
knots every day with 200 k nots not u n ­
com m on.
A ntarctica is a very large territo ry , with
95% o f the area covered by co n tin u al ice.
N inety per cent o f the w o rld ’s ice and
snow is contained therein. Ice starts at 60
degrees south, and th e highest p o in t is M t.
E rebus at 1140 m etres. T he south m agnetic
pole is sited o ff French A delie L and at
present, an d is m oving N .W . at 7 miles per
year.
P rio r to th e flight Q an tas h ad som e
in fo rm atio n a b o u t th e area from th e U .S.
operations at M cM urdo Sound and from
Q uantas charter flights through high lati­
tudes to South A m erica. C om m ander o f
the U.S. O peration Deep Freeze base offer­
ed com plete support.
N avigation was no problem because o f
the o n b o ard IN S system an d fuel was
expected to be ad eq u ate even if w eather
was much m ore adverse th an expected.
C o m m unications were also adequate; the
U .S . has very good SSB capabilities in the
area and satellite w eather rep o rts were also
available.
A ir traffic co n tro l, air sea rescue and
in tern atio n al ju risd ictio n were o f concern.
T here was quite a bit o f A m erican and
Russian flying in th e area and the
A m ericans agreed to provide A TC support
from 60 degrees south. F rom the air sea
rescue point o f view R A A F O rions could
go to 60 south an d th e U .S. might supply
assistance from there. Shipping was quite
frequent in th e area because o f the
considerable U .S ., Russian an d Japanese
w haling in those w aters. T he Americans
agreed to supply cloud in fo rm ation for the
polar area because th e M elbourne W orld
W eather w atch could not supply suf­
ficiently u p -to -d ate data.
T he flight was a routine one, in the
o p eration al sense. T he aircraft left Sydney
with full tan k s an d a planned flight time
o f 11 h o u rs using long range cruise speed.
It actually to o k 9 hours and 27 m inutes,
partially because o f 175 knot tail w inds on
the retu rn flight. Thick clouds were exper­
ienced durin g th e flight so u th , as a series
o f low pressure system s swept across the
route with great rapidity. T he forecast was
for cloud at th e pole.
T he flight descended to 15,000 feet and
broke th ro u g h th e cloud; over Cape
H udson th e a ircraft descended to 6,000
feet and presented the passengers with an
incredible view o f th e A ntarctic ice and
snow in perfectly clear, p ollution free,
conditions.
O ver C om m onw ealth Bay tru e K atabatic
w inds were experienced an d over French
Adelie L and th e com pass needle spun aro u n d in d em o n stratio n o f th e zero hori­
zontal m agnetic co m p o n en t at the pole.
Y our R eporter an d Dick Sm ith must
think along the sam e lines. A t an early
"1978 C o n v en tio n ” m eeting I suggested a
99s flight to th e S o u th P o le, as a world
first. My suggestion was considered
frivolous!! W ell, som eone beat us to it,
but if you are com ing “ D ow n U n d er” why
not go all th e way.
m oon. L indbergh an d his tiny silver Ryan
m onoplane, “ T he Spirit o f St. L ouis” ,
captured th e im agination o f the entire
w orld in M ay 1927. T o com m em orate his
flight, th e T eterb o ro A viation H all o f
Fam e held a three-day aviation show at
The Bergen M all, P aram u s, New Jersey on
M ay 12, 13, an d 14, 1977. T he show was
called “ 50 Y ears o f A viation-L indbergh to
the Space A g e.”
T h e Palisades Chapter o f the NinetyBergen Mall Show
Nines, Inc. hostessed a static display o f
Chairman Clarice Bellino and Ex-Officio
Pow der P u ff D erby m em orabilia featuring
AW TAR Board Member Kay Brick with
the 1976 B icenntennial Race and the 30th
former astronaut Wally Schirra aboard
A nniversary C om m em orative Flight, and a
open cockpit “ Breezy” .
pictorial display o f the A m elia E arhart
Vega D edication at Jo h n F. Kennedy
A irport C hapel.
C h ap ter C h airm an Clarice M. Bellino
and Kay A . Brick, A W TA R C hairm an,
E x-O fficio atten d ed th e press breakfast
A h a lf century ago, C harles A .
L indbergh becam e th e first m an to fly. b efore th e opening o f th e display and were
pleased to greet an d m eet guest o f honor,
n o n sto p across th e A tlan tic O cean from
form er a stro n a u t W ally Schirra. The three
New Y ork to P aris. H is historic flight was
were pictured to g eth er as W ally was
th e beginning o f th e aviation age as we
“ pilo tin g ” th e open cockpit “ B R E E Z Y ” .
know it to d ay w ith men landing o n the
Palisades Chapter
Salute to Lindbergh
Pam Vander-Linden, Palomar Chapter,
Southwest Section shares her experiences
on her second trek with the Baja Bush
P ilo ts . . . .
Central America and Panama
with the
Baja Bush Pilots
Pam Vander-Linden
was a breeze and a w elcome swimming
Flying into the depths o f M exico is a th e m ountains to P u e rta V allarta, circling
pool. A fter dinner and hangar flying, it
challenge which beckoned us tw o years th e Bay for pictures, th en low along the
was early to bed for an early start the next
C o co an u t C oast past M anzanillo and
ago on a to u r planned by th e B aja Bush
day.
Pilots.
W hen
an o th er
safari
was Z ih u atan ejo to A capulco fo r gas.
U p to now all the form alities had been
T he next leg was a flight across the
announced this year into M exico and
very simple. T here are no longer individual
Ixtepec Bay to T ap ach u la. Ixtepec is at the
C entral A m erica and
including the
charges fo r rad io , flight plans, e tc., in
P an am a C anal and San Bias Islands, we n arrow s where there is only approxim ately
Mexico. E verything is included in th e price
100 nautical miles betw een th e P acific and
couldn’t resist joining.
o f the gas. T he form s are extremely simple
A tlantic,
from
th e
G u lf
of
Leaving F allbrook, C alifo rn ia, 49Vier th e
and checking th ro u g h is really speedy. The
Vic an d I with guest studen t pilo t, Lois T ehuantepec to th e Bay o f C am peche.
w hole stop can be accom plished in 30 to
Sweeney, from R edding, started south in This narrow isthm us causes curious wind
40 m inutes. In 4141B’s system , one person
shifts an d as th e visibility deterio rated ,
Bellanca Viking 4141B. W e spent the first
to o k care o f th e gas, an o th er the paper
everyone ju st h ad to believe their
day and night at C ondom inios Jacquelynn
w ork, and th e th ird , refreshm ents for the
instrum ents until they finally hit the coast
right on the beach at Kino Bay, S o n o ra.
fliers.
This gave the chance to relax an d sever again a few miles n o rth o f T ap ach u la. T he
O n checking in to M exico a general
natives were burning sugar cane an d the
o ne’s thoughts from th e last m inute rush
declaration h ad been o b tain ed for the
visibility was !!?? N onetheless, all eighteen
o f business in the office and at the ranch.
airplane. T his had to be surrendered on
planes arrived safely in T ap ach u la.
W e strolled on the beach an d enjoyed the
leaving th e co u n try at T ap ach u la. Since we
T ropical clim ate and b eautiful scenery
most spectacular sunset ever, setting over
fly into M exico frequently, V ictor and 1
w elcom ed everyone, b u t all were h appy to
Pelican R ock and T ib u ro n Island. In the
have six m o n th entry perm its w hich just
get u p on th e hill an d check in at th e
m orning a walk along the estuary revealed
had to be stam ped in and out at the
b eau tifu l L om a Real H otel w here there
many interesting birds an d w hen the
tem perature
reached
nearly
80°
a
refreshing dip was welcome.
Leaving late a ftern o o n , we flew low
along the coast enjoying the scenery dow n
past G uaym as on the way to Los M ochis
where we joined the o th er seventeen B aja
Bush Pilot planes. T he overnight stay at
the centrally located S an ta A n ita H otel
included a get-together cocktail p arty with
slides and briefing on the up-com ing trip
conducted by the leader, A rn o ld Senterfitt.
T he next day had been scheduled to
A capulco but due to a scarcity o f accom ­
m odations fo r such a large g ro u p th e first
overnight stop was at Tepic. T he follow ing
day we com pleted the longer trip to T apachula at th e border o f M exico a n d G u ate­
Ham mocks hang ready for siesta in the San Bias Islands.
mala.
This was really a scenic flight— first over
Hit.
border. Lois, how ever, w ith a one-tim e
perm it, h ad to surrender hers and get a
new one upon re-entry. E veryone was
m ost courteous and anxious to help—
especially the pilotas , fem ale pilots. T here
were tw o other 99s in the g ro u p — Addie
Morris with 4 9 '/ie r D on from Alameda
Chapter, and June McCormick with
49'/2er Jim , from San Diego Chapter.
T he Bush Pilot safari contin u ed on
to G uatem ala,
a short h o p
from
T apachula along the coast and u p thro u g h
the pass to the C ity o f E tern al Spring,
5000 feet elevation. C om ing dow n thro u g h
M exico we had been using C h art C H 22
and 23, and C J 24. A t Ixtepec we changed
to C J 25 and CK25 fo r C en tral A m erica.
T hese charts gave adeq u ate in fo rm atio n
and are reasonably easy to handle in the
cockpit. The latest versions have all the
new V O R ’s designating w here D M E is
available and up-to-date in fo rm atio n on
the A D F ’s.
T raveling in the C entral A m erican
countries, passports are necessary but
tourist perm its can be o b tain ed w ithout
charge at ports o f entry in lieu o f visas.
A lthough fees in M exico have been
elim inated, landing fees an d custom s
charges are custom ary in C entral A m erica
an d the charge is d oub le during siesta
hours, eleven till tw o o ’clock, and
w eekends from S aturd ay n o o n until
M onday at 8:00 A .M .
A fter getting settled at th e H otel P laza,
centrally located and clean w ith a good
restaurant and live m usic, we had a to u r o f
G uatem ala City including th e exhibition o f
G uatem alan A rts and C rafts right at the
airp o rt exit, governm ent buildings, palace,
an d m any interesting churches. W e were
surprised, but glad, to see very few
rem inders o f the earthquak e; th e clean-up
jo b has been rem arkable an d new
buildings are going up everyw here w here
dam aged ones were to rn dow n.
E arly the next m orning we left on a
conducted bus to u r at L ake A titlan . O n
the way stops were m ade first at a tile
factory an d a public o u td o o r laundry. T he
Indian w om en carry their babies o n th eir
backs in a sling shaw l an d th e scrubbing
m otion is better th an any rocker. T h en we
w ent on to Solola fo r shopping at the
fam ous m ark et an d then o n dow n the
w inding hillside ro ad to P an ajac h el on the
shores o f L ake A titlan . A w hole week
could be spent o n this b eautiful lake
visiting th e interesting In d ian villages
w hich d o t th e shores. T here are several
large, m odern hotels w ith swim ming
pools, an d m any sm aller pensions. Small
launches criss-cross the lake. U n fo rtu n a t­
ely, o u r to u r h ad n o tim e to tarry and
a fte r lunch we started back, stopping at
A n tigua on th e w ay to to u r th e silver
factory w here b eau tifu l earrings with
intricate designs and m any tem pting
trinkets are m ade, and th e very special
m aterial shops, including the fam ous
b outique, C o n ch a de M endoza, w here we
increased o u r gross weight by several bolts
of
very
beautifully
em broidered,
handw oven m aterial to be fo u n d only in
G uatem ala. All o n th e to u r w ould gladly
have stayed a few m ore days in this beau­
tifu l, colorful cou n try , an d m ost vowed to
m ake an o th e r stop th ere o n th e return
trip.
H ow ever,
next
m orning,
everyone
headed fo r C o sta Rica, overflying El
S alvador, land o f b reath tak in g volcanos
a n d heavenly blue-green lakes cradled in
craters o f extinct cones. T he w eather co­
operated and th e skies were blue and
visibility
excellent
un til
we
passed
M anagua. Flying over L ake N icaragua we
were able to circle th e still active volcanoes
o f E sola de M etepe, th e volcanic island in
th e m iddle o f th e lake. F rom here on
clouds began to build u p as usual and
although o u r flight plan h ad been to fly
direct to San Jo se we changed plans and
w ent o u t to th e ocean, flying low over the
G u an acaste C o ast, th e R iviera o f C osta
R ica, to P u n ta ren a s, th e n u p th e valley to
San Jose.
T h e g ro u p landed at P avos A irp o rt,
w hich is th e sm all In tern atio n al airp o rt
closer to th e center o f th e city. T his strip is
alm ost 3300 feet high an d only 3300 feet
long, an d does present som e problem s.
T he severe dow n d ra ft at th e ap p ro ach end
o f R unw ay 9, an d rising terrain o n ta k e ­
o ff, required th e pilots to m uster all their
(in som e cases) som ew hat rusty flying
Transportation from one island to another in the San Bias
Islands.
techniques!
In San Jo se th e gro u p stayed right
dow ntow n at the G ran d H otel, opposite
the O pera H ouse, right in the center o f
everything. It was beautiful old hotel, with
excellent facilities, delicious fo o d, and all
the o p p o rtu n ities in th e w orld to increase
th at weight facto r-h u m an and aero­
dynam ic! T h e follow ing day we again
shopped an d to u re d the sights in the
environs o f C o sta Rica including the
spectacular Irazu volcano. O n previous
visits earlier in th e season th e crater had
been filled w ith em erald green, sulphur
smelling w ater, b u t this tim e it was abso­
lutely dry, presenting m ore o f an im pres­
sion o f w alking o n th e m oon.
Leaving C o sta Rica, we set out for our
final d estin atio n , th e San Bias Islands, a
chain o f 135 islands on the A tlantic side o f
the P an a m a C anal, stretching from the
C anal to th e coast o f C olum bia. Since
T ap ach u la, we h ad been using CK25, a
chart
w hich
to o k
us
across
the
P an am an ian b o rd er to D avid. A gain, most
o f th e pilots, once over th e m ountains,
flew low along th e coast to enjoy the
scenery. A t a ltitu d e, b o th D avid, 114.3,
and T ab o g a Island, 110.0 at th e Canal,
could be reached o n th e end o f o u r scale
o f 100 D M E . G reat c o m fo rt in this very
wild country! A t D avid we switched to
CK26 for th e rest o f th e trip south.
As usual, favoring th e sm aller airports
in lieu o f th e big intern atio n als, the B aja
Bush Pilots landed at P aitilla International
A irport on th e Pacific side o f the P anam a
C anal. W e specially refrained from using
the points o f the com pass because actually
the P an am a C anal running from the
Pacific to th e A tlan tic, runs from
southeast to northw est with th e Pacific
side being east o f th e A tlan tic side.
C onfusing?
All the way along th e ro u te we h ad been
chatting w ith each o th er o n 123.4 and with
C enter o n 126.9. Between D avid and
Santiago we h ad o u r first em ergency call.
T he B aron was losing fuel pressure but
fo rtunately Ozzie, a skilled pilot, was able
to bring th e tw in into P aitilla, engine out,
for a sm ooth landing. A fter passing
custom s an d im m igration we all p u t the
Indian forming clay tile.
m inim um am ount o f fuel on for P orvenir,
a small 1500 foot strip extending th e entire
length o f P orvenir Island. Since o u r
Bellanca was up to gross, o u r passenger
Lois, m ade this leg with Bob T ip p ett and
George G reer in th e T u rb o 210. Viking
4141B flew over the C anal at th e required
2500 feet to C olon an d th e n aro u n d
Cacique P o in t to Porvenir, low ering with
the cloud deck to a b o u t 500 feet over the
w ater. P lenty o f chance to view the
beautiful
tropical
beaches.
