Virginia Chapter 99s - virginiachapter99s
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RESULTS OF 2011 TOY AIRLIFT SURPASS ALL OTHERS!
We had absolutely fabulous results for the Toy Airlift this year far exceeding any numbers we had done before!
Including a late donation which was brought to Landmark Aviation at ORF, we donated 902 toys! Our number of gift cards to McGuire's Veterans Hospital was way up, too--$655 plus two to Michaels of unknown value.
The gifts for the veterans totaled 210. When I delivered the various gifts, the staff at McGuire's Veterans' Hospital was very surprised and extremely appreciative. The same was experienced by the staff of Holiday Helpers at Ft. Lee.
Our food sales brought in $265 in profit which will be used to purchase
more gift cards for McGuire's Veterans Hospital. There was also a $200
donation from a Ninety-Nines member in PA which will go to gift cards also.
Just for comparison, last year we had 378 toys, $455 in gift cards and food sales profit of $215.
Most everyone brought in a greater number of donations than they had the
previous year. We also had some new participants. The Steward School
has only three students in their new aviation club but they brought so many donations, it took two planes to bring them! Thanks ever so much and we hope to see you next year!
To all who participated in any way, a great big pat on the back! We hope to see you all next year; go ahead and put the Toy Airlift on your calendar for next year on the second Saturday which is 12/8.
We already have a new musical act for next year. The mother of one of the violinists volunteered her 16 year old daughter to play the harp next year. Man, is that going to be classy or what! If any of you have ideas to make this event better, please speak up.
James Evans of the Norfolk area brought a photo journalist with him and they did a nice piece on our event on the Norfolk channel 3 news at 5:30. Way to go, Jim! It was very positive for general aviation and great PR for The Ninety-Nines. To see it, go to
http://www.wtkr.com/videobeta/ea5f0fb2-038e-412e-92e3-21928ee1076a/News/Pilots-collect-toys-in-annual-Toy-Airlift
You will have to view a brief commercial first.
There was also a nice article in the Hopewell News by Sara Wilson. It can be seen at http://www.hopewellnews.com/article_4036.shtml
Thanks very much to everyone for your invaluable support!
TWO NEW MEMBERS!
Welcome to new new members for our chapter! Both are CFI at flight schools in the western part of our state.Sarah Morris writes:
<<Hi Betty!
Thanks so much for contacting me! I moved to Virginia a few months ago and live in Lynchburg. I am currently a flight instructor with Liberty University out of KLYH, and I am also in maintenance school working on earning my A&P. It's been quite the adventure so far! I would love to come to the meeting tomorrow. Do you know if there is anyone else coming from the Lynchburg area that I could possible carpool with? It's a little bit of a drive from Lynchburg, and if there's anyone else from this area, it'd be great to save some gas (and I'd certainly be willing to help with her gas). Please let me know.>>
Sarah can be contacted at smorris2@jacksonville.edu,
Laura Abraham writes:
Hi Betty! Thanks for the email! I am a CFII at a boarding school in Northern VA called Randolph-Macon Academy. We have a flight program. I've been here for almost 10 years. I would love to come to the meetings; however, tomorrow's weather does not look too good for a flight. It is good to know that you meet the third Saturday each month. I can mark my calendar! Yes, please put me on the email list!>> Laura Abraham
Laura can be reached at labraham@rma.edu.
Sarah will present our program at the 3/17 meeting. See details on this page. We hope Laura will be there also. Everyone please be there to welcome them!
CHARTER MEMBER IS DECEASED
Charter Member Mary Virginia "Ginny" Riley,87, passed away Thursday March 10 about 4:50 PM at Memorial Regional Hospital in Mechanicsville VA. She died as a result of an accidental fall in her home March 8, 2011.
Her obituary and details of services can be found at http://www.asimas.com/ASIMAS/vincentfh/obituaryDescription.jsp?domain_id=351&deceased_id=240989 You can also leave a message of condolence there.
