The mission of The Ninety-Nines is to promote the advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring their unique history and shared passion for flight.
Letter from the Chair
By Dana Davis
After seven weeks waiting for my airplane’s Annual Inspection to begin, and then to be finished, I was sure that I had forgotten how to fly. When we finally got the Cheetah out of hock on Friday, and it wasn’t raining, I didn’t actually have time to fly. Saturday rolled around and I finally got to take her up and practice—it wasn’t the best flying weather, a little turbulent on takeoff and gusty on landing, but I managed five acceptable landings before calling it a day. The fun actually started when I returned to the airport that evening to get current on night landings. It was a beautiful, calm evening with clear skies, bountiful stars, and a beautiful crescent moon. When I took off, I was the only plane in the pattern. With calm air, the landings were docile, and pleasurable—all three better than any of my daytime landings. On my first taxi back to 29, two Archers taxied out of ACI ahead of me, each with a female pilot. All three of us took off in succession, and I enjoyed watching their lights as they left the area heading south together. We wished each other a pleasant evening and continued on our paths. As I was preparing for my final landing, another female, piloting on an arriving Skywest flight, made her initial call. Prior to landing, I verified her location to make sure I had time to land and exit the runway ahead of her landing. After making my call that I had exited the runway, we traded pleasantries, and I taxied back to my hangar, excited about sharing my passion for flying with other women who were out, enjoying the wonders and joys of flying on this beautiful evening. I was in good company!
I feel fortunate that during my down time I wasn’t completely grounded. I had the opportunity to fly with friends, and I completed my first biennial flight review with my long-time flight instructor and Ninety-Nine, Erin Ayers, in her airplane. All benefits of my membership with the 99s, and the relationships I’ve gained. And, I’m excited that we have a lot of exciting events and activities on the horizon to keep us engaged and to sharpen our piloting skills.
Don’t miss the upcoming workshop about aerodynamics on April 16
Mark your calendar to join us Sunday, April 16 for the Aerodynamics of Flight for Pilots, an educational workshop presented by several of our female Cal Poly Aeronautical Engineering students. Please come support their work, learn some new information, and enjoy time with fellow pilots.
You will have the option to make a donation to the SLO 99s scholarship fund with your registration. Full event details below.
Voting is now open for The Ninety-Nines, Inc. 2023 Election of Directors, Nominating Committee & Trustees. Voting deadline is May 2, 2023 at 12:00 am GMT +00:00, UTC. You should have received your ballot via email or mail.
Susan Steeb will be presenting at the Southwest Section(SWS) Meeting on April 29th. The meeting will be virtual and you can register at the SWS website(https://sws99s.org). We plan to gather at ACI for the meeting so we can watch together and provide a live audience for Susan’s presentation.
Registration is now open for the Ninety-Nines 2023 International Conference in Jordan, October 27 – November 2, 2023. Several of our members have expressed an interest in attending the conference. Please let me know if you are thinking about attending or would like more information.
It may have seemed like the year started out slowly, and our annual inspection would never end, but the year is in full swing now and there are plenty of exciting aviation opportunities ahead. I look forward to seeing you at our meeting on Wednesday, April 5, at ACI Jet.
Letter from the Chair
SLO 99s Monthly Meeting
Upcoming Events
March Fly-out to Monterey (3/27)