P o rv en ir
presented no problem since 4141 B ’s hom e
base a t F allbrook is only 2000 feet long.
A fter landing and parking on th e grass tie
dow n the fliers were greeted by a g ro u p o f
San Bias Indians in their colo rfu l clothes,
com plete w ith nose rings, an d their
colorful display o f San Bias “ m o las” or
em broidered pictures. T his unique craft is
fam ous all over the w orld-a very colorful
prim itive art.
T he next fo u r days were spent on the
island devouring the m ost delicious lobster
in all form s, swim ming, snorkeling, and
skindiving in the tropical w aters, and
visiting various islands by sm all launch
and dug-out canoe.
H om ew ard bound , the first stop was the
New France A irport in the C an al Z one
where we went by cab to th e G eorge
W ashington, a beautiful old h otel in
C olon in its own com pound . T h e first
afternoon we visited the G atu n Locksam azingly interesting. In C olon it is
advisable to stay w ithin the confines o f the
hotel grounds o r tak e a tax i-p ic k p o c k e ts
are a b u n d an t.
T he follow ing day th e grou p b ro k e up
and started hom e in all directions. T ippets,
and C orletts from C o lo rad o , jo in ed us to
rem ain and m ake the train trip to P an am a
and back. T his trip was well w orth the
effort o f getting up at 6:00 in th e m orning.
T he views o f the C anal a n d the
interesting flora and
fau n a passing
along the C anal an d on the trestle over
G atun Lake were unbelievable. B reakfast
at the very elegant H otel P a n a m a was
followed by a taxi to u r o f th e city and
B alboa before returning to th e station for
the trip back.
In P an am a you can alw ays tell if you
Indian Market at Solala, Guatemala.
are in th e C anal Z one o r in th e Republic.
In th e C anal Z o n e all signs have English at
th e to p and Spanish u n d ern eath , w hereas
in th e Republic, th e Spanish is at th e to p
an d th e English u n d ern eath .
W hile
chatting on th e drive a great deal o f
interesting facts were learned concerning
th e Z o n e and th e R epublic.
Next m orning we started back to Paitilla
for custom s checkout and the return flight
to San Jose. T his tim e we flew direct
having fo u n d th a t invariably over San
Jose there are breaks in th e clouds. W e
circled and landed at S an ta M aria, the
large Intern atio n al A irp o rt. By this tim e
ju s t th e T u rb o 210 an d ourselves were
traveling together. W e stayed at th e H otel
Irazu, a very attractiv e m odern hotel close
to th e airp o rt which has a free shuttle bus
service to dow ntow n. A fte r flying, the
sw im m ing pool is always a w elcome place
to relax and this tim e we m et a very
interesting G uatem alan fam ily w ho invited
us to visit them th e follow ing day in
G u atem a la C ity, to w hich they were
retu rn in g com m ercially in th e m orning.
An uneventful flight got us into G u a­
tem ala City by noon. O u r friends called us
and arranged to show us aro u n d . W e
visited Lake A m atitlan then drove to find
avocados and all kinds o f fruit similar to
the sub-tropicals in the F allbrook area.
W e relished th e o p p o rtu n ity to be able to
visit in th e hom e o f these new friends w ho
really gave us an insight, in d ep th , into
effects o f th e e a rth q u ak e, th e econom y,
and fam ily life -- we had a sem ester’s
ed ucation in an afte rn o o n .
T he following m orning th e 210 headed
n o rth to the States and 4141B east to Tikal
to revisit the M ayan ruins which had so
captivated us tw o years before. T his time
we landed at Flores on L ake Itza. Flores
has an A D F and a very able tow er
o p e ra to r w ho o perates three frequencies at
once, so be p atien t w hen you call. T he
a irp o rt has a good d irt strip, w alking
distance to th e H otel M aya In tern atio n al,
w here we were greeted by th e colorful
host, Rafael Sagastum e. A fte r lunch we
drove thro u g h th e ju n g le to T ikal, the
u n fo rg etta b le, unbelievable center o f
classic M aya civilization. N ext m orning,
we rose at 6:00 to go in a sm all dugouttype launch o n th e “ m ilk ru n ” . O ur
b o atsm an to o k us to a num ber o f Indian
villages aro u n d th e lake picking u p and
dro p p in g o ff com m unters o n th e way.
Back to the City for tak e-o ff for
G uatem ala City to check out o f C entral
A m e ric a -o v e r th e clouds at 16,500’ and
dow n th ro u g h th e heaven-sent opening
into G u atem ala C ity. A fter check-out
th ro u g h custom s we flew to T apachula.
T he plan had been to continue to O axaca
b u t w eather changed o u r plans. A half
h o u r after landing in T ap ach u la, the first
tropical rain storm o f th e season d ropped
tw o inches o f rain in an h o u r. Next
m orning it was bright an d sunny, and after
stops at A capulco and M azatlan, 4141B
arrived
“ h o m e”
at
C ondom inios
Jacquelynn, K ino Bay, to rest u p before
crossing into the U .S .A . th e next day.
F or readers contem plating a sim ilar trip,
here are som e conclusions we drew . It was
an absolutely fabulous trip-best u n d er­
tak en in th e com pany o f one o r m ore
planes o f sim ilar capabilities, during the
dry season N ovem ber th ro u g h A pril,
m orning flying w here possible. W e
encountered n othing b u t politeness and
helpfulness at all stops. It is not necessary
to speak good Spanish; a few w ords are
helpful. It is good to know piso is
runw ay; th e m eanings o f baso and fin a l
can easily be guessed. A little know ledge
helps to u n d erstan d w hat o th er Spanish
speaking pilots are saying on th e radio.
A ny one o f the C entral A m erican stops
could be an entire v acation. A week
exploring A titlan and A n tigua w ould have
been great, o r a week in th e Flores-Tikal
area to o . O n a n o th er trip we w ould like to
m ake P an a m a o u r head q uarters and in
ad d ition to visiting the San Bias Islands,
visit th e resort island at C o n to d o ra, 35
miles south in th e Pacific and Isla G rande
R esort o n th e A tlantic side. These are
snorkeling an d scuba diving paradises.
F rom C o sta Rica o u t, we w ould like to
have spent som e tim e visiting th e resorts
on the G u an aco sta C o ast. R eaders w ho
w ould like m ore detailed info rm ation on
hotels, frequencies, etc., please d ro p me a
line.
Public Laundry at Solala showing babies carried on w om en’s
backs.
4Q
Woman and
Machine
M aryland 99s visit the
Sm ithsonian In stitu tion ’s
R estoration Center
Getting it all together . . . .
East African Section’s Barbara McLellan
is the new owner o f a 1963 Cessna 182, 5HKSJ, a T anzanian registration. The engine
o f her Cessna 180 is still in Kenya, but the
rest is in Tanzania along with scores o f
other Kenya registered light aircraft and ve­
hicles seized by the T anzanian G overnm ent
when they closed their border to Kenya in
February.
Minnesota’s Peggy Johnstone is helping
son Bruce build an A ero Super S port, an
open cockpit 180 h.p. fully aerobatic bi­
plane. They started in N ovem ber o f 1976
and hope to be finished in 1978. T he family
has also recently purchased a Rockwell
C om m ander and
Bruce,
Peggy and
husband Dick are now checked o u t and
ready to use the plane for business as well
as pleasure.
MiniTour
of
Silver
Hill
At top o f photo is the first sailplane to fly 1000
miles nonstop, the V-tailed Arlington SISU A -l
which did it in 1963. Below are a Piper J-3 and a
1928 Curtiss Robin, “ Ole M is” , Must have been in­
teresting flying Ole Mis, for the valves needed greas­
ing so often that it sometimes had to be done in
flight.
Long Island 99, Ronni Minnig, and hus­
band, George, are building a Steen Skybolt
in their garage. Most o f the fuselage is
assembled and welded. T ake o ff date is
proposed within tw o years!
A Bird in the PPD?
Arizona has ten entries in the Pow der
P u ff D erby Com m em orative event. Nine o f
those entries will be m ore o r less conven­
tional airplanes o f o u r times, but Phoenix’s
Charter Member MELBA BEARD, leather
helm et, scarf and all, will be flying her
prize-winning, open cockpit, 1928 Bird.
(T h at’s right. It’s not a W aco o r Taylorcraft o r Cessna — it’s a Bird.) A licensed
A irplane and Pow erplant M echanic (A&P),
M elba m aintains the beautiful red biplane
and its W orld W ar II 125-horsepower
Kinner engine herself. T he Bird originally
was powered by a w ater-cooled 90-horse­
power OX-5 engine. L ook, adm ire, ask
questions, and take pictures o f this unusual
and outstanding lady with the twinkling
blue eyes and pleasant smile with her Bird,
but K EEP YOUR FIN G E R P R IN T S ON
YOUR H A N D S — N O T O N T H E BIRD!
New Acquisitions
New P IP E R owners are: Susan Stewart,
Hampton Roads Chapter, an A rrow ; Jo
Ann Dugger, Inland California, a C herokee
180; and Charlotte Peters, Kansas, a
Com anche.
Ninety-Nines latching on to Cessnas re­
cently are: Dorothy Dickerhoof, Kansas,
part ow ner o f a Cessna 175; Virginia York,
Tulsa, a Cessna 150; and Marty P ool, Cen­
tral Pennsylvania, a Cessna 170.
Kansas 99 Lee Kensett and her husband
Jim have sold their 1946 E rcoupe and have
purchased a 1965 A lon A ircoupe, while N.
Georgia’s Carolyn Baker and 49'/2er W inn
will be flitting around in their newest addi­
tion, a tw o place P itts.
by June Hanson
H ave you ever h eard o f a Crosley Flea,
a Langley A ero d ro m e, o r a C urtis
Headless? T he place to go to see all these
an d m any, m any m ore aircraft is th e Silver
H ill M useum , th e storage an d restoration
division o f T h e Sm ithsonian Institu tio n
located n ear A ndrew s A ir F orce Base in
W ashington, D .C .
R ecently opened fo r free public to u rs,
th e tw enty-eight acre facility contains
nearly
tw o
h u n d red
aircraft.
In
tw enty five w arehouse-type buildings, they
are being sto red , resto red , o r displayed.
M any fam iliar and som e seldom-seen
aircraft are preserved at Silver H ill tem p ­
orarily w aiting to be sent to th e large
m odern N atio n al A ir an d Space M useum
o n th e M all in dow ntow n W ashington.
M ost o f th e exhibits at N ASM will be
changed periodically to enable th e public
to view m ore o f th e com plete collection o f
265 aircraft. Som e are o n loan to m useum s
in o th er cities.
A staff o f twenty-eight talented and ded­
icated craftsm en w ork w ith w ood, m etal,
fabric, p ain t, a n d w hatever is needed to re­
tu rn old o r dam aged aircraft o f m any
types an d eras to original co n d itio n . They
spend th o u san d s o f m an-h o u rs o n a single
resto ratio n jo b averaging a b o u t fo u r com ­
pletions annually.
N early every resto ratio n jo b presents its
ow n particu lar challenge to th eir skills. It
is estim ated th a t 5500 m an h o urs will be
required to com pletely restore a post
W orld W ar I A lbatross now 16% done.
P lyw ood used in th e fram ing h ad to be
purchased from Sweden to m atch the
original m aterial fo r it was in metric
m easurem ents. T he cam ouflage covering
was n o t painted on th e fabric — it was
prin ted in th e m aterial. T hey found a
m a n u factu rer in P ennsylvania w ho is able
to rep ro d u ce the design as the fabric is
m ade.
Free to u rs guided by well inform ed
volunteers are available at 10 a.m . and 2
p .m . o n W ednesdays, S atu rdays, and
Sundays b u t m ust be arran g ed tw o weeks
in advance. N o children u n d er age 10 are
adm itted.
T o schedule a to u r fo r your group con­
tact E ducation Specialist N ancy M urphy at
(202) 381-4056, 4057, o r 4058 or write to
her at T he N ational A ir and Space
M useum , T h e S m ithsonian Institution,
W ashington, D C 20560. T hey will make
every effort to provide the tours at the
scheduled tim e and, unless your group is
notified otherwise, the to u r will begin
prom ptly.
M ore volunteer guides are needed so, if
you live in th e area an d w ould be
interested in d o n atin g som e o f your time,
co n tac t Ms. M urphy.
T he accom panying p h o to shows only a
few o f th e m any interesting aircraft at Sil­
ver H ill M useum . . . . why n ot com e see
them all?
99 ACTIVITIES A D D TO
St. Louis Celebration
50th Anniversary of
Lindbergh’s Flight to Paris
by Jan Pocock
As the E A A replica o f NX211 m ade
many touch and go’s at Spirit o f St. Louis
A irport, your reporter fairly drooled for a
ride in the brand new version o f the old
pond-leaping aircraft! Even though I was
unable to ride in the “ Spirit” , there was
satisfaction in the fact th at o u r “ trafficcopter” reporter, Sue Matheis did have a
ride and reported — live — on KM OX
radio, the sensation o f flying such an
antique m achine. Sue marvelled even m ore
at the accom plishm ent o f one C harles L ind­
bergh for having crossed the mighty A tlan­
tic in such a machine! It seems incredible,
with the highly sophisticated equipm ent we
have today, th at such a flight could have
been accom plished, let alone even been
thought of, under those conditions.
St. Louis, having sponsored C ol. Lind­
bergh on his “ d aring" flight was justifiably
interested in m arking the 50th A nniversary
o f the occasion with a weekend o f festivities
rivaled only by last year’s Bicentennial 4th
celebration. N aturally, o u r chapter w anted
to be involved in a tribute, not only to the
m an, but to women in aviation. W hile Sue
was honored by riding in the gigantic
parade with a traffic helicopter, the rest o f
our chapter (those w ho d id n ’t w atch the
parade) gathered at the Plaza-Frontenac
Shopping Center to show o ff o ur female
contributions to aviation. T he display was a
super success, generating considerable inter­
est am ong the shoppers w andering through
the mall.
C harter St. Louis m em ber, Adela Scharr,
donned her A ir Force uniform to help dis­
play m em orabilia from her days in the
W A SPS, and m anaged to collect hundreds
o f signatures on her petition to help the
U .S. Congress decide to correct the military
status o f o u r women w ho flew the ferry
com m and during th e “ big w a h ” . N ary a
soul said, “ N o, I w on’t sign because I d o n ’t
think it’s right!” M eanwhile, Martha Nor­
man dem onstrated a table-top m odel flight
sim ulator for instrum ent training to all w ho
were brave enough to try it o u t. Dottle
Haupt was in charge o f the hot air! Having
been checked ou t on the proper use o f a
helium tank for blowing u p balloons, she
was stuck with th a t jo b m ost o f th e day.
T he kids in the shopping center very h ap ­
pily carried o ur message o f “ 99-W om en
P ilots” to all corners o f the mall, as well as
hom e with them . (W onder w ho got the jo b
o f picking some o f them o ff the high
ceilings?)
