EAA Oshkosh 2009 July 27, 2009
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Abingdon Watches, airventure, Aviation, Lancair, oshkosh, womenventure
add a comment
It’s that time of year again. Oshkosh, one of the largest aviation shows in the world begins today. People from different countries fly in and Americans bring in their planes from their home airports for the event. Miles of anything having to do with flight unravel ahead of you once you’re at the front gate.
This is a big year for me – for a couple reasons. One is that, for the first time, Abingdon Watches will be sold at the show through the PilotMall booth! We are also releasing a press release about the third model. I will tell you more about that later.
So come down if you can make it. You need at least three days to cover everything. And if you are flying in, I recommend going in with someone who has done it before because the procedures can be tricky if you are not familiar.
And come say hi to me at the Lancair booth!
Obama Honors Historical Women Pilots July 13, 2009
Posted by Juice in Flight, Politics.Tags: Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, Jackie Cochran, July 1, military aircraft, Nicole Malachowski, Obama, Rosie the Riveter, S.614, WASP, Women Airforce Service Pilots, World War II
add a comment
Almost two weeks ago, on July 1, President Obama signed S.614, a bill to award the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. The WASP, the first group of women to fly military aircraft for the United States, reported for duty more than three decades before women in the United States were allowed to attend military pilot training with full military status. An excellent movie about their story is depicted through the film Fly Girls (1999).
“The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country’s call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to this nation since,” Obama said. “Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve.”
To release male pilots for combat duty overseas, the 1,102 WASP flew military aircraft in the United States during World War II. Fewer than 300 are alive today; three of those women joined the president in the Oval Office. Five active duty United States Air Force pilots who followed in their footsteps—including Major Nicole Malachowski (very cool lady, might I add), who was instrumental in promoting the bill—were also present for the signing.
These women were truely pioneers for what we have today and I am glad to hear they are getting the recognition they deserve! I think Jackie Cochran would be proud. And anyone who puts in the word “WASP” in the checkout when ordering an Abingdon Watch will get free shipping and an extended five year warranty.
Is it a car? An airplane? July 5, 2009
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: aerocar, helicron, Lane Motor Museum, vintage
add a comment
In the late 1930s, this one-of-a-kind Helicron was placed in a barn and forgotten. More than six decades later this odd lost little gem was rediscovered, rebuilt, and reintroduced to the world. Although the manufacturer is unknown, it’s believed that this car was built in France 1932. Following the first World War it was not uncommon for recently displaced airplane engineers to look towards the automobile industry for employment.
As in this example, a few entrepreneurs developed propeller-powered cars with the notion that propeller power was an efficient means of moving a vehicle. On this car, when the wooden propeller is spinning at full speed and efficiently, this little 1,000-pound boat-tailed skiff can hit freeway speeds exceeding 75 mph. This is the one and only Helicron in existence, owned by Lane Motor Museum in Nashville ,Tennessee.
Sally Ride Returns to Earth June 24, 2009
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: 1983, astronaut, Challenger, physics, Sally Ride, Sally Ride Science, space shuttle, UC San Diego
add a comment
Today is a famous day for women in space and it happened in 1983.
Sally Ride is a former astronaut and the first American woman to reach outer space – and also the yougest American to enter outer space. Her story is interesting, because in order to get to the starry skies, she applied along with 8,000 other people to an ad in the newspaper seeking applicants for the space program. In 1978, she was part of the first astronaut class to accept women. In 1983, she took part in her first space shuttle mission, serving as a crewmember on board the Challenger and returned June 24 from her first mission. After 343 hours in space (over several years), she became a professor of physics at UC San Diego (my alma mater!) and is in the business of promoting the sciences to children – with a particular focus on girls I might add. Sally Ride Science is a company she founded in 2001 that creates entertaining science programs and publications for elementary and middle school kids. This woman rocks!
Sympathy for the missing Air France plane June 2, 2009
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Airbus, airplane, Brazil, checklists, crash, Flight 447, safety
add a comment
My sympathies go out to the flight that was going from Brazil to France Monday. Searchers found some debris in the Atlantic today and they are sending ships to investigate. No one yet knows what happened with Flight 447, and I am sure we will find out in due time.
I know the chances of finding any survivors is small, and coming from a pilot’s perspective, it reminds me of the amount of respect one must always give to the aircraft one flies. Between the accident in the Hudson, the iced up airplane in upstate New York, and this Airbus crash in the Atlantic, there have been some terrible occurances lately which is not encouraging many to fly. This past year, I have logged over 400 hours with about a quarter of it in IFR and night and safety is always something that should be foremost in the pilot’s minds. Luckily I have never flown into tricky conditions, and I contribute that to my flight instructors keen words about checking weather and being ok with saying no. His saying was, “You can be a bold pilot or you can be an old pilot. But you can never be an old bold pilot!”
For those of you who read this and are behind the yoke in the cockpit, please remember your checklists and be ok with saying no – whether you fly for a company or for yourself. Aviation is a small family and we don’t need to lose anyone else. I know I need to refresh on my emergency procedures and it looks like this weekend may be just the weekend for that.
AOPA 2008 November 9, 2008
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: AOPA, Cirrus, Flight, Pilot, plane, San Jose, sky, Women, Women Pilots
add a comment
I just got back yesterday from AOPA in San Jose, the Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association Exposition they hold each year. It was full of pilots, planes, and some great energy with the presidential election and woes of the economy. All in all, I had a great week talking to lady pilots like Dorothy who helped with the design of future watch models, and celebrating my 25th birthday Tuesday night with my Cirrus friends. Good to be home and with a flight like the picture above, it was some of the best scenery I’ve seen in the sky!