Ginny had learned to fly while she and husband Jim lived in Texas. When Jim's job with the FAA moved them to the Richmond area, she met Maxine Walker, another female pilot and they became life-long friends. Since there was no Ninety-Nines chapter in Virginia at the time, Ginny and Max flew or drove to North Carolina to attend meetings there. Ginny became a member February 23, 1962. These two enterprising women gathered a few other female pilots and together they formed the Virginia Chapter; the charter date was April 21, 1962.
Ginny rarely missed a meeting so long as she was in town and physically able to attend. She served many years as chapter historian. Although she suffered several health challenges, she never complained. When asked how she was doing, Ginny always answered either "I'm great" or her favorite "Mahvelous!"
Ginny was a long time resident of Memphis TN and was well known for her love of fellow Memphisian Elvis. She had loads of Elvis memorabilia throughout her house. Once a friend gave her a life-size cutout of Elvis and thereafter he was always in attendance when we celebrated her birthday each April. He was also standing at the foot of her casket during the celebration of her life. See pictures of Ginny with other Virginia Chapter members in our various albums.
Recent activity
Journal
Sara and Faith Fly the PT-23 Fairchild
11/21/10
Not only has 86 year old Sara Parmenter recently regained her pilot’s medical; she has now been reinstituting her favorite activity of “airport hopping”. A few of her favorite spots are Chesterfield for Sunday brunch, Dinwiddie to meet with the members of Petersburg Pilots Association and Gordonsville where she enjoys partaking of the good food served each weekend by Faith and Caleb Glick.
While at GVE recently she had the great pleasure of joining Chuck Tippett to fly the PT23 Fairchild, an open cockpit WWII trainer with a 180 hp radial engine which is owned by Frank Isbell of PTB.
While at the controls, she did steep turns, climbs and descents and generally had a blast! While flying she said her focus was completely on maintaining control of the plane, watching the airspeed etc. Although it was considerably faster than her Cessna 140, Sara felt it was no more difficult to fly. She highly recommends the experience to anyone who is lucky enough to get the chance. Days later she still had a big grin on her face when talking about it!
Right after Sara climbed down from the PT23, Faith Olen-Glick climbed in and took off with Chuck.
He said she literally took the controls from him!
She did steep climbs and turns and flew low over a friends’ landing strip waggling the wings!
She describes her experience thusly, “It really takes you back in time and I was absolutely loving it!
From the open cockpit, you can see everything, the sky and the ground at the same time!
I absolutely did not want to get out!!”
Oh, what a fine time was had by all!
See pictures of Sara in an attached album.
Attachments:
Chapter Updates
New very friendly FBO
I was flying in southern VA a few months ago and had the pleasure to meet Mr. Melvin Vick. He and his wife Terri are the new owners of the FBO at Emporia-Greensville Regional Airport. He is an extremely friendly accommodating guy; had good fuel price too--$4.299. Next time you are out flying, go by and say Hi to Mr. Vick.
Betty Vinson
Our Mission Statement
OUR MISSION --The Ninety-Nines is the international organization of women pilots that promotes advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring our unique history and sharing our passion for flight.”
Future Meetings of Virginia Chapter
| Event: | MONTHLY MEETING View event |
| Date/Time: | May 19, 2012 11:00am to 2:00pm |
| Location: | Gordonsville Airport (GVE) |
| Address: | 18123 Airport Rd., Gordonsville, VA [Map] |
| Notes: | The March 19th meeting will be held at Gordonsville Airport GVE. We will gather at 11 AM and Faith is providing grilled ribs for lunch! That alone will be worth the trip! Come join us at this super friendly airport and experience old-time camaraderie.
DIRECTIONS: Coordinates: N38-09.36 W078-09.95
Mag Var: 6 deg W Driving: 3.0 miles N of the town of Gordonsville, VA 6.0 miles S Orange, VA 18123 Airport Rd., Gordonsville, VA |
All women pilots and student pilots are encouraged to attend. We love to mentor new pilots!
Long Time Member Doris Phillips Passes
Doris Phillips passed to distant horizons on or about 12/31/11. It was a real jewel in our memory that we honored her and Maxine Walker for their long-time membership in The Ninety-Nines. She was such a charming and vibrant person right up to the end. See below.
