Newsletter - March 2009

Greater St. Louis Ninety-Nines Newsletter
March 2009

March meeting: Sunday, March 15, 2009
12:00 noon – Lunch at Creve Coeur Airport (1H0)
1:30 pm – meeting in the FBO meeting room

Creve Coeur airport has many wonderful old aircraft in various stages of restoration. If the weather is good it’s fun to just wander around and see what’s going on in the various hangars. If you can, plan to fly-in. Creve Coeur has both a paved runway and an excellent grass strip. If you are driving, take I-270 to the Page Ave Extension (Exit 16B, SR 364 W). Exit at Maryland Hts Expressway (exit 17). Go north approximately 1 mile to Creve Coeur Mill Rd. Turn left on Creve Coeur Mill Rd. and you will drive right into the airport.

Activities and Calendar of Events:

March 27-29: North Central Spring Meeting “Wings over Milwaukee” at the Best Western Hotel, 5105 S Howell Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53207. Deadline for hotel reservations at the Ninety-Nines rate ($79/night for 1-4 people in a room) is February 29, 2009. Additional information is in the Waypoint. Information and registration forms will also be available at our Chapter meeting on February 21.

March 27: AIAA Family Film Night at the Boeing Prologue Room: Fly Away Home is the story of a family of orphaned geese, a 14-year-old girl and her dad, a couple of ultra-lights, and their (successful) attempt to lead the geese home. It stars Anna Paquin and Jeff Daniels and is inspired by a true story. For additional information contact Karen Cooper, 314-941-5612. There is no charge to attend the movie.

May 17-23: National NIFA Air Meet at Parks College. The ground event tests will be given all day on Monday, May 18. About 10 Ninety-Nines are needed to help out. The event will take place at the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis. If you can help out, please contact Jody McCarrell ( jmccarrell@windstream.net ).

June 23-26: Air Race Classic. The 2359 nm route begins in Denver CO and ends in Atlantic IA with stops in Liberal KS, Sweetwater TX, Lufkin TX, Russellville AR, Granada MS, Sparta TN, Jacksonville IL, and Racine WI. Entries close April 15. For additional information contact the Air Race Classic Inc. at 239-633-0077 or e-mail info@airraceclassic.org

July 22-26: The 99s International Conference at the Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel. Our chapter has volunteered to oversee the Hospitality Suite so we would like to have a large contingent of chapter members attending the meeting. The schedule and other information about the meeting are on pp 8-13 of the January/February issue of the 99 News.

Sometime this spring or fall we will be painting a compass rose at Greenville IL airport (KGRE). The folks at the airport have the paint and have offered to feed us! This time it is for real – so if you are interested in helping organize this event, please contact Libby Yunger at 314-725-0428 or girlpilot@sbcglobal.net

International Conference News:

The Greater Cincinnati Chapter is asking everyone’s help in collecting door prizes for the Hospitality Room at the Conference. Items should be aviation related, but they could be anything that you would like receiving as a gift. This means all items should be "new". If you have something to donate to the cause, please get it to Jean Murry (314-469-3541) or Jan Pocock (636-394-5734) to take to the NC Section Meeting at the end of the month.

Ninety-Nines Awards:

Each year the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in conjunction with the Ninety-Nines present the Katharine Wright Award. This award was established in 1981 by the Gates Learjet Corporation and is made annually to a woman who has contributed to the success of others or made a personal contribution to the advancement of the art, sport, or science of aviation and space flight over an extended period of time. The first award was given to Moya Lear, wife of Bill Lear. The award was named in honor of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s sister, Katharine. She used money from teaching to purchase supplies for her brothers’ experiments, nursed Orville back to health after he crashed in Ft. Myer, VA, contributed ideas to their experiments and trials, and acted as a public figure to endorse the safety of flying and the Wrights’ aircraft. She not only provided financial support to her brothers’ endeavors, but also emotional, mental, and public support to her brothers as well. The deadline for submissions is March 31. The nomination consists of a Citation (a statement of no more than 30 words that captures the essence of the nominee’s achievement) and a nomination of not more than three (3) pages that includes the name, address, telephone, fax, and e-mail address of both the nominee and the person making the nomination plus concise details justifying the award and pertinent background or supporting information. Nominations should be mailed to National Aeronautic Association, Attn: Katharine Wright Nomination, Suite 202, 1 Reagan National Airport Hngr 7, Washington, DC, 20001-6015. For additional information contact Corbi Bullock, 919-387-6664, MCBullock@aol.com

NIFA Events (information from Martha Norman)

May 17-23, 2009 National SAFECON
Host & Location: Parks College of St. Louis University, Cahokia Illinois Information: Mr. Ryan Smith, 4300 Vector Drive, Cahokia, IL 62206
Phone: 314-977-9573, e-mail: rsmith22@slu.edu

October 13-17, 2009 Region III
Host: Western Michigan University
Information: Steve Tkachuk, College of Aviation, 237 N. Helmer, Battle Creek,
MI 94015,
Phone: 269-209-5331 e-mail: s.tkachuk@wmich.edu

October 15-17, 2009 Region V
Host: University of Dubuque
Information: Mike Glynn, Flight Operations Center, 2000 University Ave.
Dubuque, IA
Phone: 563-589-3277, e-mail: mglynn@dbq.edu

October 13-17, 2009 Region VI
Host: University of Oklahoma
Information: Ken Carson, Department of Aviation, 1700 Lexington Ave.
Norman, OK 73069-8497
Phone: 405-325-7344, e-mail: kencarson@ou.edu

October 20-24, 2009 Region VIII
Host: Lewis University
Information: Al Soldatits, 1 University Parkway, Romeoville, IL 60446-2200 Phone: 815-836-5597, e-mail: SzoldaAl@lewisu.edu