Dottie Sanders Flight Scholarship winner selected
The 2010 winner of the Dottie Sanders Memorial Flight Scholarship is Ana Mendivil who is working towards becoming a professional aerobatic pilot. She was introduced to aviation and aerobatics while in high school and became obsessed. Ana earned her private pilot in January and her Associate of Science in Commercial Flight in February of 2010. She will be graduating from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in June of 2011 with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management and is currently working on her instrument rating.
Compass Rose painted at KSEE
The San Diego chapter painted a new compass rose at Gillespie Field over the course of two days in April and it looks great! Aircraft mecahanics use an airport's compass rose to swing an aircraft's wet compass. About a dozen chapter members and a few significant others participated in this airmarking project taping lines and painting of the The Ninety-Nines, Inc. compass rose logo design with interlocking 9's on the southwest corner if the airport. Now all who fly in and out of Gillespie can see the functional 'art' by the SD 99s!
SD99s 2010 Delano Flight Scholarship Winner
Bay Cities chapter Ninety-Nine Tracy Zedeck has been selected as the 2010 Marian R. Delano Memorial Flight Scholarship winner. The $1,500 award will help her in achieving the multi-engine rating.
Tracy began flight training in 2002 while attending the University of Colorado for a degree in psychology. When she realized her flight training studies became my first choice for homework, she decided her my career and hobby choices would have to be switched. In 2004 she graduated college, earned her private pilot certificate and began a new quest to live her dreams:
"Over the next few years I worked as a teacher, waitress, and office manager at a glider towing company while paying for my flight training. In 2007 I received my commercial certificate and was promoted at the glider company from the office desk to the single seat Piper Pawnee. I loved being a “Tow Dog” battling the mountain wave and rough rotor over the Rockies. After a lot of patience, hard work, and persistence, I was offered an opportunity to work for the summer season of 2009 in Talkeetna, Alaska. I flew climbers and tourists in Cessna 185s onto glaciers in Denali National Park. Landing uphill on a U-shaped glacial run- way without brakes in front of massive granite mountains was one of the best experiences of my life! Sometimes I still have to pinch myself. For summer of 2010 I will be flying charter, mail, and sightseeing tours out of Juneau, Alaska. I am having a lot of fun building flight time, but I am ready to start building multi-engine experience to meet the hiring requirements for my ultimate goal in becoming an Emergency Medical Services pilot. This award is yet another reminder that as long as you keep trying, keep your goals in sight, and keep your passion in your heart, then the sky’s the limit."
Tracy began flight training in 2002 while attending the University of Colorado for a degree in psychology. When she realized her flight training studies became my first choice for homework, she decided her my career and hobby choices would have to be switched. In 2004 she graduated college, earned her private pilot certificate and began a new quest to live her dreams:"Over the next few years I worked as a teacher, waitress, and office manager at a glider towing company while paying for my flight training. In 2007 I received my commercial certificate and was promoted at the glider company from the office desk to the single seat Piper Pawnee. I loved being a “Tow Dog” battling the mountain wave and rough rotor over the Rockies. After a lot of patience, hard work, and persistence, I was offered an opportunity to work for the summer season of 2009 in Talkeetna, Alaska. I flew climbers and tourists in Cessna 185s onto glaciers in Denali National Park. Landing uphill on a U-shaped glacial run- way without brakes in front of massive granite mountains was one of the best experiences of my life! Sometimes I still have to pinch myself. For summer of 2010 I will be flying charter, mail, and sightseeing tours out of Juneau, Alaska. I am having a lot of fun building flight time, but I am ready to start building multi-engine experience to meet the hiring requirements for my ultimate goal in becoming an Emergency Medical Services pilot. This award is yet another reminder that as long as you keep trying, keep your goals in sight, and keep your passion in your heart, then the sky’s the limit."
