Idaho 99s Newsletter November 2011
|
Calendar of Events |
J 2011 MEETINGS SCHEDULE
At our November Membership Meeting, we shared camaraderie and entertainment with our fellow Ninety-Nines and a few inquisitive guests, hopefully future members.
Gene Nora Jessen presented an inspirational topic very dear to our hearts- Early Pilots and the Powder Puff Derby. She shared stories of some of the first women pilots, their successes amid the obstacles they faced. Her presentation included several unique photos from her research collection.
Awards: Petra presented our talented member, Stacey Budell, a winner of the Amelia Earhart scholarship this year, with a beautiful Amelia Earhart medal for winning the scholarship. Stacey used her scholarship this past summer to obtain her ag-cat training. Congratulations, Stacey! Picture on our Web.
News: Tawni Swann was beaming with pride as she announced the latest addition to her family, a hint – it came equipped with wings and a STOL kit. Congratulations, Tawni! Picture on our Web.
It was wonderful to see all the familiar faces again and catch up on the news. We even gained a new member that day. Sheri "Sharki" Kontra, enjoyed our group so much, she decided to join right away. Yea – Sharki! She hopes to complete her private check ride within the next month.
See photos on the web page.
TRIP
TO EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, CA
October
14, 2011
By
Gene Nora Jessen
Lt Col Kathy
Hughes, MD came to Boise about ten years ago as a Flight Surgeon for the Air
National guard, and piloted the A-10 Wart Hog while there. An Air Force Academy
graduate, she entered flight school then medical school and later, of course,
The Idaho 99s recruited her. Kathy, whose airline pilot husband Paul (who flies
for Delta out of LAX) and two sons are now at Edwards, bought property near
Council along with a hangar for their Beech Debonair so we’ll have them back in
Idaho some day.
Now the 95th
Aerospace Medicine Squadron Commander, Kathy had mentioned inviting her Idaho
99s to visit Edwards and it came to pass. My husband and I had tried to get
through the Edwards gate several years ago since I wanted to visit their
museum. Bob presented his 1943 WWII Army Air Corps ID dating back to when he
was flying the B-29 and B-17 (teenagers did that then), but no joy. Kathy
opened the gate for us. Edwards was celebrating the 60th anniversary
of the Air Force Flight Test Center including a Salute to the Space Shuttle.
The Jessens, Petra and Russ Vawter and Mary Ann and Steve Richards came down
from Idaho for the festivities.
Of course Chuck
Yeager was an icon in the first X-1 flight through the sound barrier and now 89
years old, he was on hand for the celebration. We even saw the X-1 loading pit
in which his Glamorous Glennis rocket plane had been rolled down into a pit to
be attached to the mother ship B-29.
Those of you who
know of Pancho Barnes (and you all should know this outrageous aviation
eccentric) are aware of her “Happy Bottom Riding Club” on what is now Edwards
property. Our group was driven out to the ruins of her Fly-Inn Dude Ranch and
was privileged to wander around this historic spot. Chuck Yeager standing in
the desert sun spoke at length about his flying and also about Pancho, after
which the group toasted Brig. General Yeager with a shot glass of Jeremiah
Weed! (To me it was rot-gut whiskey, a foul tasting macho testimonial to
manhood.)
Edwards is a
flight test center which includes the prestigious US Air Force Test Pilot
School and virtually all military airplanes strut their stuff there – and
they’re also known to do some research for General Aviation airplanes too. The
base is 481 square miles in size and includes multiple runways of both hard
surface and dry lakebed. Base Commander Brig. General Nolan treated us to a
display of some of their handiwork. We saw up close and personal the T-38,
F-16, F-35 of which there are six on the base, and an F-22 – with Col. Dawn
Dunlop, the Test Wing Commander’s name painted on the side. (We girls were
compelled to cheer.) There was a flyable B-1, an X-47B (a Navy robot intended
to fly off aircraft carriers), KC-135, Global Hawk (remote reconnaissance), and
a Navy A-3. Over at NASA Dryden we saw the X-29, F-104 and SR-71 – and other
exotic airplanes. We were in overload. We also made it over to Mojave Air and
Space Port for “Just Plane Crazy” fly-in on Saturday morning. After a very
tasty breakfast at the airport café, we had the pleasure of seeing more nifty
and one-of-a-kind airplanes, where we ran into some local Ninety-Nines.