M em bers in o u r new sky blue uniform s
circulated to- answ er questions about the
Virginia Kunkle and Gloria Cash obviously enjoy looking
through STL scrap book.
several bulletin boards covered with pictures
and articles ab o u t women pilots, tables dis­
playing
trophies,
scrapbooks,
and
brochures about the 99s, and the overall
effect was just super. Even TV C hannel 2
thought so, as they stopped by to chat with
C hairm an Nelda Lee and Del Scharr.
A huge thanks has to go to o ur brand
new m em ber, “ Stevie” Lipnick, for her
publicity contacts with the departm ent
stores th at helped m ake it all possible.
O n Saturday night, an enorm ous banquet
was held in o u r new St. Louis convention
center, in L indy’s ho n o r, attended by
Nelda, Val Johnson, Mary Lowe, Irene
Rawlings, and Loretta Slavick who were de­
lighted to see Lois and Bob Feigenbaum
am ong the guests. M ain decoration for the
event was good o ld /n ew NX211, in all her
glory.
The grand finale on Sunday was an Air
Show, featuring everything from the “ Spirit
o f St. Louis” to St. L ouis’s newest and
greatest aircraft, the M cDonnell-D ouglas F15 Eagle. A fantastic weekend in tribute to
o u r favorite hero was topped o ff by a gi­
gantic firework display on the river in front
o f o u r mighty arch.
It was all so delightful we’ve decided to
do it again — in another 50 years!
Adela Scharr and STL Chairman, Nelda Lee show o ff their
Salute to Lindbergh poster and their W A SP and Chapter
uniforms.
CHAPTER
PERSONALITIES
Ruth Stafford . . . .
“Have shots & passports,
.. . . will travel. ”
A T P rated Ruth Stafford, had her first
T ransatlantic “ apprentice flight” in 1973,
flying a C essna 206 with her h u sb an d ,
Sheldon, as her tu to r. Since then R uth has
crossed the A tlantic solo three times: in a
C essna 210 direct from N ew foundland to
S hannon, Ireland; in a Beech S undow ner,
using the “ N o rth ro u te ”
L ab rad o r,
G reenland, Iceland, Ireland; and last in a
C essna 182 from G ander to A zores Islands
then N orthw est A frica.
These have all been ferry flights o f new
aircraft out-fitted with additio n al fuel
tan k s in the cockpit allowing 15 to 17
hours d u ration. D estinations have been
P aris, N airobi, K enya, East A frica and
Johannesburg, South A frica.
R uth has m et 99s and m em bers o f their
families in the S udan, A ngola an d South
A frica and notes th at they have always
gone o u t o f their way to extend
hospitality.
D ue to the increased political instability
in A frica, R uth did not have a flight from
N ovem ber 1974 until this spring. W hile she
was confident she could h andle any
situation, her husband was n o t so certain.
Sheldon continued to fly weekly into
A frica, and R uth says having been to all
his rou te stops herself helped her envision
his trips and u n derstan d w hen he had
unpredicted delays. It also m ade th e days
left at hom e easier.
H er own internation al flight activities
have been increasing this spring. She
recently took a Beech S port to A lgiers by
way o f the Azores and delivered a Bonanza
to the Paris A ir Show last m onth.
R uth and Sheldon w ould like to secure a
position as C aptain and First O fficer o n a
corp o rate jet operating on an Intern atio n al
basis. They say they “ have shots and
passports, will trav el)” If you know
anyone needing such a qualified crew , put
them in touch.
R u th ’s retirem ent dream is to o u tfit a
Beech B aron w ith extra fuel, an d then fly
her grandchildren (5 boys an d 1 girl)
aro u n d the w orld, tw o at a time! She says,
“ Y ou can do anything you set your m ind
to d o ,” so it’s only a m atter o f tim e (and
m oney) before this dream will becom e an
eventuality.
June Rodd
K itty Hawk Chapter
Kate M acario . . . .
A very special
Ninety-Nine
A t th e M iddle E ast Sectional, A pril 30M ay 1, a special h o n o r was aw arded to
Kate Macario from th e Eastern Pennsyl­
vania Chapter.
The docu m en tary read as follows: “ T o ­
day we are hon o rin g som eone w ho has
been a m em ber o f th e 99s since 1955 (some
22 years). She soloed at th e New H anover
A irp o rt in 1944 an d received her private
pilots license at B arrin g to n , New Jersey
A irp o rt in 1947.
She has held m any offices: E astern
Pennsylvania C h ap ter C h airm an 1957-1959
and again from 1971 to 1973. She served
as the M iddle E ast Section G o v ern o r from
1966-1968; Vice G o v ern o r 1962-1963;
Secretary 1961-1962 an d T reasurer 19651966.
F or 20 years she has w orked o n Pennya-p o u n d an d was chairm an o f th e event
from 1966 to 1977. She was the 99 N EW S
rep o rter fo r 6 years - 1959-1962 and 19661969, an d C h ap ter M em bership C hairm an
fo r 4 years from 1973-1977.
In 1975 she established an d organized
th e D elaw are C h ap ter, ch artered 4-10-76.
Since
1959
she
has
atten d ed
6
In tern atio n al C onventions, serving as
C h airm an o f th e 1960 convention in
W ilm ington and delegate to others. In
“Let it begin with me'
Ju n e R odd o f H avelock, N C is a charter
m em ber o f the Kitty Hawk Chapter 99s
an d o f th e P ettico at P ilots. She has
distinguished herself in m any pursuits.
B orn in H ollyw ood, C alifornia, her
credits
include
actress,
swimmer,
horsew om an, professional p hotographer,
in stru cto r, business w om an, m ilitary wife
and m o th er, local political party officer
and delegate, Sunday school teacher and
com m ercial pilot.
H er husband, Dick R odd, is the fixed
base o p erato r o f the M orehead-B eaufort
A irp o rt. Ju n e soloed o n July 5, 1964, and
now co u n ts nearly 900 h ours flight time.
Piloting a C herokee 180, she has done
everything from local sight-seeing and
p h o to flights to assisting her husband in
fish sp o tting . Flying patro l from Cape
H atteras to W ilm ington, N C they aided
fisherm en
below
in
locating
and
identifying schools o f fish.
Always eager for new adventures, June,
like Jo n a th a n L ivingston Seagull, aspires
to higher things with her personal
philosophy— “ Let this begin to be a better
place, and let it begin w ith m e .”
1976 she w orked o n th e P ow der P u ff
D erby,
cu lm unating
8
years
of
responsibilities w hich included publicity,
im pound, inspection an d in 1976 was cochairm an o f th e term inus at W ilm ington.
K ate m et h u sb an d T o m in 1943, while
he was also learning to fly, and they married
in 1950. Flying slowed down due to six
pregnancies (one was tw ins). D uring this
tim e she an d T o m b o u g h t dam aged
a irc ra ft, rebuilt th em , flew them briefly
an d sold them an d started all over again.
Som e o f th e planes included: J-3 C ub,
E rco u p e, A ero n ca, C essna 140, Stinson
V oyager, tw o L uscom bes and a 1959
C essna 150 w hich they still have. They also
restored a P itcarin M ailwing and a Ryan
P T 2 2 .T h e cu rren t p roject is a Starduster
II.
T h ree o f fo u r sons have comm ercial
m ulti-engine an d instrum ent ratings and
tw o fly fo r a living. T he 16 year old just
soloed. K ate has three d aughters w ho do
no t fly. T w o are teachers an d the other is
w orking her way thro u g h college. Tom
flies a L ear 35 fo r U nited Engineers and
C o n stru cto rs.
K ate an d
fam ily have attended
E xperim ental
A ircraft
Association
conventions in O shkosh for the past seven
years. Twice K ate flew the 150 out and
back. As you can see K ate’s life is
dedicated to th e 99s and th e w orld o f
flying in m any respects. This is why we are
hon o rin g her today.
Kate M acario, we present you with this
bronze A m elia E arh eart m edal.“ H appy
Flying!”
Heralding our Organizations Headliners
Ninety Nines in the News
AUSTRALIAN
Nancy-Bird W alton, O .B .E . was recent­
ly advised by the G eneral M anager o f the
Royal A ero C lub o f New S outh W ales th at
she has been elected to H o n o rary Life
M em bership in the C lub. W ith th e h o n o r
and a Life Key-ring badge, go a p air o f
Life M em bership G old W ings which Nancy
will soon be wearing.
EAST C A N A D A
C o n gratulatio ns to Lenora Shaw o f First
Canadian w ho recently becam e the first
girl to successfully com plete th e three-year
A viation Flight T raining C ourse at Seneca
College, T o ro n to . She g raduated w ith a
multi-engine instrum ent rating and is p la n ­
ning on attending th e three-m onth in stru c­
tor course offered at Seneca.
Eastern Ontario 99s help with
Radio Programme
by Felicity McKendry
W hen a phone call cam e early in M ay
from the C B C T o ro n to R adio p ro g ram ­
ming dep artm en t, this reporter was m ost
happy to refer Vicki G aberaux to Dorothy
Renwick, o u r historian for details o f pio­
neer w om en in C anadian aviation. The
program m e was aired M ay 13, 1977 fea­
turing interviews w ith a T o ro n to traffic
helicopter pilot; with 99s Louise Jenkins
and Roseila Bjarnson, the first C anadian
female to be hired by a scheduled airline;
and with M ajo r W endy Clay, th e only fe­
male w ho has achieved ‘w ings’ stan d ard in
the C anadian arm ed forces.
M IDDLE EAST
The FA A recently appoin ted Alice
Fuchs, Central Pennsylvania Chapter, as a
designated pilot exam iner to give flight
tests for FA A Private and C om m ercial
C ertificates. Alice also ju st retu rn ed from
a trip where, as a P iper representative, she
spoke at a series o f FA A m ulti-engine
safety clinics in Long Beach, S acram ento,
Las Vegas and Seattle.
M any o f you saw th e p icture, carried in
A P N ew spapers, show ing R uth presenting
A nne M orrow L indbergh w ith an A m elia
E a rh art m edal at the New Y ork com m em ­
o rative d inner held o n M ay 20th. This
m arked only th e second tim e in nearly 40
years
th at
L in d b erg h ’s w idow
has
a p p eared at a public function.
99s Honored by Long Island University
O n A pril 30, the School o f Business A d ­
m in istratio n o f C .W . P o st C enter o f L ong
Island U niversity had an A w ards B anquet
h o n o rin g the 50th A nniversary o f L ind­
b erg h ’s Flight. T he b an q u et paid trib u te to
great A m ericans w ho m erit distinction for
notable achievem ent to the N atio n an d the
A viation Industry durin g th e p ast fifty
years. O f the sixteen aw ard recipients, four
were w omen and three o f these were 99s.
T he three 99s listed am ong th e distin­
guished recipients were: Ruth Dobrescu,
form er N Y-N J Section G o vernor; Jean
Ross Howard, cited for A ir Rescue L ead­
ership an d as A ssociate E d ito r o f A ero­
space Magazine; and Nancy Hopkins Tier,
cited fo r her early aviation accom plish­
m ents an d for her fiftieth year o f co n tin ­
uous flight.
SOUTH CENTRAL
M any South C en tral 99s have been re­
ceiving recognition for th eir non-aviation
pursuits. Saundra Stienmier, El Paso
Chapter, was installed as the president o f
the N ational Society o f A rts an d L etters.
S au n d ra teaches a rt to psychiatric p atients
at W illiam B eaum ont A rm y M edical
C enter.
Marilyn
C opeland,
Kansas
Chapter, has been installed as Vice P resi­
d ent o f the W o m en ’s A uxiliary to the
A m erican D ental A ssociation.
Shreveport Chairman, Amy Pilkinton,
has been nam ed an A ccident P revention
C o u n selo r by th e New O rleans G A D O .
A m y has also w ritten an d planned the
p ro g ram fo r a day-long sem inar dedicated
to giving Biennial Flight Reviews.
SO U TH EAST
NEW YORK — NEW JERSEY
Ruth Dobrescu, past N Y -N J Section
G overnor and Long Island 99, was very
active in the festivities celebrating th e 50th
A nniversary o f C harles L indberg h ’s Flight.
She was the guest speaker at the dedication
o f a m ural placed in the P ro testan t C hapel
at JFK A irport. The m ural, by M ichael
Carey, depicts th e history o f flight, which
was the topic o f R u th ’s talk.
J U L Y -A U G U S T
1Q77
M em phis sports three A ccident P reven­
tion C ounselors now w ith th e ad d itio n o f
Jana Norrell to this special grou p . Mem­
phis Chapter’s o th e r A P C s are S outheast
G o v ern o r Virginia Proctor a n d D ot W il­
son.
Blue Ridge’s Star Pilot
Carolyn Pilaar is Blue Ridge Chapter’s
star pilot. She has received a lot o f a tte n ­
tio n recently due to several occurrences.
F irst, she was nam ed the Flight Instructorof-the-Y ear an d also w on the S tate Spot
L anding
C o n test.
R ecently,
because
C arolyn was the first w om an ever to reach
th e finals in th e co m petition fo r the US
Precision Flight T eam , the Greenville
News ran a feature story o n her titled “ P i­
lot Breaks Sex B arrier” . C arolyn holds
com m ercial an d helicopter ratings an d is
an in stru cto r at G reenville Technical
College.
F o u r m em bers o f the Blue Ridge chap­
ter, Lee Orr, D ot Penney, Hilda Goley
and Carol Gerwig were highlighted in their
hom etow n new spaper The SpartanburgHerald Journal. The full page article was
entitled, “ W om en Pilots are N inetyN ines” .
Lee Orr flew news rep o rter, L inda H em ­
bree, on a short ja u n t, while Dot Penney
told her a b o u t the N inety-N ines O rganiza­
tio n and o f Lee an d D o t’s plans to p arti­
cipate in the P ow der P u ff C om m em orative
Flight in July.
Fran Sargent, Florida Goldcoast, was
honored by being chosen th e new Presi­
dent-Elect fo r the U niversity A viation
A ssoc. She attend ed the N1FA meet in
O kla. recently with som e o f her students
from M iam i-D ade C om m unity College.
Ex-W A SPs Katie Strehle, Fran Sargent,
Ann Ross an d Ruth Fleisher have ap pear­
ed on TV and in news articles lately to
request backing fo r th e W A S P e ffo rt to
gain recognition for th eir w ar tim e service.
SOUTHW EST
Melba Beard Presides at
OX-5 Dinner
C h arter m em ber Melba Beard, president
o f the A rizona W ing o f O X-5 A viation
Pioneers, presided at the 20th annual
m eeting o f th e gro u p at d inner in the
D esert Hills M otel, in P hoenix, o n May
22. T he m eeting com m em orated the 50th
A nniversary o f C harles A . L in d b ergh’s
tran s-A tlan tic flight. Bill M unroe, o f T uc­
son, show ed a 12-m inute film o r newsreel
clips o f L in d b erg h ’s ta k e o ff from New
Y ork and his landing in LeBourget A irport
in P aris, as well as his triu m p h al retu rn to
th e U nited States. P ete Berry, an air tra f­
fic co ntroller from Prestw ick, Scotland,
shared his beau tifu l slides o f restored air­
craft in m useum s in L on d o n ; an d Ruby
Sheldon and Mary Louise Brown discussed
th eir A rctic adventures.
23
Ninety-Nines
PROJECTS
A c o m p ila tio n o f th e th o u sa n d a n d o n e things
N in e ty -N in e s
do
to
f u r th e r
a v ia tio n
and
a v ia tio n sa fe ty .