LONGEVITY LUNCHEON HELD
On Saturday August 20 the Virginia Chapter and the Hampton Roads Chapter met jointly at Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport (JGG) for a Longevity Luncheon. The honorees were Hampton Roads Chapter member Doris Phillips celebrating 70 years of membership in The Ninety-Nines and Virginia Chapter member Maude Maxine (Max) Walker who celebrated 60 years continuous membership. There were ten members present from Hampton Roads Chapter and eight from Virginia Chapter to celebrate the event. Members ranged from a new student pilot up to Designated Examiner and ATP rated. The combined years of membership totaled 130 years of the honorees. After a roll call of those present the total number of years of membership in The Ninety-Nines was calculated to be 481.5!
Letters of congratulations from President Susan Larson were read and presented to each honoree.
Doris told of taking flight instruction during WWII for the grand cost of $1.32/hour! She also contributed to the war effort by working on the production line building Taylor Craft planes.
Doris had belonged to other chapters in other parts of the country before a permanent move resulted in her joining the Virginia Chapter in 1968. In 1987 the Hampton Roads Chapter was formed with Doris as a charter member and she went on to serve in various capacities. Sadly Doris passed away on 12/31/11.
Maxine Walker earned her license in 1941 in North Carolina with the plan to join the WASP but they were disbanded before she could accomplish her goal. She finally joined the Carolinas Chapter of The Ninety-Nines in 1951. Living in Winston-Salem area placed her right in the aviation beehive which was to become Piedmont Airlines, later to morph into US Airlines. She took whatever flying jobs she could get which included charter work. During the ten years she worked every Sunday afternoon "hopping" passengers (the reason she couldn't join the 99s earlier), she had a male passenger who when he saw Maxine, said "A woman? I don't want to go; I might not get back!" Maxine responded, "If you aren't coming back, don't get in my airplane; I always come back." He got in and thoroughly enjoyed his first flight.
In 1959 Max became the first female Air Traffic Controller hired at RIC. She took advantage of her opportunity to ride jump seat and did more traveling than all the other controllers at Richmond combined. One United captain refused to let Maxine jump seat because he said "Women aren't allowed in the cockpit." Maxine called her FAA office in New York; the captain was removed from the flight immediately and Maxine rode the jump seat! She also trained many of the male and female pilots in the Richmond area as one of the few female CFIIs in the state. Several male pilots who had first-hand knowledge of Max’s flying abilities said the only reason she was not snapped up by the airlines was that she lacked “certain male physical equipment”.
In 2002 Max was recognized by her peers by being inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame. (For pictures, see the Longevity Luncheon album.)
Five decades of women pilots in the U.S. How did we do? Learn the facts.
The following was copied from The Ninety-Nines ListServ dated 8/25/11. The author was Mirelle G. (further personal info unknown).
A few months ago, women pilots in the U.S. made headlines. "The number of women pilots has significantly increased over the last decade," claimed the headlines.
After noticing that the great increase in the number of women pilots was driven by a change in the length of validity of student pilot certificates, I contacted the FAA to obtain statistics for 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 so that I could take a look at the numbers on my own. So how are we doing?
In 1980, one in 4,224 women in the U.S. held an "other-than-student" pilot certificate; in 2010, the ratio had become one in 5,623.
Barely registering in bar graphs depicting the pilot population, the percentage of women pilots in 2010 is 5.39% of the pilot population holding an "other-than-student" pilot certificate and 5.15% of the for-hire pilot population.
High growth did take place, but it was between 1960 and 1980, a period that saw the number of women pilots go from 4,218 to 26,896. In 2010, there were
27,451 women holding an "other-than-student" pilot certificate in the United States. An increase of 555 women pilots over three decades.
There is some good news. Since 1970, the number of for-hire women pilots has increased at a steady rate of 3,000 per decade.
However, when we compare the progress of commercial women pilots to other professions previously male dominated, the progress seems dismal.