WAI? To meet other women who really love to fly! January 22, 2008
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: California, Flight, Pilot, WAI, WAI Conference, Women in Aviation, Women Pilots
1 comment so far
The WAI conference is coming and I’m totally excited!
It will be my first WAI conference ever, but I read Women in Aviation and I can only imagine that the same type of interesting and helpful information I get from my monthly mag will be super condensed and jam packed into each of the breakout sessions.
This year’s theme is “California Dreamin’” and the location is San Diego (in the far south of CA). What’s great about the conference is that it is focused on topics related to making women better candidates for careers as professional pilots. I’ve been lucky in that I settled into a pretty great job right after getting my commercial license, but I can see where many, many women could really benefit from the discussions, education sessions, and networking that is going to be available at the conference.
Perhaps it is the meeting and talking with a wide variety of women pilots that intrigues me most. I’m a member of the Palms Chapter of the 99s and we are a fun bunch, but with the exception of the CFIs and myself, most of the Women I have met through the 99s have been GA pilots. I can’t wait to see the diverse tapestry of working women pilots at the WAI conference.
It truly is a magnificent feat to work one’s way up to the level of commercial pilot, and the paths each of us have taken from that point on are fascinating. I strive daily to promote future women in flight and to honor those who have come before me. Going to the WAI conference, looking about, and seeing thousands of us all writing the history of today’s aviatrixes will certainly be a sight to see.
Pakistan Takes a BIG Step Forward January 8, 2008
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Aviation, Flight, Military, Pakistan, Women
1 comment so far
This story is a few months old at this point, but I had to remark on my complete astonishment when I saw this video:
Wow, wow, wow! In a society the world sees as at times unruly, and with a military dictator some believe to be tyrannical, these women have achieved something amazing.
I can only imagine what it must have been like for them, day in and day out, striving to prove themselves in one of the most intense of all male dominated atmospheres. The report states that the program was implemented by Musharraf, (no doubt as a way of staving off anti-regime rhetoric from developed nations critical of his other policies) and that must have led to an incredibly difficult dynamic for these women.
History has shown that when cultural shifts come violently from a top down mandate (especially in the military), life can be brutal for the pioneers in early integration programs.
In the U.S. we recall the trials and tribulations of the Buffalo Soldiers, the WASPs, but here we have a culture clash that comes, as some believe, straight from the pages of the Koran. The video has a very positive spin, but I can’t help but think there must have been moments of harrowing fear, dire loneliness, and ritual degradation. Just a few days ago, I read this article that shows women in developed forward thinking nations are still fighting battles every day with the goal of making true womanhood and career flight non-mutually exclusive.
Anyone who has been through a check ride can tell you, getting a pilot’s license in the U.S. is no cake walk. But these women in my opinion have leapt a bar as high, if not higher, than our beloved early American and European aviatrix role models. I salute the women of the Pakistan Air Force, pray we never meet them in battle, and smile as the cause of aviation equality and opportunity marches on.
Busy, Busy, Busy…Holiday!..Busy, Busy… January 3, 2008
Posted by Juice in California, Flight.Tags: Flight, gifts, holidays, shopping
add a comment
The holidays this year were amazingly busy. It seemed like I had just put away the costumes and decorations from Halloween and eaten the last leftover turkey sandwich from Thanksgiving, when all of a sudden it was time to go shopping.
I looked at my car keys and thought of the mall, and the traffic, and the hassle and thought, “this year, I’m going to put spin on shopping.” More precisely, a propeller spin.
I realized, it’s 2007 and I’m a pilot! There are tons of little shops and nooks all over the southern coastal region of California from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and I was able to get to a bunch of them by virtue of the local GA airports. I grabbed a couple friends to cut down of the cost of gas and we bopped out of Santa Monica to a host of little spots over a few days leading up to gift giving time.
My family delighted in the myriad of artifacts from differing parts of the map, and I was actually relaxed after shopping for once. It was a totally fun experience, and next year I’m hoping to expand upon my travels to nearby states.
Now, if I could just find a way to incorporate flight into New Year’s…
Over There October 30, 2007
Posted by Juice in Flight.Tags: Helicopter, Iraq, Military, Pilot, War
add a comment
(Photo courtesy Guy Raz, NPR)
Typically, when I think of flying I think of euphoria. It’s the reason I fly and it’s the reason I wanted to learn how to fly. I enjoy the feeling of controlling the aircraft as it moves through the sky, and even the requisites of flight like navigation and calculation have a noble feel to me. But the woman in this article (pictured above) flies under very different conditions.
The piece describes Chief Warrant Officer Mary Rone as being potentially shot at and speeding through pitch dark night, all while some poor soul is critically injured on that god forsaken battle field.
I took a moment after reading that piece to think about how horrid it would have to be to take the flights I love and place them in that context. I’ve decided that, while I would definitely feel a sense of pride and warmth knowing I did my duty and helped a fellow soldier, there is no way I could glean from battle the feeling I get from flying safely through friendly skies.
The contrast in my mind served as an awesome reminder of how much the men and women of our armed forces are giving up by fighting day and night in the conflict in Iraq, and I had to take time today to state how much I support them and wish for their safe return.
Whether flying for work or pleasure I think it’s important for us all to remember that at the end of the day (or our contract, in some cases) we get to go home and, unless there’s a terrible mishap, it’s pretty much guaranteed we’ll be in one piece.
If only we could all fly purely for pleasure…