MIDDLE EAST
Middle East Chapters
Complete Airmarkings
R ostraver A irport (R ostraver, PA ) is now
easily identifiable from the air. Eight m em ­
bers o f the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter
spent Saturday, May 21 painting the nam e
on the apron and sprucing u p the compass
rose.
The ram p at Franklin (Virginia) M unici­
pal A irport is sporting its nam e in bright
new letters painted by Hampton Roads
Chapter members. H ero o f the day was
Dick Stew art, 49'/2er o f A irm arking C hair­
man Sue Stewart, who drove from New­
port, R .I. to help us. He was even heard to
exclaim at the end o f the day, “ Gee, this
was fu n !”
NEW YORK — NEW JERSEY
The Western New York Chapter hosted a
booth at the A m herst O ld C olony
M useum ’s celebration o f L indbergh’s Day
on M ay 21st.
had to be opened, the mixing pole was in
business again. Despite the 90-degree
weather, the jo b did get done and looked
mighty good from the air!
As a special treat, one o f the local “ b arn ­
storm ers” pu t on a good show in his Stear­
m an, and gave some o f the gals their first
ride in an open cockpit.
Michigan Chapter Donates
Propeller
to Amelia Earhart Middle School
Michigan Chapter m em bers were able to
attend the Propeller D edication Cerem ony
at the Amelia E arhart M iddle School, De­
troit, M ichigan on A pril 30th. Special
thanks go to C h arter M em ber, Mary Von
Mach for her generous contribution tow ard
this project, a perm anent m em orial to A .E .
from the Michigan 99s. M ichigan C hapter
members Julie Clark, Loma May and
C hairm an Lois Broyles contributed presen­
tations and rem arks as part o f the Program
o f D edication.
Minnesotans Involved in Air Education
Linda Haedge and Joan Sommerfeld
gave a short Pinch-hitters G round School
for the wives o f the controllers at M innea­
polis C enter in Farm ington, M ay 17.
Kay Nagel presented tw o Project PA PA
seminars to the fifth an d sixth grades at
Park Elem entary School in Bloom ington
this past school year. T he course covered
basics
of
aerodynam ics,
navigation
instrum ents, safety for both pilot and pas­
senger, with the em phasis on passenger re­
sponsibility as well as career opportunities.
The groups visited an airport control tower
and took part in a preflight walk around.
Unusual Application o f Aviation to
Education by Minnesota 99
Sally W oodbum , who teaches music to
prim ary students, uses the sounds o f avia­
tion to teach the children to feel rhythm , to
learn to listen an d feel th e progression of
events in th e sounds o f th e ta k e o f f o f an
aircraft. She encourages them to im itate the
sounds they hear. Jan Porter is using the
basics o f aviation to help w ith her junior
high science classes.
NORTH CENTRAL
NORTHW EST
Paint to Spare
The Greater Kansas City Chapter is shar­
ing paint with the Indiana C hapter. They
would be happy to share with other chap­
ters after having acquired an am ple supply
from O klahom a City.
Columbia Cascade 99s
Busy with Multiple Projects
Columbia Cascade Chapter has adopted
a new form at with o u r Pinch H itter classes
by using o u r m em bers in different phases of
the instruction. This year we also had two
airplanes, a low wing Beechcraft Sun­
dow ner and a C essna H aw k X P for instru­
ment fam iliarization and explanation o f the
parts o f the plane and their functions. We
hold o u r classes for tw o evenings, three
hours each. T his was o u r third year for the
Pinch H itter and we have had an excellent
tu rn o u t and m uch enthusiasm .
North Central Chapters
Participate in Airmarkings
Indiana Dunes Chapter painted the
words L A PO R T E ato p the m ain building
at the L aPorte, IN M unicipal A irport in
June.
May 22nd found the Lake Erie Chapter
out in full force for the first airm arking o f
the season. G R E E N V IL L E airp o rt was a
good long nam e to begin with. P aint (as
usual) was thick and lum py, b u t the good
old cake-mixing technique helped to elimi­
nate these. W hen a second drum o f paint
Eyeglasses for Honduras
Michigan 99s Sammy McKay and Winnie
DuPerow flew Sam m y’s 210 to G u lf P o rt,
MS with a plane-load o f used eye-glasses
from a Flint eye specialist, D r. B arbour.
F rom G u lf P o rt, the glasses continued by
b anana boat to H o nd u ras where the d o n a­
tion will be distributed to the needy living
in th e back country.
Columbia Cascade 99s have been asked
by the local Red Cross to m ake blood pick­
ups for them in the cities aro u nd Oregon
and parts o f W ashington. O n A pril 2nd
Pegge Blinco and Mary Wohlgemuth flew
to A shland, O regon to pick up five boxes
o f blood and later on the same day
Dorothy Mercer and Mary Ann Moberly
flew to Ashland and picked up the
remainder o f the blood that had been
drawn that day. O n A pril 25, Mary Ann
Moberly and Madelyn Heesacker flew to
Roseburg, Oregon for blood and Pegge
Blinco and Mary Wohlgemuth m ade the
flight the next day. W eather perm itting, we
hope to do this many times this sum m er for
the Red Cross. They are very pleased and
enthusiastic with our assistance.
Recently completed was a m ini-aviation
ground school class at one o f the local
schools. Sixteen 7th and 8th grade boys
completed eight sessions taught by Dorothy
Mercer, Pegge Blinco, Billie Dutcher, and
Gayl Caramella. Topics covered included:
basic aero-dynamics, plane control, chart
orientation, weather, instrum ents, regula­
tions, careers and airplane-type classifica­
tions. Each boy was presented a certificate
o f completion designed by 49'Aer Stan
Blinco.
Mt. Tahoma 99s Run H ot-D og Stand
During the last weekend in A pril, the Mt.
Tahoma Chapter sold hot dogs and soft
drinks at A ir G em ini’s O pen H ouse at
Tacom a Industrial A irport. W e were glad
to see a few visiting 99s from the Rainier
Chapter as well as meeting several prospec­
tive members.
SOUTH CENTRAL
Albuquerque 99s Host Safety Seminar
The Albuquerque 99s, in conjunction
with FA A , conducted a very successful
safety sem inar on M ay 11. A pproxim ately
one hundred seventy-five pilots attended the
seminar conducted by C liff Sheker, FAA
Accident Prevention Specialist at O klahom a
City G A D O .
Albuquerque Chapter will be co ntribu­
ting to G eneral A viation M onth in New
Mexico in June by conducting an intensive
membership drive.
New officers for the Albuquerque Chap­
ter are: Roz Kinlen, C hairm an; Rita Elliott,
Vice C hairm an; Jerry Warrick, Secretary;
B. J. Slawson, Treasurer.
Golden Triangle Combines Work & Play
EAA sponsors an annual air show at
G rand Prairie A irport and Golden Triangle
99s participated this year by helping with
the concessions. W ith typical sum m er
weather the attendance and air show were
terrific.
Golden Triangle was asked to return to
Palestine, Texas this m onth to airm ark a
private heliport. They were invited to come
down on a Sunday afternoon to attend a
lake party by the gentlem an w ho ow ns the
heliport, rem ain overnight and airm ark
early M onday m orning. This particular East
Texas tow n abounds with gracious hospital­
ity and we take pride in their calling upon
our chapter.
Kansas Chapter Busy with Airmarkings
Kansas Chapter has recently completed
three airm arkings. Lucky recipients o f their
efforts were the airports at H arp er and
N eodesha, Kansas and R aw don Field in
W ichita.
Patio Breakfast honors Lindbergh
Nebraska 99, Paulie Perry, hosted a
P atio B reakfast at her hom e on M ay 21 to
com m em orate L indbergh’s landing in Paris.
SOUTHEAST
Humor gets the point across
The ‘G oldcoast Players’ consisting o f
Florida Goldcoast Chapter m em bers Lois
Eig, Marion Keys, and Kay Albury present­
ed their clever flying safety skit to a meeting
o f The F lorida A ir Pilots recently. Their
‘Flight to F reep o rt’ skit done in costum e
depicts problem s that result from im proper
pre-flight procedure, and is a scream!
SOUTHW EST
22 OK 99s
Assist with NIFA Events
Stillwater M unicipal A irport and the
Oklahoma Chapter has, by now , recovered
from th e exciting and dem anding N IFA
meet. T here were 24-25 colleges and univer­
sities participating in this 3-day m eet. Serv­
ing
as check pilots for the navigation
event, spotters for other events and maintainers o f the P o p and H ot D og stand were:
Pat Boyd, Dot Clum, Gwen Crawford,
Betty Jo Hammer, Nancy Roberts, Marge
Hudson, Ann Catlin, Dana Gibson, Nancy
Smith, Jan Million, Rita Eaves, Poochie
Ratzinger, Marilyn Ratzlaff, Norene Lapsley, Leslie Graham, Carla Steinert, Kendall
Wynn, Nema Masonhall, Delores Pasierb,
Bobby Andrews and Arlene Walkup. Also,
Ensign Sue Mason, am ong the first civilian
women Navy pilots, flew in from P ensa­
cola, FL in a T-28, which looks like a
slightly pudgy-overgrown AT-6 o r SN J-3.
Sue had participated in the N IFA in years
past, both as a contestant and advisor for
O klahom a State U niversity’s Flying Aggies.
In addition to Oklahoma Chapter, Hazel
Jones, International T reasurer, was a Judge
as was Joyce Case, Kansas Chapter. Jerry
Melton, SCS G overnor, presented the T op
W om an Pilot A ward. Linda Hooker, Vice
G overnor, SCS, served as A ss’t. Judge and
Sue Horstman, Kansas, and Amy Pilkinton, Shreveport, as check pilots and spot­
ters. Polly Gilkinson, Chicago Area 99 gave
the P o p and H og D og stand-ers a welcome
hand. T hanks, Polly, and to all th at came.
San Antonio 99s attend Rain Check
M any o f the m em bers o f the San An­
tonio Chapter have been attending “ O pera­
tion R ain C heck” conducted by FA A T ra f­
fic C ontrollers, Flight Service S tation, and
A ccident Prevention Office.
Shreveport assists
with Military Fly-in
Shreveport Chapter served as the registra­
tion com m ittee and spot landing judges for
the big military fly-in sponsored by Barks­
dale A ir Force Base. Helen Wray briefed
them on 99 activities by presenting one o f
her now fam ous slide presentations.
W e also spent tw o days painting large
yellow X ’s on a newly closed runw ay at
D ow ntow n A irport.
Tulsa 99s busy Airmarking
Several hard w orking Tulsa mem bers,
49'/2ers and children airm arked Cleveland
A irport in May. They went on to do O k ­
mulgee A irport in June.
Small Chapter, Big Accomplishments
Imperial So-Lo Chapter airm arked the
Brawley A irport on the hottest day we’ve
had this year. T here were many sunburned
people as we finished on the second day.
T here was a lot o f interest from the avia­
tion com m unity, and lots o f volunteer help.
Imperial So-Lo 99s also conducted the
A pril FA A A ccident Safety Clinic. The
them e was W inds. Bobbi Bemis discussed
cross wind landings on the runw ay and
showed a movie. Mari Hurley presented her
own slide tape presentation on “ M ountain
W aves” . Bob P orter, aerobatic instructor,
discussed getting out o f unusual attitudes
and “ The Joy o f Soaring” was shown.
Because o f good advance publicity, there
was a huge tu rn o u t. W e’re proud o f our
little club o f 10 mem bers.
FAA CFI Revalidation Clinic
Los Angeles
September 27, 28, 29
The Los Angeles Chapter is spon­
soring its 10th FA A Flight Instructor
Revalidation Clinic this Septem ber.
The clinic will be held at the A irport
M arina H otel an d the $50 fee in­
cludes m aterials and lunch. F or infor­
m ation and registration, contact
Georgia L am bert, 1625 D urango
Ave, LA, CA 90035 (213) 556-1531
o r Jean G room s, 3613 Inglewood
Blvd. LA, CA 90066 (213) 397-1727.
Count One Airport Saved
Remem ber the flap over expansion o f the
Scottsdale A irport? Local residents were
fighting to halt the plans for extending the
runway and to restrict operations o f large
aircraft from the airport. Phoenix NinetyNines and others in the aviation com m unity
countered the argum ents o f the airport op­
ponents and T H E E X PA N SIO N HAS
BEEN A P P R O V E D ! W e are elated, but we
know that we can ’t lower o u r guard. This is
only one o f many airports throughout the
country that are under attack. H ow can we
reach the public BEFO RE they build homes
under the airport pattern?
A PT (Authoritative People Talking)
Seminars Well-Received
Phoenix Chapter’s new A P T (A uthorita­
tive People Talking) sem inars, planned and
produced by Caroline Reibert, have been
well received. The idea is to upgrade our
knowledge o f aviation m atters in lecturequestions-discussion sessions with experts in
various phases o f aviation. So far, A & P
Continued on Page 26
More
Ninety-Nines
P ro jects
June Bonesteel has given us facts about
what the airplane ow ner can do tow ard
m aintaining his own aircraft, and she
stressed the im portance o f thorough and
regular m aintenance by qualified personnel;
recently retired A ir T raffic C ontroller Mike
H unter has refreshed us on where to find
and how to use controlled airspace; and
CFII Ruby Sheldon has educated and enter­
tained us with inform ation on basic pilot
techniques. Reaction from the audience has
been, “ L et’s have m ore!” W eather and
com m unications are tw o topics they want
to discuss, so, C aroline, back to the draw ­
ing board. W e’re looking forw ard to m ore
(not necessarily better) sessions next fall.
SVC Member Helps 99s
with Legislation Involvement
We all need encouragem ent to do what
we know is necessary for the advancem ent
o f general aviation. Doris Loftsgaard o f
Sacramento Valley Chapter brings her type­
w riter to the chapter meetings and types
letters for anyone w ho w ants to write to
their legislators. This is a good start tow ard
active legislation involvement.
SVC will be displaying som e o f the items
o f the newly acquired A E m em orabilia
collection at the Merced A ir Show on Sat­
urday, June 4th.
THANK YOU
from
99 HEADQUARTERS
W e are engaged in several projects
at 99 H eadquarters in O klahom a
City. Landscaping is underw ay and
plans are being form ed to have an
appropriate sign (one th at you can
see before you get out o f the car) for
the building.
We want to thank Dallas Redbird
Chapter for their $100 contribution
tow ard the sign. South Louisiana
Chapter has also recently sent a con­
tribution o f $50, and San Gabriel
Valley a donation o f $100.
Y our continuing support is helping
our H eadquarters develop into a
place in which we can all take pride.
We will go on to expansion o f exhibit
areas, etc. as current projects are
completed and additional funding be­
comes available.
Aerospace Education means “ share your knowledge”
New Austin Chapter tries it out on some
8-yr. old Student Pilots
From Friday, M ay 20, through T hurs­
day, M ay 26, the Austin Chapter shared
their expertise with some eight-year-old
“ student pilots” . W ith the assistance o f
third-grade teacher, M olly Tull, m em bers
o f the N inety-Nines conducted a special
unit in aerospace education at Eanes Ele­
m entary School in W estlake Hills, a small
Central Illinois Chapter
presents program on
Careers
in
Aviation
Central Illinois 99s sponsored a program
on careers in aviation at Illinois College in
Jacksonville, IL o n A pril 27. A fter seeing
th e FA A Bicentennial film “ In C elebration
o f F light” , fo u r w om en representing
d ifferent careers in the field o f aviation
shared, w ith th e college w om en, b o th the
requirem ents an d benefits o f th eir respec­
tive jo b s.