Interestingly, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the percentage of commercial women pilots (4.3%) is about half of the percentage of female boat captains and operators (8.2%), nearly a quarter of the percentage of female police and sheriff's patrol officers (15%), and close to one eighth of the percentage of female doctors and surgeons (31.8%).
Many factors can explain the current state of the women pilot population and its slow progress. I invite you to view all the data and consider some of the factors by reading this article <http://www.womenofaviationweek.org/five-decades-of-women-pilots-in-the-unit
ed-states-how-did-we-do/> .
Aviation Poem--Mabel
Young Mabel from far-off Mt. Shasta,was marking her chart in Nebraska.
Her route was to Wooster,
but somebody goosed her,
and Mabel wound up in Alaska!
Frederick Tops Female Flight Drive
Frederick Airport in Maryland, home airport of AOPA, earned another distinction during Women of Aviation World Week in March 2011. A total of 22 pilots gave free introductory flights to 185 girls and women to claim the title of Most Female Pilot Friendly Airport in the World. "This accomplishment set a new world record for most girls and women introduced to flying in one day and one location...," said organizer Mireille Goyer, a Vancouver, BC flight school owner. Most of the flying took place outside the sunbelt but regardless of location there were some gritty performances turned in by volunteers trying to hook girls and women on aviation. For a complete For instance, there was Diana Stanger, of Port Lavaca, TX who flew 98 girls and women, by herself, in her Eurocopter EC120 to become the Most Dedicated Female Pilot. Casey Cowan in Arlington, WA, USA, braved the rainy weather to win the "Most Supportive Male Flight Instructor in the World" title. A total of 707 girls and women got to go flying that day and that's about one percent of the female pilot population worldwide said Goyer. For more information see http://www.womenofaviationweek.org/ |
262 girls, women fly at Oshawa airport in 2010
Canadian airport recognized for giving most intro flights in a year
By Dan Namowitz
As a Dec. 31 deadline approached for an airport to earn recognition from theCentennial of Women Pilots as the Most Female-Pilot-Friendly Airport in the World, Oshawa, Ontario, reclaimed top honors from Renton, Wash., by giving 262 introductory flights so far this year. Renton pilots have given 184 flights. Kpong Field in Ghana has given 97 flights.
Oshawa accomplished its top-flight performance by introducing 118 girls and women to flying on Dec. 18. Two weeks earlier, Renton had established a one-day record for “most girls and women introduced to flying in one day and one location” with 173 flights, pushing its yearly total to 184. Renton still maintains the one-day record.
The year 2010 is the centennial of the year in which Raymonde de Laroche of France became the first woman to earn a pilot certificate worldwide, on March 18. The introductory-flight events are part of the worldwide Centennial of Women Pilots campaign that seeks to introduce a record number of girls and women to flying “as a salute to the women pilots of the last hundred years as well as an encouragement to girls and women everywhere to discover the joys of flying,” said a news release from the organization.
Oshawa private pilot Lesley Page organized the local event, enlisting 13 pilots and 15 volunteers from Oshawa and Buttonville (CYKZ), with support from municipal officials, airport personnel, and local media.
Page and Oshawa City Councilor Bruce Wood previewed the event on KCDO radio. (Listen to the lively interview).
Other awards to be issued in the centennial event include Most Dedicated Woman Pilot, Most Supportive Male Pilot, and Most Unusual Introductory Flight.
Family & friends
Betty V
99smaxie@...
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Alexis S
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Guestbook
5/6/2011 3:25:03 AM - 000026461331
Look at my gorgeous flowers! Of course, they are Hadley's too and were sent
by Nancy and by Hadley's daughter, Nicole!
Sharon
Report From Air Force Cadet Hannah Cox
Hannah is one of our Associate Members and currently attending the Air Force Academy in Ft. Carson CO.
The Air Force Academy is an amazing place to be. I've completely loved my 1.5 years here (even the year that sucked). My squadron freshman year was a blast, and my new squadron for the next three years is slowly growing on me. I joined the Cadet Honor Guard as a freshman and went through the 9 long months of grueling training that forced the 12 of us to become a tight team. This year the team is going to several major Veterans Day parades to march and show off our rifle drill, and hopefully a couple national competitions. We also carry out the vital functions of our 4000 man cadet wing, raising and lowering the flag every morning and afternoon and supplying a color guard for every formation and football game. We are the standard for precision and excellence among the cadet wing. And it definitely keeps us on our toes. (The gale force winds right now are trying to tear the flag off the pole, we're finding people who aren't in class to run out there and switch flags.)