Upon first arriving
at Edwards we heard loud speakers all over the base come alive with the music
of Retreat then the National Anthem. All cars on the road pulled over and
people stopped whatever they were doing out of respect. Then at 7:30 each
morning Reveille is played and in the evening Taps. The military traditions and
obvious dedication were truly impressive. Probably the phrase most memorable
for me was at a ceremony of historical perspective hosted by General Nolan who
thanked his various Commanders for their service and then for all the
“intellectual capital” in the room. And there was a whole lot of that. There
are some 2,500 active duty Air Force and more than double that of civilian
employees plus industry on the base. The collection of intellectual capital, along
with patriotism, is awesome.
Upon departure
from Edwards Air Force Base, one can only feel great appreciation for those
folks who have decided to safeguard The United States of America for the rest
of us. We were privileged to be in their company. Salute!
And a few more
words about the trip from Chairman Petra:
We were all able to stay on base
for the weekend. The weather was
unusually calm with less wind than usual.
On Thursday evening, Gene Nora and Bob took part in a dinner event which
also toured the ruins of Pancho Barnes' Happy Bottom Riding Club. The next day Kathy led a tour of the
area. In one of the attached pictures,
Kathy and her husband had driven us out to a high spot where we could see the
base. Then we went to the 60th Anniversary
Celebration of the Flight Test Center, where Chuck Yeager was one of the
featured speakers. The following day
included breakfast at the Mohave Airport.
(I missed this part because of the early birth of a granddaughter,
Annriette. I flew back to Idaho.) Local 99s joined our group. A tram tour was given of the airport. Next, the group visited a static display and
gift shop at the flight test center.
Next they toured Edwards AFB museum.
Afterwards they went to the X-1 pit, which is a square, concrete hole in
the ground where they put the X-1 and taxied the B-29 over it to attach the
X-1. Chuck Yeager first broke the sound
barrier with the X-1 in 1947. That
evening the group had dinner at a private airpark in Rosamond. What a fun and educational weekend! Kathy did a fabulous job!
December
Christmas Party reminder. Date Change
The resort name
is Nester's Pine Motel, and the email address is nestersmtnmotel@aol.com. The telephone is 208-653-2210. The manager states that there are a lot of
pictures on their facebook page, so please take a look.
To get to
Nester's Pine Motel, drive south out of BOI on I-84 to the intersect with
Highway 20. That is the highway to Sun
Valley. It is about 40 miles out of
BOI. Then continue on Hwy. 20 to about mile
post 127, some 37 miles. At that point,
turn north at a big white roofed sand shed.
Pine is up that road some 18 curvy miles along Anderson Ranch
Reservoir. It takes about an hour to get
to Pine from Mountain Home. Add 15
minutes or so if the roads are slushy.
It is paved highway all of the way.
There are 12
rooms plus a self-contained cabin. Room
rates start at $60 and go up to $100.
Some rooms have 2 queen beds; one has 3 queen beds and a futon. Pat looked at almost all of them and they are
nicer than a back country motel. They
look more like hotel rooms. Each room
has a microwave, a refrigerator, and a coffee pot, and a nice bathroom with
showers. The Pine Cafe is steps away
and will cater our dinner within the lodge.
The cafe` will be open at 8am on Sunday to accommodate our breakfasts. We
have a space for our late day cocktail party within the lodge meeting room.
The caterer will
need to know numbers about dinner, so please report to Pat Jenkins directly about your menu choices. The menu will be:
8 oz. top
sirloin or 8 oz. chicken breast.