Sandra Engle, A ir T raffic C ontroller
from C hicago C en ter, Naydene Lewis,
Inspector w ith the Springfield G A D O o f­
fice, Jeanne McLaughlin, C F II and A ir
T axi Pilot fo r Byerly A viation in P eoria,
and Jackie Klaus, form er Flight A tten d an t
w ith T W A , each spoke briefly to the
college w om en in atten d an ce. Sm all group
sessions later allow ed interested w om en to
p articipate in question an d answ er periods.
T hey expressed surprise th a t these jo b s
existed and were available to w om en. The
C entral
Illinois
99s
D isplay
B oard
provided explanation o f 99s Intern atio n al
and its activities. Q uite a n u m b er o f FA A
pam phlets relating to o p p o rtu n ities in
aviation careers were available.
D oor prizes fo r tw o local airplane rides
and one cross co u n try fo r lunch were won
by several very excited college girls.
M em bers o f th e C en tral Illinois C h ap ter
provided th e free rides. M em bers w ho
were present to assist w ith th e meeting
were Mary Groesch, Bette Flowers, Jackie
Klaus, Jeanne M cLaughlin, and Lois Free­
man.
F R E E CATALOG i
F ro m W o rld 's L a r g e s t P ilo t S h o p
Send to S porty s Pilot Shop
Clerm ont County Airport
Batavia O hio 45103
P h o n e :(5 1 3 )7 3 2 -2 4 1 1
A
com m unity im mediately west o f Austin,
Texas. F o r a first effort in education activi­
ties, the group proudly considers their work
a success.
The unit included approxim ately twelve
hours o f instruction, tw o field trips, two
guest speakers, fun with radio scanners,
and a sim ulated flying experience. On
Friday, the entire class and four NinetyNines went to Ragsdale A viation, Inc., lo­
cated on the field at A ustin M unicipal Air­
port, w here the youngsters were perm itted
to “ discover” a Cessna 150 and a Cessna
172. T aking caution not to dam age the air­
craft, they enjoyed the fun o f being inside
and all-over th e cockpit o f an airplane.
M onday brought a discussion o f “ Mile­
stones in A viation” . Such notable person­
alities as the W right Brothers, Charles
Lindbergh, Amelia E a rh art and several as­
tronauts were featured as historic and pre­
sent-day heroes. A film available from the
Texas A eronautics Com m ission about the
developm ent o f flying and aircraft was
shown to com plem ent the lesson.
On Tuesday, the class was treated with a
visit to an installation o f the C onfederate
Air Force located in San M arcos, Texas.
Mr. John Higgins shared his knowledge o f
the vintage planes based at the field. Special
thanks also goes to B raniff Second O fficer
D on Showman and his wife, G retchen, who
were on h and W ednesday to tell the group
about aviation as a m ode o f public trans­
portation. The Show m ans brought some ex­
cellent slides o f the larger aircraft, and a
large portion o f the ‘im prom ptu question
and answer session was devoted to safety
on-board the planes. L ater th at afternoon,
members o f the Ninety-Nines took over
with the A B C ’s o f flying — the phonetic
alphabet. C ertain m ore com m on phrases of
flying language were covered as well.
Thursday m orning brought C aptain Bob
Rakitis and L ieutenant Randy Davis from
Bergstrom A ir Force Base, w ho talked
about m ilitary flying, and especially heli­
copter pilotage. The finale then came
Thursday a ftern o o n , when the students
each had an oppo rtu n ity to hear real radio
com m unications via scanners in the class­
room , and to “ fly” for their first tim e in
the cockpit o f a tabletop sim ulator. Upon
successful com pletion o f flying time, each
child was aw ared plastic wings signifying
their achievement.
T he entire week was fun and exciting for
Ninety-Nines, m any o f w hom had a chance
to learn som ething themselves while in the
process o f teaching. The work was well
w orth the tim e and effort. O n departure,
the N inety-Nines asked w hether the class
had enjoyed the special unit, the response
was a loud and clear “ A ffirm ative!!”
99’s Spreading their wings . . . .
FLYING
ACTIVITIES
CARIBBEAN
100% o f Caribbean Section help
with Angel Derby Terminus
F or a reasonably new section we seem to
have o u r activities cut o u t fo r us having
just finished w orking on the A ngel D erby
T erm inus in Freeport. O ur G overnor,
Esme W illiams, was T erm inus C hairm an
and all twelve o f us w orked o u r tails o ff,
but enjoyed it. Even tw o o f o u r m em bers
who have m oved to the U nited States,
Judi White and Barbara Darrow cam e
over to help, as did Hilda Devereaux from
the Maple Leaf Chapter. We held o u r Sec­
tion M eeting during th e Angel D erby and
elected O fficers for the com ing year.
EAST C A N AD A
Target is the safest place to be
during flour-bombing
C ranson L ake, 70 miles W N W o f O t­
taw a was the site — o r should I say target
— o f a successful fly aw ay on M ay 29th.
A fter a day o f steady rain, S unday the
29th daw ned bright and beautiful. A t least
eight aircraft piloted by 99s plus a couple
o f o thers participated. A fter a picnic
lunch, the flour-bom bing com m enced.
T hree bom bs each were issued to the p a r­
ticipating crews. Needless to say, th e target
was the safest place to be, b u t Carol
Thomas cam e in First by scoring w ithin 33
feet with Fred L andry, a visitor, second.
Piloting aircraft were Comerford, Cun­
ningham, O'Brien, Webster, Thom as,
MacMillan and McKendry, also Pauline
Joicey from the Montreal area, accom ­
panied by husbands, sons, dau g h ters and
friends. It was truly a fun flying day.
Niagara Trillium
Poker Run Results
O n M ay 7th, 1977, the day daw ned
bright and clear. T he Niagara Trillium
Chapter o f the 99s were holding th eir first
P o k er R un. T he T erm inus was a t H am il­
to n Civic A irport and th at is w here m ost
o f us gathered to set up tables an d posters
to receive th e entrants. By 10 a.m . th e
winds were 15 to 20 miles per ho u r,
gusting to 25. By noon the first pilots
staggered in, a little ashen-faced with their
■I l l V
A IIO IIC T
4 0 7 7
passengers definitely queasy. T he wind was
n o t only strong b u t bitterly cold.
H ow ever, those th a t com pleted th e Run
were a brave lot, an d a to ta l o f 400 hands
were sold and 24 prizes were aw arded.
M rs. M arlene Fisile from L o n d o n , O n ­
ta rio , w on First prize with a straight. A
black an d white 12” p o rtab le television
an d a tro p h y were presented to her by
G lenn W hite o f T ran s A ircraft C om pany.
T he E xperim ental A ircraft A ssociation
cooked lunches fo r all, an d by 4 p .m ., we
h ad p acked u p an d were o n o u r way
h om e, tired , cold, b u t h ap p y th a t o u r First
P o k e r R un had tu rn ed o u t so well.
M IDDLE EAST
ALLEGHENY AIR DERBY II
by Sue Simler
A t 1 p .m . o n S atu rd ay , A p ril 30, the
first o f 27 single-engine planes to o k to
R unw ay 23 at L atro b e A irp o rt, L atro b e,
A leam from the M onroeville Flyers find a
quiet place on the ramp to plot their
course for the Allegheny Air Derby II.
P A to start A llegheny A ir D erby II sp o n ­
sored by th e Greater Pittsburgh Chapter.
T h e D erby, a proficiency contest o f 220.5
statu te miles sent the aircraft to Gwin A ir­
p o rt near New C astle, P A , then to Benninger Sky R anch n ear T ionesta, PA .
T hey com pleted th e ro u n d robin at L a­
tro b e.
N orm an B artk o , hu sb an d o f Greater
Pittsburgh Chapter 99 Marge Bartko, was
first over all w ith E rnest L ak ato s as his co­
pilot. N orm an Bresky o f P arm a, O hio and
C arol H ueber o f P ittsb u rg h placed second.
Lake Erie Chapter’s Helen Keidel and her
navigator L arry R ohl received th e third
place trophy.
Five clubs, A stro Flying C lub, C h atham
Flying C lub, Beaver Valley Flying C lub,
P ittsb u rg h Flying C lub and W illoughby
Flying C lub vied fo r th e team trophy.
Helen Keidel’s W illoughby Flying C lub o f
C ontinued on page 28
1977 Rose Rallye Results
by Sallie Kaeiser
T he Deep South Chapter held its 2nd A nnual Rose Rallye on S atu rd ay , M ay 28 at
T hom asville, G A with p articip an ts from th e Blue Ridge, Florida Gulf Stream and the
recently form ed Florida Panhandle chapters. M ost co n testan ts were wise to arrive on
F riday while at least o n e h ad to arrive by car due to a stu b b o rn S outh G eorgia fog
th a t w ould n o t break to let her fly S at. m orning in tim e to enter th e contest.
U p o n an nouncem ent o f th e course, a ro u n d -ro b in precision flight to be m ade from
Thom asville to C rystal L ake, D aw son, C am illa and retu rn to TSV, all pilots and co­
pilots hastily pulled o u t sectionals, p lotters an d com puters to plan tim e an d fuel to
th e last second an d ten th o f gallon. It was later discovered th a t tw o check-and-turn
p o in ts were surprises fo r pilots n o t fam iliar w ith th e territory.
T he to p seven w inners o f th e b eautiful and unique Rose T rophies are listed below
as pilo t, co-pilot a n d chapter:
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Carolyn Pilaar and Merry Robertson; Blue Ridge
Esther Wright a n d G. L. C h andler; Deep South
D ot a n d W alter Herin; Deep South
Ellie a n d L ou Odorico; Florida Gulfstream
Fran Biele an d Billie H ilton; Florida Panhandle
Bunny White and Sallie Kaeiser; Blue Ridge and Deep South
Gary W heeler an d V ernon Lipe; Blue Ridge
T h e H oliday In n co o k o u t was quickly converted to a m ost enjoyable in d o o r b an ­
q uet due to an o th er S o u th G eorgia w eather co n d itio n , the unpredictable th u n d er­
show er. W e all give m any th a n k s to Judy Hall, Rose Rallye C h airm an fo r organizing
th e race and to Esther Wright, Rose Rallye C o -C h airm an fo r organizing th e banquet
an d providing for ad d itio n al physical needs.
97
Flying
Activities
Continued
C leveland took the tro p h y hom e.
In addition to trophies fo r th e first five
places an d num erous o th er prizes, VeeNeal A viation In c., w here we h ead q u a rter­
ed, and L atrobe A viation d o n ated 300 gal­
lons o f gasoline which were presented to
m any o f th e contestants.
MaryAnn Grechen and Sue Simler, co­
chairpersons for the event, were th an k fu l
fo r the good w eather (CA VU day) and
pleased with the tu rn o u t.
NEW YORK — NEW JERSEY
A Visit to the Altitude Chamber
O n the week-end o f M ay 6-8 the W es­
tern New York Chapter sponsored a trip
to the H igh A ltitude C ham ber o f W rightP atterso n A ir Force Base in D ayton, O hio.
N inety-N ines, 49!/2ers, and 66s flew in
their own planes. W e too k the physiologi­
cal course on S aturday m orning, went
through the cham ber in the a fte rn o o n , and
visited the A ir F orce M useum o n Sunday.
A w onderful, educational tim e was had by
all. Diane Senneff, C h ap ter C h airm an ,
m ade all the arrangem ents fo r the trip.
Father’s Day Poker Run
Indiana Dunes Chapter sponsored a
p o k er run o n F a th e r’s D ay. T he event was
open to th e public.
NORTHW EST
Alaska 99s enjoy fly-ins
Alaska Ninety-Nines enjoyed th e first
day o f sunshine a fte r m any days o f rainy
an d tu rb u len t w eather w ith a fly-in at the
Willow A ir Strip. T he N inety-N ines and
families atten d in g were Ruby Pappas, Joy
Triplett, Joyce Bergstrand, Betty Rogers,
A nita W ood, Anita Benson, Carolyn Kaphart, Carole Fleming, Edie Miller and Jan
Pessel. J a n ’s h u sb an d G ar tow ed her in
their glider w ith his Super C ub to w ithin
gliding distance to th e airstrip . Som e o f
the gals got to go up fo r an in tro d u cto ry
ride in the glider.
Alaska Ninety-Nines also had a fly-in
lunch at the Kenai A irp o rt w here plans for
the upcom ing convention were discussed.
T hose atten din g were Joyce Bergstrand,
Carolyn Kephart an d guest M argie Foster,
Edie Miller, Lavelle Betz, Anita Benson,
Carole Fleming, Ruby Pappas, and Betty
Rogers. M em bers Edie Miller and Carole
Fleming are fo rm ulating plans to fly the
P ow der P u ff D erby. A rum m age sale to
raise m oney fo r these e n tran ts will be held
in the near fu tu re.
SOUTH CENTRAL
Horseshoe Bend site of
Golden Triangle Fly-In
Golden Triangle Chapter tries to have a
fly-in once each m o n th in ad d ition to their
m eetings and m any o th er projects and
activities. T his m o n th , they went to H orse­
shoe B end, a b eautiful developm ent sport­
ing a large clubhouse, swim ming pool, golf
course a n d tennis courts o f w hich som e o f
the m o re athletic ones to o k full advantage.
Shreveport 99s plan navigation
leg for P PD
P lanning th e navigation leg for the
AIR DERBY
RESULTS
NORTH CENTRAL
DAYTON AIR FAIR
T he annual D ayton A ir F air will take
place July 23 and 24, 1977, an d th e AllO hio 99s will be the official hostesses once
again. W e will also have o u r ow n b o o th
this year to pro m o te the 99s.
T he annual tw o-day event will feature
tw o airshow s per day including p ara c h u t­
ing, w ing-walking an d the U SA F T h u n d erbirds, plus huge exhibit areas, aircraft
rides in a F ord T ri-M o to r, gliders and
open cockpit biplanes as well as th e usual
general aviation aircraft.
T he 99s have been busy pro m o tin g this
event an d in M ay, m anned an A ir Fair
p rom otional b o o th at Rikes dep artm en t
store in dow ntow n D ayton fo r an entire
week, selling advance tickets.
LAKE ERIE AIR DERBY
Labor Day Weekend
P lans for o u r L ake E rie A ir D erby
- both proficiency an d speed races are com ing along well. These are to
be held over the L ab o r Day w eekend
in association with th e C leveland
N ational A ir Races at B urke Lakefront A irport in C leveland. T his is
the th ird year such an event has
been held. A dditional in fo rm atio n
o r the $2 entry kits m ay be o btained
by w riting H elen Keidel, 435 D um ­
b arto n Blvd., C leveland, O H 44143.
by Charlene Falkenberg
Publicity C hairm an
T he heavens certainly favored th e 8th A nnual Illi-Nines A ir D erby. W hat a d if­
ference a year m akes. In 1976 th e w eather socked in on Friday — stayed th e sam e on
S aturday, an d Sunday fo u n d everyone trying to get hom e som eway o th er th an flying.
N ot so this year. T he w eather had been perfect everyday fo r tw o weeks p rio r to May
28, 1977, so we all crossed o u r fingers. It was unbelievable. H ardly a cloud in the sky
o n Friday, S atu rd ay , o r Sunday.