I also had the opportunity to take the Unmanned Aerial Systems course during the summer and the Basic Soaring class at the beginning of the fall. UAS was a lot of fun, as my three-man team were good enough to take on some of the more challenging missions the instructors could throw at us. We did actually fly millions of dollars worth of equipment around Ft Carson, CO. In Soaring, I was one of about three (out of 11) students to solo in our gliders, mainly because of my prior flying experience. The basic soaring course is just too short for everyone to get to solo, especially with the weather being so weird this close to the mountains. The hard part about gliders isn't the actual gliding part, it's being tied to the tow plane.
I'm currently pursuing the computer science major, and it's been pretty challenging so far. It requires working weeks ahead on homework, which is a change for a procrastinator like me. School is hard. Hands down. The average in my physics class is around a 68% (a D), and our core classes are rather intense. I'm in Physics, Law, Engineering Mechanics, Economics, Computer Science, and English this semester. I'm also in swimming and water survival (Water Haze in cadet slang) this semester, which is rather challenging. Jumping off a 10 meter tower into the water will be interesting.
Overall, I love it here. Even though I would like to average more than 5 hours of sleep and 2 cups of coffee a day. Go Air Force, Beat Army. (We already sunk Navy.)
News/Updates From Chapter Members
GREAT NEWS!! Even though some health issues caused delays, Eva Marie Cox has passed her checkride and now has that license to learn! She flies out of Shannon. Way to go, Eva!!
Becky Luther is staying very busy with meetings and training sessions re flying the T-28. Currently she is in Pensacola for a week or so for meetings with other Trojan pilots.
Associate Member Alexis Samloff is now serving in the Air Force. Since she is less than the required 5' 4", she cannot pursue the pilot route so will train as a linguist. Hopefully she will send an update periodically.
Why Do Women Comprise Only 6% of the Pilot Population?
Recently Penny R. Hamilton Ph. D. undertook a quest to answer the question "Why do women comprise only 6% of the pilot population?"
Her sampling included licensed female pilots and many who had begun but never completed their training along with flight instructors, both male and female.
This important research, partially funded with a Wolf Aviation Fund grant, is completed. The findings are now in the hands of the Wolf Aviation Fund. The results are now posted on the web site _www.teachingwomentofly.com_ (http://www.teachingwomentofly.com/)
Do we now know why women comprise only six-percent of the pilot population? Answer: The study lists the top ten barriers and top ten things these women and men suggest we should be doing to help more women achieve their pilot certificates. These are listed on the Teaching Women to Fly home page.
Bone Fragments Thought To be Amelia Earhart Found
From Oklahoma City's KOKH FOX 25 - Bone Fragments could be Amelia Earhart's - Anthropologists at Oklahoma University could help unlock a 70 year old mystery. They are analyzing bone fragments uncovered from an island in the south Pacific along with pieces of a compact containing remnants of makeup powder.
www.okcfox.com
DOWNLOAD YOUR OWN CHARTS--FREE!
Amazing! The FAA now has most aeronautical charts including both VFR and instrument approach procedures, high and low altitude charts and more now available for downloading---free! Go to http://aeronav.faa.gov/index.asp?xml=aeronav/applications
The Ninety-Nines Endowment Fund Wins $10,000 Grant!
In 2010 The Ninety-Nines Scholarship fund was one of five aviation groups receiving $10,000 from Lightspeed Aviation to aid in their continuing good work encouraging aviation.
Lightspeed is continuing their grants and in early October 2011 an arm of The Ninety-Nines is again the happy recipient of another $10,000. This time it is the Ninety-Nines Endowment Fund wearing the big grin!
Thank you, Lightspeed! and thanks to all who voted for us!!
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5/16/2012 6:36:41 PM