Green salad
Baked potato
Green beans
with bacon and onion
Small dessert
The sirloin dinner is $14.95 and the chicken
dinner is $10.95.
We can bring our
own wine, beer, and liquor to the cocktail party and to dinner. I doubt that
anyone will want to dress up for dinner, so feel free to advertise casual dress
for dinner.
COMPLETE 2011 SCHEDULE
***The
meetings are also on our website events calendar. http://www.idaho99s.org ***
|
Chapter Business/Meeting Notes/International Information |
International News
Do you
want your 99 News before everyone else? Is your postal service still learning the
meaning of the word ‘service’? Since 2007, each issue of our magazine is posted
on our website and can be accessed at
http://www.ninety-nines.org/index.cfm/99_news_magazine.htm. The magazine is
purposefully placed on the public side of our website as a Public Relations
tool and a reference for researchers. You are welcome to share the link with
any interested individual, particularly future 99s.
The popular printed directory will be
available in November. The cost is
$15.00. Pre-orders are now being
accepted.
AE Scholarship application for 2012 is now
on-line. The 2012 Conference is
scheduled for July in Providence, Rhode Island.
|
Member Chat/Miscellaneous Information |
Meet Our Members! by Sherry Kandle
In my second article to
highlight one of our members, I'm pleased to introduce Cathy Henry. See website for photos. Cathy joined the 99s in 2010 and she
immediately stepped up to help with the Friday social at our Northwest Section
meeting.
Cathy started flying lessons
several years ago after she had the opportunity to fly around the McCall area
in a two place ultralight. She soloed in
an ultralight which she flew for years.
She obtained her sport pilot certificate about 4 years ago. She has owned a couple of ultralights, a
Quicksilver and a Rans S5. She currently
enjoys flying her Flight Star, experimental light sport. After Cathy got interested in flying, her
husband, Steve, also started flying and got into building airplanes, too. They built a Just Air Craft Highlander which
they have flown on several long strips around the country. Together they own Action Sign & Crane Company
and now Wild West Aircraft. Cathy loves
to take photos. Be sure to check out the
videos and photos at www.WildWestAircraft.com.
Cathy is also active in the Top Fun Flyers club, a fun social group of
like minded people who like to have fun and fly.
Flying came naturally to her,
maybe an extension of her motorcycle riding as a child. She started riding at a young age. It was in her blood, as her whole family rode
and her father ran the local motorcycle shop.
Her family has always been involved in racing, be it motorcycles or
cars, and her daughter and husband have been successful racers for over 20
years. With racing in her blood, maybe
an air race is in her future?
Everywhere she goes - Cathy
runs into friends! She loves fly outs,
and has made friends from all over the country.
One thing that amazes me is that she can always find someone you know in
common. Her optimism and joy for life
has a positive influence on everyone around her.
Cathy grew up in Idaho. She married her high school sweetheart and
they have two daughters. Cathy is the
proud Grandmother of 5 little girls, hopefully there is at least one future
pilot among them. She is one busy
gal. In addition to their family and
flying activities, Cathy and Steve are active with the local country dance
group, their church, and enjoy music and karaoke. Cathy also holds down a full time job so she
is always on the go.
Next time you see Cathy at
the airport or our meeting, be sure to say hello. She'll be happy to see you.
New Member:
Please help welcome our
newest member, Amanda Vansickle. I have
only met her in email but some of you met her at the October meeting. Thanks to BJ for recruiting her!
99s BIRTHDAY GIRLS -- (the # after
their names is the year they joined, not their age !!!):
November: HEATHER BRADSHAW 08, VIVIAN DRISCOLL 06, MINA GRISWOLD 99
|
Membership Information |
Please keep your membership current.
Are your Member Dues current?
Pay your dues if you haven’t for this year! Send your $10 (checks made out to Idaho Ninety-Nines) to our treasurer:
Treasurer: Lois Chattin
5080
N. Wildrye Dr.
Boise, ID 83703