Friday a ftern o o n fo u n d all 53 entries in and im pounded, w aiting anxiously for the
briefing an d giving o u t o f th e race kits. The ro u te isn’t know n until you receive the
race kit at th e briefing. T he entries ranged from 100 horsepow er C essnas to a 300
horsepow er PA -32R , an d included C essnas, Pipers, M o6neys, N avions, Beeches and
G ru m m an Tigers. S atu rd ay m orning early fo u n d all crew s at th e break fast briefing
an d eager to get to th e a irp o rt.
Last m in u te to p p in g o f fuel w ent w ithout a hitch an d right on tim e E n try #1 was
flagged o ff by th e h o n o rary starter, Lois Feigenbaum, International President, and
Field an d Caroline Morey roared dow n th e runw ay in a C essna 310. T he M orey’s who
reside in W isconsin were alm ost back by the tim e th e last 150 was waved o ff by Neil
P o b an z.
T h ro u gh th e never-ending sum m er haze the planes headed fo r P rairie Lake A irport
ap proxim ately 95 statu e miles to th e east. It is a privately ow ned sod strip, not the
easiest to find. M aking a tight pylon tu rn the planes changed to a northw est heading
to find F reep o rt A irp o rt. T h ere was a bit o f southw est w ind an d ru m o r has it one or
tw o planes strayed a bit a n d fo u n d them selves at R o ck fo rd A irp o rt. A trick like that
does h u rt yo u r score!
A t F reep o rt a n o th e r tu rn to th e southw est an d you are o n th e last leg now . Soon
th e M ississippi River was o n th e left an d you knew th a t Q u ad City A irport was up
ahead. A b eau tifu l flyby dow n runw ay 22 was m ade by every c o n testan t. N othing
m akes you m ore p roficient th a n p articipating in an event such as th e Illi-Nines Air
D erby.
A t th e b an q u et on S atu rd ay night b eautiful tro p h ies an d m oney were presented to
th e lucky w inners in b o th categories, speed an d proficiency, by th e 1977 Race
C h airm an , Judy H odges Pobanz o f M oline, Illinois. T h e w inners are:
Pow der P u ff D erby has kept th e airways
hot between here and D allas. Barbara Ringold and Inis Kennon flew the final test o f
the contest on May 23, so it’s ready for
approval o f the race board.
Air Show Hostesses
For the second year th e Texas D ogw ood
Chapter was invited to act as hostesses at
the M ineola, Texas A ir Show , w hich was
held on M ay 15.
SOUTHEAST
SOUTHEAST SECTION CHAPTERS
HELP WITH ANGEL DERBY
Short on sleep, long on enjoym ent, ten
Memphis 99s and tw o 49'/2ers winged to
Greenville to help Mississippi and New Or­
leans C hapters with Angel D erby tim ing,
greeting, and RON duties. Pat Collins,
Janice New, Mary Oliver, Gladys Estes,
Chris Brown, Carolyn Sullivan, Virginia
Proctor, Rosemary Williams, Fern &
Chuch Mann, Bell & Posey Hedges say
T H A N K S M IS S IS S IP P I fo r inviting us!
N otw ithstanding a leg cast, C hris stood
nearly the w hole day in the tow er tim ing
those b eautiful birds. C hris injured her
knee skiing earlier this year, then in play­
ing tennis at M ontgom ery re-injured it,
finally necessitating a cast to give it a rest.
Florida Goldcoast m em bers Ursula
Davidson, Helen M ennitte, an d Ruth
Fleisher were in F reep o rt, T he B aham as to
help o u t with th e Angel D erby T erm inus
while Fran Sargent an d Mary Ann Zdunczyk helped o u t in F t. L auderdale.
M any m em bers o f the Florida Gulf
Stream Chapter were involved in w orking
on th e 1977 A ngel D erby. Virginia Britt
was Race C h airm an , an d D ottie Shaw is
P resident o f the A .W .I.A .R . which runs
the A ngel D erby. A t F reep o rt, Mina Elschner was head o f H ospitality and Regis­
tra tio n , an d Helen Krumholz was an NAA
representative and a m em ber o f th e A p ­
peals B oard. Ellie McCullough Odorico
PROFICIENCY
PL A N E
SCORE
Rookie Pilot:
Bruce Montigney
PA-28-140
99.7906
First Place:
Bruce Montigney, Pilot
Fort W ayne, Indiana
Laura G oldsberry, C o-Pilot
Fort W ayne, Indiana
PA-28-140
99.7906
2nd Place:
Philip W . Reames, Pilot
Bobbie Norw ood, Co-Pilot
Long Beach, California
Cessna 310
99.67542
3rd Place:
Vi Blowers, Pilot
Dayton, O hio - All-Ohio C hapter 99s
Marcia G reenham , Co-Pilot
M iddletown, O hio - All-Ohio C hapter 99s
PA-28-140
99.44040
4th Place:
Scotty H arm on, Pilot
Michigan City, IN - Chicago A rea C hapter 99s
R .E . Rush, Co-Pilot - M ichigan City, IN
PA-28-180R
99.37931
8th Place:
8th Year
Joyce O dom , Pilot
Mickey O dom , Co-Pilot
Detroit, Michigan - G reater D etroit C hapter 99s
PA-32R
99.00748
Rookie Pilot:
SPEED CATEGORY
W arren Hecksel
Royal O ak, Michigan
PL A N E
Mooney M20C
SCORE
+ 16.98881
First Place:
Margaret Ringenberg,
Pilot
Grabill, IN - Indiana C hapter 99s
Larry Thrush, Co-Pilot
Grabill, IN
PA-28-151
+ 19.53821
2nd Place:
Gail Lapook, Pilot
Chicago, IL - Chicago A rea C hapter 99s
Diane Cozzi, C o-Pilot
Burbank, IL - Chicago A rea C hapter 99s
Cessna 177
+ 18.97229
3rd Place:
Judith Suit, Pilot
Rockford, IL - Chicago A rea C hapter 99s
Keith Hazzard, C o-Pilot
Rockford, IL
Grumman Tiger
+ 18.74097
4th Place:
Field Morey, Pilot
Caroline Morey, Co-Pilot
M adison, Wisconsin
Cessna 310F
+ 17.56395
8th Place:
8th Year
G ary Lapook, Pilot
Katryn Urbaszewski, Co-Pilot
Chicago, IL
Cessna 150
+ 6.88997
M uch w ork by m any persons go into th e m aking o f a successful race. T h an k s go
ou t to each and everyone, especially th e three C h ap ters o f 99s th a t sp o n so r this event
each year, C hicago A rea, Q uad C ity, an d C en tral Illinois. T heir greatest gratification
is found in the know ledge th a t they have co n trib u ted to a w orthw hile, educational,
fun-filled event in the w orld o f aviation.
H appiness is — m eeting old friends, an d m aking new friends at th e llli-N ines A ir
Derby.
Chief Timer Shirley Davis and Mimi Bond
in Tower at Ft. Lauderdale Stop.
was a Race Judge. In F t. L auderdale,
Marge Forood was th e S to p C hairm an,
and handled th e publicity. Ellie Reichenbach was head o f A irp o rt O p eratio n s at
th e Ft. L auderdale Executive A irp o rt, in
charge o f reception an d w elcoming, and
the parking and directing o f th e race
planes. She was assisted by her 49Vier
Rickey R eichenbach, and Dick Sanders.
Genie Merrell handled the tran sp o rtatio n
o f the racers to anu from the hotel, and
Shirley Davis, Mimi Bond, and Peggy
Brown were the Tim ers in the tow er.
SOUTHW EST
AM PAR
(All M en’s Palomar Air Race)
October 1, 1977
A R ound R obin 400-500 mile
event sponsored by the P a lo m ar 99s.
E ntry deadline is Septem ber 10th,
w ith im p o u n d o n Septem ber 30.
Race kits available from : A M P A R ,
c /o Flight T rails, 2386 P alo m ar A ir­
port R d ., C arlsb ad , C A 92008. (714)
729-5795.
Napa Valley Fly-In
A to u r o f th e wineries was the rew ard
fo r th e 18 San Gabriel Valley m em bers
w ho joined the fly-in to N ap a Valley.
Y o u ’ll get a chance to visit th e wineries,
to o , if you com e early to SFO this sum m er
a n d sign u p fo r the to u r.
Sacramento Valley Chapter on the go.
SVC had an overnight at T rinity C enter
and a visit to th e H illsboro D ecorator
H ouse. T hey also atten d ed the Worm
Races. (Did you have an entry, o r did you
ju st cheer fo r Bay Cities?) T he ann u al flyin luncheon at th e N u t T ree fo r the Sacra­
mento Valley and Greater Seattle chapters
also attracted m any 99s from th e San
F rancisco Bay area.
Flying your ow n plane to SFO this sum ­
m er? P u t the N u t T ree dow n as a great
place to include in yo u r itinerary if you
can fit it in. O nly a short h o p from San
F rancisco, it w ould be a great place to stop
fo r lunch o n your way to convention o r on
the w ay hom e. T he fo o d is g reat, th e gift
shop contains m any aviation treasurers,
an d th e landing strip is fine, to o .
Better than ever . . .
Section Meetings
SO U TH EA ST
W elcom es new chapter
by Judy Hall
The SO U T H E A ST SE C T IO N o f the
Ninety-Nines m et A pril 22 - 24, 1977 at
M ontgom ery, A labam a with the A labam a
C hapter as hostess. Those arriving on Fri­
day enjoyed dinner together at the Lam plighter Dinner T heatre th at night.
We were honored to have President Lois
Feigenbaum attending, as well as o u r own
Janet Green, International Secretary, and
board m em ber, Esme Williams.
Following a well-run business meeting
presided over by Governor Virginia Proc­
tor, we were treated to a lovely salad
luncheon and a fashion show with NinetyNine models.
President Lois presents Panhandle Charter
to members Joyce Fester, Fran Biele, and
Chairman Carolyn Fisher.
At the Saturday night b anquet, President
Lois Feigenbaum presented to the F L O R I­
DA PA N H A N D L E C H A P T E R their new
charter. Chairman Carolyn Fisher accepted
for the chapter, which is a b reak -o ff from
the Deep South Chapter, while m em bers
Fran Biele and Joyce Fester looked on.
O ther charter m em bers o f th e chapter,
Billie Hilton, June Wiggins, and Betty
McNabb, were unable to attend.
Featured speaker for the banquet was Dr.
M ary Helen Johnston, A stronautical Engi­
neer.
NORTH C EN TR A L
Red Carpet Treatment
by Charlene Falkenberg
If you have never had the red carpet
rolled out for you, you missed a great
chance if you w eren’t at the N o rth C entral
Spring Section M eeting. T he Bluegrass Ken­
tucky 99s outdid themselves. They literally
laid dow n a beautiful red carpet as you
stepped out o f the plane and you were im ­
mediately presented with a beautiful red
rose. N o way could you lift a single piece o f
luggage.
Forty-nine-and-a-halfers
and
others were surrounding you offering their
muscles. A fter a delightful ride through the
beautiful Lexington countryside you arrived
at the hom ey looking, hospitality ab o u n d ­
ing C am pbell Inn.
The Bluegrass 99s H ospitality R oom was
open for socializing and selling o f wares
throughout the weekend except for business
sessions.
Six o ’clock sharp found us boarding a
double decker bus ow ned by Ginger Mar­
shall’s 4 9 ‘/ 2er and getting a grand view o f
Lexington on ou r way to the Red Mile
Track where we enjoyed the ten harness
races presented during the evening. The
sixth race was dedicated to th e 99s.
Early S aturday m orning we enjoyed a
C ontinental Breakfast and then loaded the
buses for a to u r o f the beautiful and inter­
esting S pendthrift an d C astleton H orse
Farm s. M any facts were learned concerning
the breeding and raising o f race horses. We
also were introduced to m any fam ous
stallions th a t are used only for breeding as
their racing days are over.
L uncheon was at the m agnificent
Spindletop M ansion, a hom e patterned al­
m ost identically after the W hite H ouse.
Following o u r return to Cam pbell H ouse
we attended ro undtable com m ittee m eet­
ings. These were instigated several years ago
and have becom e very popular. Every chair
in the room was filled. M any ideas, events,
questions, suggestions, and com m ents are
shared am ong the group.
An especially interesting table was headed
by Barbara Jennings, C hairm an o f o u r Sec­
tion P roject an d A irlift (Pennies-a-Pound),
with proceeds going to the W omens
Museum to be erected in D ayton, O hio. It
is hoped th a t every chapter in th e section
will participate by holding an A irlift in their
com m unity on the last Saturday in O ctober.
The general business m eeting was called
to order by Governor Lois Kennard
prom ptly at 2:00 p.m . and was very well at­
tended.
We were honored to have o u r Inter­
national Secretary, Janet Green and hus­
band, D on, visit the N o rth C entral Section
Meeting. Jan et, along with Charlene Fal­
kenberg, International Board Member, re­
ported to the business meeting from head­
quarters. They gave us inform ation o n A ir­
m arking, A ir Age E ducation, a new
G A M A T ak eO ff P ro g ram , foreign m em ber
dues, professional international convention
coordinator, a 99 Y earbook, A ccident P re­
vention Specialist P rogram , R ebate to Sec­
tions and N om inations fo r new B oard
M embers.
R eports were heard from the various
chapters. O nce again we were all very
proud to be in this group.
D uring dinner, we were thrilled to see a
film, “ Salute to A m elia” narrated by
Lowell T hom as, loaned to the Kentucky
Bluegrass Chapter by the Hall o f Fame.
T he film contained the last recorded words
o f A m elia E arhart.
O u r after-dinner speaker was Patricia
M alone, Training Instructor, D elta Airlines,
A tlanta, G eorgia. She spoke on “ T oday’s
Airline Pilot - Fact or Fiction?” . She kept
us in stitches with her witty rem arks, while
at the same tim e giving us some very perti­
nent an d interesting inform ation.
A sincere th an k you goes to all members,
4 9 ‘/2ers, and friends o f the Blue Grass
Chapter, w ho contributed so much to make
o ur visit unforgetable. Especially thanks for
the perfect w eather from start to finish.
M ID D L E EA ST
The topic if flying . . . .
The w eather was beautiful VFR, so a
great num ber took to th e skys and arrived
in N orfolk, Virginia the weekend o f April
30-May 1 for the M iddle East Sectional. A
considerable num ber o f 4 9 ‘/2ers and soonto-be 49'/2ers also to o k the opportunity to
attend the meeting.
The Azalea Festival was going on in N or­
folk that w eekend, so early Saturday ar­
rivals saw a beautiful parade and late de­
partures on Sunday saw an air show which
included the N avy’s Blue Angels.
Adelaide Tinker, Middle East Governor
called the aftern o o n business meeting to
order precisely on tim e. A few m om ents of
silence were observed in h o n o r o f four de­
ceased N inety-Nines from the W ashington,
D .C . C hapter, following m em orial presen­
tations o n each 99 by a close friend.
T he presentations by each C hapter Chair­
m an and C om m ittee R eports provided new
ideas and proved once again that “ 99s A re
O n T he M ove” .
Evening festivities included a social hour
followed by a banquet and speaker. Joseph
W . Stickle, A ssistant C hief o f Flight Re­
search Division, N ASA , Langley, Virginia
talked o n G eneral A viation Research
Activities. T he presentation was informative
and interesting with slides accom panying
the talk.