Centennial of Licensed Women Pilots
The Centennial of Licensed Women Pilots on March 8th commemorated the anniversary of the licensing of the world's first aviatrix on that date in 1910, Raymonde De Laroche (1882 – 1919) a French balloonist, by encouraging female pilots worldwide to introduce another woman to flight. The San Diego 99s did their best despite the intermittent rain showers. SD99s Mary, Connie, Roni & Natasha spent the drizzly day sharing their love of aviation (and the Ninety-Nines!) with a group of interested women. A few ladies also took a short flights with Natasha in a Piper as did others who went up with Mary. Channel 8 News even mentioned us briefly during their 11am show. Still a successful event despite the weather.
Food, Friends & Fun at our March Social Mixer
Great food, good drink, interesting conversations, casual attitudes were the order of the evening at the Powell's hanger home at Gillespie Field. Special guests of the SD99s were Simone Aaberg Kaern, an artist from Denmark and her friend Latifa, a helicopter pilot (the only female) in the Afghan National Army. 
Simone told us the story of her flight to Afghanistan in 2002 in order to fulfill the dream of another Afghan woman to learn to fly. Her PowerPoint presentation and animated descriptions of events and conditions along the way put all of us in awe of her determination and won our enthusiastic admiration. She opened her art exhibition, Seize the Sky, the previous night at San Diego State. The exhibit explores the metaphorical and literal freedom of the sky, unbounded by political borders and examine flight as a metaphor for individual freedom.
Members of the SD99s with Simone, front row in black.
Simone told us the story of her flight to Afghanistan in 2002 in order to fulfill the dream of another Afghan woman to learn to fly. Her PowerPoint presentation and animated descriptions of events and conditions along the way put all of us in awe of her determination and won our enthusiastic admiration. She opened her art exhibition, Seize the Sky, the previous night at San Diego State. The exhibit explores the metaphorical and literal freedom of the sky, unbounded by political borders and examine flight as a metaphor for individual freedom.
Members of the SD99s with Simone, front row in black.
$2,000 Darlene Kelly Scholarship Winner Announced
Alexandra Nye has been selected as the 2009 winner of the San Diego 99s Darlene Kelly Scholarshipp for advanced training. Allie currently works for an FBO at Montgomery Field as a dispatcher. She began flying at age 15 with Quantico Marine Corps Flying Club in Quantico, Virginia and soloed in in 2005 at 16. She received a scholarship to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she earned her Private Pilot certificate at 17 and was the youngest member of their Precision Flying Team. She finished her instrument rating in 2008 and is currently working on her Commercial Pilot certificate with the help of this scholarship.
June Meeting at Ramona Airport
Our June 2009 gathering was a fly-out meeting to Ramona Airport where we hosted our Dottie Sanders flight scholarship winner and guest speaker Kelly McCague. Kelly arrived at Heather Gamble’s hangar from Borrego in her park ranger Husky Aviat.
She told us all about her job as a ranger for the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. We were rapt listeners as she told us how she came to be one of only two flying park rangers in the state (the only female), and what her job entails in terms of law enforcement, rescues, and assisting biological programs in the park.
After our program, the chapter sat down for a sandwich lunch and some hangar flying...and of course posed for a group photo...
Wings Over Gillespie Airshow
San Diego Ninety-Nines members participated in several capacities at this year’s airshow. It was a great way to be seen in the aviation community and meet with current or aspiring aviatrixes and introduce ourselves. We had a booth where we told passersby about the Ninety-Nines, our purposes and achievements. We also sold many raffle tickets for our Barnstormers Travel Air Bi-Plane ride flight scholarship fundraiser.
Ninety-Nines Heather & Frankie "wo"man the booth
Annette & Bonnie
Member Jill Baker also was part of the show as she was flight crew for the Confederate Air Force on their B-25.
SD99s also had their aircraft on display: Tracy Ramm flew in her bright yellow T-34 and Heather Gamble came in her silver Cessna 180 to decorate the ramp near our booth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
