Ninety Nines Women Pilots – Flying in Amelia Earhart’s Footsteps

By Donia Moore

OC 99s Aviation Week (Donia Moore)The Powder Puff Derby was in full flight, with aircraft landing and taking off from Lockheed Terminal, piloted by women members of the International Ninety Nines Women’s Flying Club. On the ground, Girl Scout Troop 671 watched in awe as the pilots maneuvered their aircraft around the tower and headed through the clear skies for the next leg of the relay air race. Most of the young Scouts had never even seen a small plane, outside or inside, and few had ever seen women pilots flying them. Amelia Earhart was a distant historical figure to most of them. The girls were at the airport to act as hostesses for the lady fliers, helping out where they could. One of the Scouts was so captivated by the Cameron’s first solo - Fullerton 99s. (Donia Moore)scene that she only stare longingly at what looked to her like toy airplanes come to life.

The mother of another of the Scouts was flying in the competition that day. Though she was well known and well liked by them all, none of the other Scouts except her daughter had ever seen her fly her plane before. Noting the rapturous look on the Scout’s face, she decided to return to the airport later that afternoon and offer to take the girls up for a ride. She didn’t know that the experience would fuel the lifelong dream of one young Scout to take her own place above the clouds.

Racing Fever

99s Fullerton (Donia Moore)Air Racing has always been a major event of the Ninety Nines. The First Women’s Air Derby was held Aug. 18, 1929, when 20 pilots raced from Santa Monica, Calif. to Cleveland, Ohio, site of the National Air Races. The nine-day competition was not without incidents. Pilots were required to have a minimum of 100 hours flying time. They also were required to fly an airplane with horsepower “appropriate for a woman.” One pilot entered her own 300 HP Travel Air but was disqualified because it was deemed too fast for a woman to fly it. One pilot landed in a field and was taken away by the local sheriff who was convinced she was smuggling dope. Another pilot had damage to her plane and had to find a replacement in a hurry––not an easy feat in those days. Her replacement plane had a smaller fuel capacity and she ended up flying dry into almost every stop. The race sponsor tried to change the course the day before the race. With a winner’s purse of $25,000, the women were not about to drop out.

Racing fever continued until WWII, and was renewed shortly after its end. The All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race (AWTAR), better known as the Powder Puff Derby, came into being. It took its nickname from an observation made by Will Rogers that the racers all took one final look in their compacts and dabbed a bit of powder on their noses before taking off. The AWTAR held its 30th, final and commemorative flight in 1977, but the Air Race Classic (ARC) continues the tradition of transcontinental speed competition for women pilots. In the early days of air racing, contestants stayed together, with control stops at noon and for the night. There was little variation in weather and flying conditions for the contestants, and the race officials released standings to the media at the end of each day’s racing.

Today’s race route stretches 2,400 statute miles in length. Contestants have four days, flying VFR in daylight hours, to reach the end of the route. Each plane is assigned a handicap speed. The goal is to have the actual ground speed be as far over the handicap speed as possible. The pilots have leeway to play the elements, holding out for better weather, winds, etc. The objective is to fly the “perfect” cross-country. Official standings are not released until the final entrant has crossed the finish line. Interestingly, in this type of race, the last arrival can be the winner.

Why “Ninety Nines”?

In 1929, there were only 117 licensed women pilots in the U.S. Led  by Amelia Earhart and other women pilots at Curtis Field in New York, 99 of them joined the club, hence the name Ninety Nines. Amelia Earhart was the first President. Today, membership in the nonprofit charitable organization has grown to thousands of women pilots in 36 countries.

Ninety Nines Scholarships

It’s impossible to know how many young women aviators have been influenced by close contact with a member of the Ninety Nines. The Scholarship program encourages young pilots to succeed in following their own flying dreams. Since 1941, 496 Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships have been awarded to qualified women members to further fund advanced flight training, including jet ratings and technical training. These are in addition to additional funding awarded for Academic Scholarships, Research Scholarship Grants and New Pilot awards.

From Ace to Space

The Ninety Nines recently became a sponsor for the Girl Scouts of America, offering an aviation merit badge. Hundreds of their activities center on educational programs, including aerospace workshops for teachers, airport visits and tours for schoolchildren, Fear of Flying clinics for airline passengers and Flight Instructor educational seminars. Over 75 percent of pilot Flight Safety programs in the U.S. are co-sponsored by the Ninety Nines. Since 1948, they have participated in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s student flying competitions as judges, runners, teachers, and have helped with funding assistance as well.

Giving Back

Local Ninety Nines clubs have blossomed, most with charitable giving as part of their mission. Their events often develop around helping a particular charity or group in need. You’ll find Orange County, Calif. Ninety Nines members flying for Flying Good Samaritans and LIGA (Flying Doctors of Mercy). You’ll see Fullerton, Calif. Ninety Nines setting up Safety meetings with EAA for all general aviation pilots in their communities. You’ll discover many clubs handing out financial awards and scholarships for further education. You may even see them in your own community collecting food and handing out warm blankets and clothing for the homeless. You’ll notice them at airports everywhere mentoring the next generation of women pilots, maybe one of which will be a young Girl Scout who will never forget her very first plane ride.

Written by Donia Moore, published author and “rusty pilot” who specializes in freelance copywriting and web content. She may be reached at iwritewordssc@gmail.com, on LinkedIn and on Facebook/iwritewordssc