Ada Barrett provided delightful enter­
tainm ent with the initiation o f the 4 9 'A e T S .
The fellows gussied u p in gorgeous attire
and parad ed through the room . W ith their
bonnets, skirts and frills they presented a
delightful sight. O f course the pledge was
repeated, b u t it was noted th at some had
their fingers crossed at th at point in the
pledge where each was prom ising to provide
his 99 with a decent and airw orthy aircraft.
T he fellows were all o f good hum or and
each gave A da a big kiss on the way out
a fter th e cerem ony.
99s getting together
M ££ TAMfifi
MIDDLE EAST
Hampton Roads Chapter Help EAA Wives
N orfolk area E A A chapter has enlisted
the help o f Hampton Roads Chapter 99s in
getting their wives interested in aviation.
The tw o groups met jointly in June with 99
members presenting talks on the 99s organi­
zation and the search for Amelia E arhart.
NEW YORK — NEW JERSEY
99s Visit Common IFR Room at Kennedy
The Long Island 99s visited the C om m on
IFR Room at Kennedy A irport in M ay. We
were given a complete to u r by Roger Stebbins and Harvey Skolnick o f the FA A .
Thunderstorm s moved through the area as
we watched and listened to the controllers
directing traffic in the New Y ork T C A . A
very exciting and inform ative evening.
NORTH CENTRAL
Indiana Dunes Chapter Holds Dinner
to Commemorate 50th Anniversary o f
Lindbergh’s Flight
The Indiana Dunes Chapter celebrated
the 50th A nniversary o f L indbergh’s tran s­
atlantic flight on Friday night, M ay 20,
1977, at Yesteryear R estaurant situated on
the banks o f the K ankakee River. F orty
members, husbands and friends, flew or
drove from points in northern Indiana and
Illinois.
The Lindbergh C om m em orative D inner
Comm ittee, comprised o f Lee Zeller, Judy
Snipes, and Donna Hruska, all o f K anka­
kee, had an entertaining, educational event
planned for us. During dinner in the beauti­
ful mansion designed by Frank Lloyd
W right, questions regarding L indbergh’s
flight were asked o f the audience. Interest­
ing and useful prizes were aw arded for the
correct answers. A replica o f L indbergh’s
plane had been built by 49'/2er, T om Zeller,
and also a large map showing the ro u te o f
the flight was on display. T he tables were
decorated with blue and white carnations.
It was a sparkling evening, and topping it
all was the cooperation o f the w eather m an
who looked on us favorably by providing a
beautiful night for flying.
Changes announced for
North Central Fall Sectional
The N orth C entral Fall Sectional M eeting
to be hosted by the Lake Erie Chapter on
Septem ber 23-24 has had a change in plans.
Originally it was to be held in dow ntow n
Cleveland, but is now scheduled for the
eastern suburbs. Planes will be landing at
C uyahoga C ounty A irport and hotel reser­
vations are at the H oliday Inn-N orthfield
on the edge o f Randall M all, the newest
and largest shopping center in O hio. Inter­
state R oute 271 is ju st a block away, as is
fam ous R andall Race T rack. Should be lots
o f fun for all. A n open invitation is ou t to
all w ho wish to jo in in the festivities. F or
details, contact Rosemarie Mintz, 5 River
Stone Drive, C hagrin Falls, O hio 44022.
Minnesota Fly-Outs Include
Surprise Flying Event
Each o f o u r fly-out meetings includes a
surprise flying event. F or instance, the
meeting this m onth was in New Ulm and a
prize was given to the person w ho had
flown the greatest distance to attend. In
A pril the prize was for the pilot arriving
closest to her E T A . N o one know s the
event in advance except the C hairm an.
NORTHWEST
Columbia Cascade Spouses
Honored at Dinner
U nder the leadership o f Mary W ohlge­
muth, w ith the assistance o f Pegge Blinco,
the gals o f the Columbia Cascade Chapter
honored their spouses at the first annual
49'Aer Banquet. It was a rollicking evening
with the 99s buying th e dinners, the cock­
tails, prizes and aw ards for their men to
thank them for the m any times th at they
are called upon during the year fo r assis­
tance, which they contribute gladly.
C hairm an Eulalia Nichols’ birthday was
celebrated with cake and ice cream .
Kansans try Soaring
May found m em bers o f the Kansas
Chapter soaring as they took dem onstra­
tion flights at the glider po rt in W ichita at
the May meeting. Tw o Kansas 99s already
hold glider ratings.
A t another recent meeting, eight planes
filled with Kansas 99s flew to O lathe,
Kansas to to u r Kansas City Center.
WWII Memories
The Oklahoma Chapter m eeting in Enid
brought back a lot o f W W II mem ories for
Dottie Young and Nema Masonhall. In ad­
dition to touring the G reat Lakes A ircraft
C om pany, som e o f us had the second
chance to see D oug C ham plin’s “ W ar
B irds” — tw o C orsairs in their w ar paint, a
Hellcat, a W ildcat, an AT-6, a ME-108, a
Spitfire T rainer and an experim ental 60’
wing-span glider th at can tak e-o ff by itself,
if necessary, by m eans o f a small jet engine.
Welcome Mat out for 99s at
Brooks Air Force Base
T he San Antonio Chapter had a brief
meeting at a local restaurant and then the
meeting was adjourned to B rooks AFB,
Texas for a to u r o f the B rooks Aerospace
M edical C enter.
SOUTH CENTRAL
Golden Triangle 99s
Try Out 727 Simulator
W e had a brief meeting this m onth and
hurried to A m erican Airlines T raining Fa­
cility where, thanks to arrangem ents m ade
by Dottie Carmichael, we were treated to a
flight in a 727 sim ulator. This was a great
experience but I think all o f us agree th at
the Flight Engineer’s panel looked m ore
foreboding than the cockpit.
99s Share Slides o f India Trip
H ouston’s M ay meeting was held at Sue
Thweatt’s in Seabrook, Texas. The high­
light o f the meeting was slides o f India
narrated by Adelle Baker and Betty Fritts.
San A ntonio Chapter had a nice surprise
upon entering Brooks AFB for their tour.
Tulsa Chapter has been busy organizing
for next year. They have decided to print a
m onthly newsletter, to be w ritten by
Virginia York and Nedra Foster. New
chapter officers will be Ginger Thompson,
C hm .; Eariene Biles, V-C; Nedra Foster,
Sec.; and Sue McBride, Treas.
C ontinued on page 32
M eetings continued
SOUTHEAST
Goldcoast 99s meet at FSS
An interesting M ay meeting was held at
the M IA FSS with a briefing and movie
presented by FSS specialist and chapter
m em ber Mary A nn Zdunczyk. Election o f
new chapter officers was held and plans for
a Florida group to attend SFO C onvention
were discussed.
New Panhandle Chapter has First Meeting
The first program o f the new Panhandle
Chapter was a safety program presented by
Betty McNabb and based on C oast G uard
Auxiliary tips for survival in ditching situa­
tions. H and-outs on survival equipm ent and
how to use it were sent to the chapter by
C aptain Felix Fam ularo, Division 4,
U SCG A , New Orleans.
Kitty Hawk 99s Visit Ag Strip
by Lorrie Tunnell
The M ay meeting o f the Kitty Hawk 99s
took them to C ra ft’s A irport in Farmville,
N orth C arolina and was hosted by M r. Jim
C raft, a long tim e and devoted pilot as
witnessed by the 182 C essna parked under
the “ carp o rt?” a few steps from his back
door. A few steps further an d M r. C ra ft’s
air strip appeared. It was there th at the 99s
were treated to an agricultural spraying
dem onstration by one o f th at daring and
proficient breed know n here in farm ing
land as an “ ag-pilot” , while M r. C raft
answered questions on the ground.
P rior to all the flying action, M r. C raft
filled his m otor hom e to capacity with 99s
and 49'/2ers, carrying them in air-condition­
ed com fort on this sweltering N orth
C arolina day to to u r the M andarin H ouse,
an oriental antique shop which was most
unique.
A fterw ards,
everyone
found
equally unique eating pleasure at a recently
renovated old hom e turned restaurant —
the C olonial Inn.
Barbeque Benefits Muscular Dystrophy
North Georgia 99s held a benefit barbe­
que for M uscular D ystrophy M ay 14, at the
N ew nan/C ow eta C ounty A irport in Newnan, G A . This barbeque was held in con­
junction with the International A erobatic
C lub com petition meet held in N ewnan.
SOUTHWEST
S2 Tanker Viewed by SVC
Sacramento Valley Chapter was treated
to a walk in and through the S2 A ir T anker
used by the C alifornia D epartm ent o f
Forestry for their air operations and fire
fighting program . A n inform ative talk on
their operations was given by A ir O pera­
tions D irector, C o tto n M ather.
Ernest N eum ann, C hief Pilot for th e P o ­
m ona Police D epartm ent, provided an
interesting program for the San Gabriel
Valley May meeting.
NEW
HORIZONS
With sorrow we note the passing o f three
o f our Washington, D C 99s...
Gladys Wise died M arch 3 at her hom e
in Centreville, VA a fte r a h eart attack . A n
active m em ber o f th e W ashington, DC
c h ap te r, she served as th e C h airm an from
1974-1976.
P rofessionally, G ladys was associate
c h ief o f the A ir F orce public info rm atio n
division a t th e P en tag o n . She was a
co n fid an t o f past secretaries o f th e A ir
F orce an d well know n in jo urnalistic
circles from her 17 years in th e A ir F orce
in fo rm atio n office. She started there in
1960 as a secretary an d rose to becom e the
highest
ranking
w om an
in fo rm atio n
officer in th e A ir Force.
A native o f B ro n so n , T exas, M rs. W ise
first cam e to th e A ir F orce in 1950, when
she w orked in th e A ir A ttach e office at the
P en tag o n . H er enthusiasm fo r flying grew
to the p o in t th a t she decided to try it
herself an d earned a com m ercial pilot
license.
Besides answ ering questions from o th er
w riters a b o u t th e A ir F orce, M rs. W ise
w rote num erous articles fo r aeronautical
m agazines a n d jo u rn a ls. O ne o f h er last
articles ap p eared in Flying m agazine.
G ladys W ise w as in terred in A rlington
N atio n al C em etary follow ing a b rief
graveside service w hich included a fly-over
in G ladys’ A rrow p iloted by Bea W ilder
an d Velta B enn.
Dorothy
A.
Tuller
of
H ern d o n ,
V irginia, died M arch 5 w hen h er single
engine plane crashed n ear th e New
L o n d o n A irp o rt, F o rest, V A. A ctive in the
Civil A ir P a tro l, she was an educational
specialist an d form er co m m an d er o f the
Flerndon C A P sq u ad ro n .
Joining th e C A P at age 15 she learned
to fly, becam e a ham rad io o p e ra to r and
then w orked fo r O verseas N atio n al
A irlines. C om pleting her B .S. an d M .E d.
degrees at B oston U niversity, she w orked
as a reading specialist in New Y ork City,
C alifo rn ia a n d
M assachusetts
school
systems follow ing her m arriage in 1961.
In 1972 she to u re d th e U nited States as
th e M ilitary W ife-of-the-Y ear. In 1973 she
w on an In tern atio n al A m elia E a rh art
S cholarship from th e 99s. She was th e
ten th w om an to be selected for th e
N ational Search an d Rescue S chool at
G o v ern o r’s Island, New Y o rk , an d she
form ed th e H e rn d o n , VA C A P sq u ad ro n
in 1973 a n d served as its com m ander
th ro u g h 1976. •
A s a qualified flight in stru c to r, she was
able to fly 18 d ifferen t types o f aircraft
an d particip ated actively in C A P Search
an d Rescue activities. In 1976 she
accom panied six C A P girls to F rance o n a
22 day to u r as p art o f a worldwide
exchange p ro g ram . Last Septem ber she
started th e first career aviation course for
the H e rn d o n H igh School.
Katharine C . Miller died Tuesday,
F ebruary
8,
1977.
She
was
the
W ashington, D .C . C h ap ter C hairm an and
had been active in the 99s fo r m any years,
in C alifo rn ia an d o th er areas she had lived
in her tran sit life.
She was an artist w ith recognized talent
in th e a rt com m unity an d had studied
u n d er several o f th e great m asters o f this
era. H er b eau tifu l and life-like portraits
attested graphically to her capability and
talen t.
She was also a skilled pilot and had
p lanned to fly th e P ow der P u ff Derby on
the C om m em orative Flight this year. As a
w orld traveler w ith her hu sb and Erick,
whose jo b to o k him to rem ote corners, she
could
c ap tu re
th e
listener
with
com m entary on places m ost o f us will
never see an d possibly never hear about.
Socially she w as know n from the most
elite circles to th e m ost o rd inary as a
gracious a n d loving person. She always
reflected genuine interest in those she met
in add itio n to being an exam ple to m any in
patience an d ju st plain old fashioned
loving and caring. She once rem arked, “ If
you love som eone, tell them - at least once
a day” .
K atharine was th e m o th er o f three
grow n sons, Rex, R ichard and Scott Riley
and the gran d m o th er o f A n n a Riley. Her
death was accidental an d sudden at her
hom e an d it has been very h ard fo r her
friends and family to accept the realization
that K atharine is no longer present to give
her usual encouragem ent, com plim ents and
support.
W omen at the Controls
A lm ost 32,000 pilots w ork fo r the 24
scheduled airlines certified by the C .A .B .
A b o u t 20 fem ale pilots, ranging in age
from 24 - 36 are included in this num ber.
M ost fly as second officers o n Boeing 727,
737 and DC-8 jets, while som e are first
officers o n F-27, YS-11 and C onvair 580
p ro p jets. C o lo ra d o 99 Emily HowellW arn er, w ho was hired by F rontier in
Jan u a ry o f 1973, has attain ed the rank o f
C ap tain .
NOTAM
P lease send clippings, brochures, e tc., on
S afety Sem inars, E d u catio n al projects to
H ea d q u arters fo r o u r p erm an ent files.
Amelia Earhart
disappeared 40 years ago
this month
in July o f 1937
A Travelogue
o f N inety-N ine
Trips and F lying Fun
M em bers o f the East African Section
are on the move. Barbara McLellan is o ff
to E ngland, Italy and France. Veronica
Scott Mason and Sheila Laws Bell are ju st
back from E ngland.
M IDDLE EAST
Mary Galbraith, Central Pennsylvania
Chapter, and 49'Aer Bob recently flew
their N avion to New Jersey. Naom i Stahlnecker is o ff on a h u n te r’s dream vaca­
tion. M adrid and then to N airobi, Kenya
for a three week Lion H u n t Safari.
NORTH CENTRAL
The Greater Kansas City Chapter is
proud o f the fact th at 25% o f th eir m em ­
bers are flying the Pow der P u ff this year,
som e o f those being Loretta Jones, Helen
Hamilton, Earlene Lowe, Bobbie Huke,
Marilyn D ickson, Vee St. John, Francis
Dunfield, Joanne Maple an d Mary Ann
Hamilton.
Lake Erie Chapter m em bers love to
race, an d have placed well m uch o f the
tim e. A t the to p o f the list this year is
Bernice Barris and her daughter-in-law ,
A ngela, w ho cam e in 8th in th e A ngel
D erby despite losing their electrical system
over the w ater. They “ eye-balled” it and
cam e o u t ju st a little south o f th e course,
b u t w ith Freeport well in sight. M em bers
Margaret Wellington and Joan McIntyre
also started o u t in the A ngel D erby bu t
were grounded by w eather, as were alm ost
h a lf o f the entries.
T he A llegheny A ir D erby held this
spring found Helen Keidel an d her co-pilot
Larry R ohl taking th ird place. Pat Clark
and Lynne Sellers are entered in th e P P D
C om m em orative event this sum m er.
Michigan
Chapter
m em bers
are
crow ding the skies. June and Bill Pailthorpe went to Phoenix w ith a side trip to
G ran d C anyon. A stop at D em ing, N M
was m ost pleasurable, th an k s to the
friendliness o f 99 FB O , Rene Hirth o f
Chaparral Chapter. Ruth and Jo el Price
flew to M em phis, T N to pick u p a 172.
Lynn and C arlton C ook w ent to New O r­
leans and Mary Anglin and her favorite
co-pilot, son D avid, flew a C herokee 6 to
Crossville, T N .
M any M innesota m em bers have been
traveling th roughout the Spring. T he BoIII! V . A I I f i l l Q T
1077
lander an d O i t fam ilies traveled to Y uca­
ta n . Kathy Berg an d Gerry Kretsch went
o n a cross cou n try th ro u g h M innesota,
Iow a an d Illinois. Kathleen and T om Berg
w ent to W ashington, D C , w here they
visited the Sm ithsonian A ir an d Space
M useum . K athleen w ent to N ashville for
th e G ran d O le O pry. M any M innesota
m em bers atten d ed th e Spring Sectional in
L exington, and all agreed th a t th e m arvel­
ous w eekend was enhanced even fu rth er
w hen Dorothy Bolander w on th e daily
d o u b le at the harness races!
Flexibility overcom es a lot o f problem s,
as evidenced by the experience o f M inne­
sota 99 Clara Johansen. A fter attending
th e Sectional, C lara an d A rnie flew o n to
K noxville, T enn. w here they m et form er
neighbors an d hiked to th e to p o f M t. Le
C o u n t in the Sm oky M t. N atio n al P a rk at
G atlinburg. Flying back to M inneapolis,
they encountered thunderstorm s so pitched
their backpack tent next to N5279 at Terre
H aute, Indiana and continued o n in clear
skies th e next m orning.
NORTHW EST
Alaska 99 Marion Zaegel and 49'/2er Bill
flew th eir H elio C o u rier to N om e, an d th e
B rooks R ange on a geology field trip . The
long sum m er daylight h o u rs were in full
force as they landed at K obuk o n the
K oyukuk River at 1:30 a.m . O n th e retu rn
trip they h it 50 m ph headw inds flying th ru
M t. M cKinley P a rk , th en a snow storm at
Sum m it, a dust storm from sand blow ing
o ff th e rivers in th e S usitna Valley and
severe turb u len ce landing at In tern atio n al
A irp o rt in A nchorage.
SOUTHEAST
W o rd comes from the Florida Goldcoast
Chapter th a t R ita R io particip ated in the
‘G reat N avigators R ally’ sponsored by th e
Spaceport
Chapter,
as
did
Alexis
M ontague and beau H ugh A ndison. Ruth
Phillips, also o f the Florida G ulf Stream
Chapter flew th e Rally w ith new pilot and
prospective 99, Ja n N orris.
Ruth and Lewis Phillips, ow ners o f
L auderdale A viation at F t. L auderdale In ­
tern atio n al A irp o rt, recently flew to
K ansas to the C essna P ilo t C en ter School.
T hen R uth, a Florida G ulf Stream m em ­
ber, flew a brand-new C ardinal RG (2.5
hours o n it) back to FL.
North Georgia m em bers Carolyn and
W inn Baker w ent to C am den, SC an d
several oth er c h ap te r m em bers w ent to the
Sectional in M ontgom ery.
SOUTH CENTRAL
A long with several other flying friends,
Albuquerque Chapter’s Claudia and Evert
Beckner winged th eir way to P u erto V alarta in A pril in B onanzas.
Golden Triangle’s Penny and D on
W hite are o ff to T ok y o , Ja p a n to visit old
friends. N ow th a t P enny has retired from
teaching, she is delighted to be able to
travel with her h u sb an d on his m any trips.
H ouston 99 Timi Kramer a n d 4 9 l/ 4er
P au l flew th eir B onanza to M anzanillo,
M exico. A n o th e r Houston 99, Mary Ann
Basham an d h er tw o children (ages 2 and
4) m ade th eir first long cross-country when
they flew to C larksville, A rkansas to visit
her p arents. Eulalia Nichols, Delle High­
tower and 4 9 ‘/ 2er G ene atten d ed th e T P F A
fly-in at B andera for a fun w eekend at the
Flying L R anch.
T he El P aso P P D stop should receive
lots o f news coverage this year from a re­
p o rte r w ho really know s all the angles.
B etty L igon, rep o rter fo r th e El Paso
Herald P ost will be a passenger in the
plane flown by El Paso 99 Saundra Stienmier and L t. K aren Lindberg.
Dorothy Duncan, Texas Dogwood
Chapter, an d h u sb an d , D eW itt attended
th e T-34 p ilo ts’ fly-in convention in H orse­
shoe B end, A rkansas in M ay.
Tulsa’s Jan Mauritson ju st returned
from a trip to E u ro p e. Johnnie K. Salyer
an d 49'Aer Bill, th eir son, Rick and his
wife S h aro n vacationed to C o sta del Sol,
Spain on th e M editerranean C o ast. They
to o k a to u r in to th e m o u n tain area, G ra­
n a d a and dow n th e coast across th e Straits
o f G ib raltar to T angier, M orocco.
SOUTHW EST
Reno’s Hazel Hohn and W erner a tten d ­
ed the an n u al A viation Space W riters A s­
sociation C o nvention in San Francisco and
m et several 99s, including W A SP Eleanor
Wagner. E lean o r an d H azel were both
W A SPs b u t had never m et until they were
sitting near each o th er on th e bus to Ames
Research C enter. H azel says th a t D uncan
C am pbell, ed ito r o f the New Z ealand’s
South Pacific A viation Digest, to ld her he
is m ost im pressed with th e 99s he has met
at A viation Space W riters C onventions.
H e finds them to be very dedicated and
enthusiastic a b o u t aviation.
33
New gift to Ninety-Nine Headquarters
/^ ^ C L A S S IF IE D
This section is f o r the advertising o f
e m p lo ym e n t
o p p o rtu n itie s,
jo b s
wanted, 99s in business, item s f o r sale
and so fo rth . We hope it will be used
rea d ily b y 99s a n d th e a via tio n
industry alike.
Rates: $2.00 p e r line. C ount 35
characters or spaces p e r line. Intro­
ductory words in caps. M inim um —
$6.00 Paym ent m ust accom pany ad.
To continue running the sam e a d in
the next issue, send paym en t to head­
quarters by the advertising closing, or
send paym ent f o r several issues at one
time.
A R T IC L E S F O R S A L E
A IR P L A N E P O R T R A IT S p a in te d in
o il. G r e a t G i f t / A n y size to 2 4 ” x 3 6 ” .
B a c k g ro u n d : la n d , c lo u d s o r b o th .
J .C . H o o p e r , 70 B e a c o n S t., M a r b le ­
h e a d , M A 0 1 9 4 5 . (6 1 7 ) 6 3 1 -7 4 8 7 .
A HANDBOOK
.. . f o r C A R E E R P L A N N I N G A N D
C H A N G I N G . A S e lf-H e lp G u id e fo r
th o s e w h o a re m a k in g a c h a n g e in
th e ir life . S en d $ 2 .5 0 to D o ris B u h rK ila n s k i, 6550 H a n n a n R d ., W a y n e ,
M I 4 8 1 8 4 (1977).
“ I T A U G H T A M E L IA T O F L Y ” b y
N e ta S n o o k S o u th e r n , 15891 S h a n n o n
R d ., Los G atos, C A 95030. A u to g rap h ed
$7.20.
B U S IN E S S O P P O R T U N IT IE S
R E L O C A T IN G Y O U R B U S IN E S S
TO TULSA?
I n d u s tr ia l S ite f o r S a le , 10 a c re s , E a s t
sid e o f R iv e rs id e A ir p o r t, $ 5 0 ,0 0 0 .
J o h n n ie K . S a ly e r, B ro k e r. 1 -9 1 8-4374536.
EM PLO YM ENT
W O R L D W ID E A V IA T IO N
EM PLO YM ENT
O P P O R T U N I T I E S . D e ta ils F R E E .
A v ia ti o n E m p l o y m e n t I n f o r m a t i o n
S e rv ic e , B ox 2 4 0 V , N o r th p o r t, N Y
11768.
S a lu te to Lindbergh ... “T h e F light”
As a fitting com m em orative o f L ind­
bergh’s historic achievem ent, the Inter­
national A erospace Hall o f Fam e has issued
a G olden Jubilee medalic tribute. The
designs were created by aviation artist
Charles F aust with B arbara H yde sculp­
turing the models showing the classic view
o f Lindbergh with helm et and goggles
aro u n d his neck and the “ Spirit o f St.
Louis” in flight over Paris o n the reverse.
A special m atched set (one b ronze, one
silver) o f these m edallions bearing serial
num ber 99 o f th e series o f 300 to be
produced has been presented as a gift to
Bread and
Butter
Aviation
Virginia Gay Stephenson o f the East A f­
rican Section is now sales assistant for Air
Kenya L td. th e Beechcraft dealer at W ilson
A irport, N airobi.
Rita Rogers o f First Canadian has recent­
ly becom e the FBO at M arkham A irport, a
field located east o f T o ro n to International.
Rita has found th e airport to be a growing
concern and is very happy ab o u t it. The
Flying C lub there offers a full range o f fly­
ing training with eight instructors and R ita’s
been planning m any im provem ents. Al­
ready, four new aircraft have arrived and
two are on order; the inside o f the C lub has
been re-done. R ita is certainly busy these
days. She is also President o f Polairs A via­
tion which offers instrum ent training at
T o ronto International A irport and o f
L um ar C o rp o ratio n which is the official
ow ner o f M arkham .
N orthfield A viation, a “ M a and P a
O peration” , ru n by Long Island 99, Elaine
Devino, and her husband Vinny, has just
m oved to the B rookhaven, LI A irport,
where they are opening a brand new FBO.
They have the G rum m an A m erican Flight
C enter, as well as the G rum m an-A m erican
the N inety-N ines, Inc. by th e IA H F Board
o f D irectors. T hey will be on perm anent
display in o u r H ead q u arters building in
OKC.
Proceeds from the sale o f medallions
provide fu n d s fo r th e IA H F to bring its
H eritage P ro g ra m to th e youngsters o f the
w orld. M edallions range in price from $4 $125 depending o n size an d m etal content.
W rite In tern atio n al A e ro sp ace/H all of
Fam e, 1639 El P ra d o , B alboa P a rk , San
Diego, CA 92101 fo r price lists and
additional in fo rm atio n .
and Rockwell C om m ander dealerships.
Elaine and Vinny also m anage a 90 mem ber
Flying C lub, the A erocats. All 99s and their
friends are m ost welcome to stop in and
visit — the coffee pot is always on!
Bonnie McSwain o f All-Ohio Chapter is
now instructing part-tim e at H ausserm ann
Aviation - P o rt C olum bus.
Michigan 99 Janelle Golden has been re­
assigned to the W hite H ouse in W ashing­
ton, D .C . She is in the U SAF.
Marcia Grismore o f Minnesota Chapter
is one o f three corporate pilots em ployed by
KSTP-TV to fly news crews around the
upper Midwest using a C essna Skymaster
and a F27.
El Paso 99 Joyce Canavan flew her first
multi-engine charter to S anta Fe, NM.
Kansas m em bers are involved in the busi­
ness end o f aviation. Susan Horstman is the
C hief Flight Instructor for Nelson Aviation,
Salina, Kansas. She is also heading a sixweek IFR ground school and flight school.
Susan is also th e A ccident Prevention
C ounselor for her area. Marilyn Copeland
and husband Jo h n have purchased Rawdon
Field in W ichita. They have form ed C ope­
land A viation and have student pilot train­
ing program s an d also are th e dealers for
G rum m an.
Gerry Gardiner, Reno Area 99 is flying
the “ Fish P a tro l” along the Truckee River
in N evada fo r the U .S. Fish and Wildlife
Dept. She tracks cutthroat trout which have
transm itters (m an-m ade) to learn which fish
is going where.
Get a high performance
Cessna II with Nav-Pac and get
yonr IFR instruction
free.*
s oca
H
flying,
situati
c
i
V
up a new world
ions becom e "g<
. constant touch
fly more efficien
Cardinal RG E
quipped with
ou the instrumer
charge.
the package sa1
Ivionics, you als
me free. And yoi
so you don't hav'
ures Dual Nav/C
:tor, plus a 400 G
Dn. All TSO'd. A:
i II which alread
including TSO'c
)A Autopilot with
pt functions,
jssna Dealer not
ir new airplane 1
sky.
DEALER will provide
required 40 hours o
ction, including neo
rum ent rating. In the
over a n d above the
e on an hourly basis
------
For a lot of miles
and a lot of weather,
an Aztec F is just what
the doctors ordered.
% ; a ***■■
Or. Carroll Knauss and Dr.
Sheldon Gold, general surgeons
in Pontiac, M ich., m ade a long
list of the things they look for in
th e airplane they fly - then
chose a Piper Turbocharged
A ztec F w ith full de-icing, a full
IFR panel and long range tanks.
Range, com fort, handling
ease, econom y of operation,
and th e ability to cope w ith a
w ide variety of w eath er condi­
tions th a t beset lake-locked
M ic h ig a n -th e s e w ere prim e
considerations. By a country
mile, the Turbo A ztec F was the
only plane th a t satisfied them
on all counts.'M f you know
M ichigan w eather, you know
why,” they say.
“ We fly freq u en tly to m edical
m eetings and clinics, and occa­
sionally m ake fam ily trips. W ith
our A ztec, we can get to Denver
or M iam i non-stop, and to loads
of destinations in-b etw een.”
The two surgeons m et in 1968
and have been flying together
ever since. Two years ago they
moved from a single-engine
plane to a Piper Seneca II. Each
took abou t 15 hours of dual to
obtain m ulti-engine ratings.
They found the Seneca very
easy to fly, used it extensively,
and especially appreciated the
peace-of-m in d facto r of th at
second engine.
They moved up to the Turbo
A ztec F to take advantage of
th e extra 2 0 knots of cruising
speed and th e 1000-plus nauti­
cal m ile range of the Aztec
equipped w ith 4 0 extra gallons
of fuel.
Both Dr. Knauss and Dr. Gold
are also FAA m edical examiners,
and th e ir offices are located
next to O akland-Pontiac Airport.
G etting into th e le ft seat of
th e A ztec F gave both m en new
incentive to com p lete the work
th e y ’d already done toward
th e ir instrum ent ratings. “We've
ju st about doubled the useful­
ness of our airplane. And w hat­
ever business w e're on, flying
our Aztec is pure pleasure.”
For inform ation and a fligh t
dem onstration of the Piper
A ztec F, see your Piper D ealer
listed in th e Yellow Pages, or
w rite Piper A ircra ft Corpora­
tion, D e p t.N N 7 , Lock Haven,
PA 17745.
Engineered for excellence,
built for value.
Member of GAMA