LadiesLoveTaildraggers

A woman registered recently on LadiesLoveTaildraggers and her honesty caught me off guard. She didn’t beat around the bush or try and water it down and make excuses; she was just really honest and wrote, “I don’t have the nerve to land.” Wow, now that’s REAL. She loves to fly but the act of landing the airplane is just too scary for her. Coming from a long history with aviation sorts, I’ve noticed that flying airplanes and honest discussions don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. After all, when you’ve got a bunch of Type-A pilots shooting the breeze (or should I say “bull”) about their adventures in the air, fessing up that they’re afraid of anything just doesn’t happen. So with that mindset, when I read her “bare your soul” comment about her fear, it really struck me.

Linda Winters & her Cessna 170

I met Linda Winters last Fall at her very own “Winter’s Airport Fly-in” after she sent me an email invitation. It’s a mere 43 miles from where I’m based but its a private farm strip and, not knowing a woman was based there, I’d never been there.

North end of Linda Winters Airport, 1600', 0II9. Note the wires if you ever fly in

Linda says: “I have the airplane (Cessna 170A), the runway (Indent: 0II9), and the dream; but, I don’t have the nerve to land! Even so, “I Believe I Can Fly”. One day I will fly my Cessna 170 to the Ladies Love Taildraggers Fly-in!

My husband and I raised our boys with many family trips in our airplane. I’ve been active in EAA and their Young Eagles program since 1994. It’s exciting to see a young person get hooked on flying. They are the future of GA.

Every year since 1996 I have hosted a Fly-in here at Winters Airport (www.WintersAirport.info). It’s the 3rd Saturday in September…..and there are always room for more airplanes so come on over. It’s just fun to hang out and look at airplanes, especially taildraggers.”

Watching the planes fly

Linda Winters

Monrovia, Indiana, 0II9

Getting to know Linda just a little at last year's fly-in

What Linda doesn’t say is that her husband, the pilot, is now deceased. He flew their C170 out of their 1600′ grass strip and she misses all that flying. She loves that old Cessna 170 and loved being in the air. Of course, things are different now with the hubby gone, but anybody can tell she truly wants to get up there again.  I say we send Linda some encouragement and help her get over the fear of landing. There’s a pilot in there somewhere that needs to get out. Linda, I believe you WILL fly your C170 to our Ladies Love Taildraggers Fly-in some day!

Tammy Farrell is based at PASX, Soldotna Airport, Soldotna, Alaska.

N2930D, Cessna 170. I flew "Blacky" C170 from Hayward, CA to Frederick, Maryland solo to go to my sister's wedding. My first stop was Laramie WY. Had 10 more gallons of fuel, but I had to go to the bathroom after 8 hours!!!

Clam digging, Cook Inlet, S of Anchorage

Kustatan River Alaska. Landing on the strip to go Silver Salmon fishing.

Glacier above Kenai Lake, Cooper Landing

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Bears at Big River Lakes

Samuel Airstrip, Kenai, we call it Daisy Strip

Just in from Laura Mayer…

“It’s High Time I sent an Update! Just saw the Christmas video and loved it!”

A happy Laura with Skywagon N11DH!

Laura flies the family 1978 Cessna 180K Skywagon  purchased in 2010.

“I passed my IFR check ride in August. Yippee!!”

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And from July 2009…..

Laura Mayer with her 1953 Cessna 170B

I started flying lessons at the age of 48 and got bitten by the aviation bug with the tenacity of a tick. My love affair with flying began with a J3 Piper Cub. I still remember laughing uncontrollably when I did my first S-turns on the taxiway. Learning to fly was a hard won lesson for me; discouragement almost triumphed, but desire and my not too scant stubbornness prevailed. I finally soloed on June 3, 2007. When I abandoned the plan of getting a Light Sport rating and decided to go for my Private Pilot, I reluctantly switched to a Cessna 152.

Once I got my ticket, I set my sights on purchasing my very own 152, despite the fact that my husband and I already owned a plane. When Bob (who is an IA) first decided to purchase an airplane, he did extensive research, more methodical than I initially realized. And the plane he finally settled on as his fervent desire was a tailwheel, a 1953 Cessna 170B. Initially, I had no plans whatsoever to fly that plane. Probably because it almost cost our marriage with its demand of money, sweat, and tears!! But once I got my tail wheel endorsement , 49A transitioned rapidly from being a financial albatross to being my most cherished passion in life.

I’m certain I speak for all the women on the site when I talk about flying. Flying is my passion, my release, the purpose of my life. The world could be falling down around me, but once I hear “cleared for takeoff,” I am the happiest person in the world and pure joy reigns. We live in beautiful New England and places like Montauk, Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, and Newport are a scant hour or two away.

OK, so it's not mine, but it was the BEST Christmas/Anniversary/Birthday present I EVER got!

Laura &  her husband own a 1953 170B, N3149A, upgraded with a Lycoming 180, constant speed prop & STOL package.  Laura is based at DXR (Danbury Municipal Airport, Danbury, CT).

Laura says “Ladies and taildraggers – PERFECT together!!”

Melissa Bohl is based at French Valley Airport (F70), Murrieta/Temecula, California.

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Melissa Bohl & Cessna 170B

I happily learned to fly in a 1953 Cessna 170B.  I soloed and took my private in the 170 and more recently I’ve been flying a Cessna 140A.

New addition to the family. Say hello to the Hornet.

I enjoy barnstorming around Southern California’s Anza Borrego desert.

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Flying over Lake Isabella in the 170

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Working on my commercial rating...agua dulce

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Thanks,

Melissa

Brandi Terkeurst is based at  Moontown Airport, 3M5, located just east of Huntsville, Alabama.

The ugly plane is Patches, my 140 (my five year old, Bailey Terkeurst, took the photo of me).

My name is Brandi and I fly out of a small grass strip in northern Alabama called Moontown. I blame my grandfather for getting aviation in my blood (I thank him all the time). He flew bombers in WWII and owned several aircraft over the years. I only remember flying with him once, so I didn’t grow up around it.

Globe Swift, Rick Stroud (owner) and Brandi Terkeurst (right seat)

A complete coincidence, I now work for a legacy carrier in an operations control center tackling global issues on a daily basis. I love it, but for me it doesn’t compare to GA. There ain’t nothing better than dragging your tail around on a nice afternoon while you put your work aside. I like the freedom of flying on my schedule. I compare it to getting a bicycle when you’re a kid and being able to go down to the local ice cream shop.

A C90-12F for the 140 (I was helping as much as I could).

Then, you get your driver’s license at sixteen to go grab dinner all the way downtown. Obtaining a pilot’s license just opens the next door to the whole world – you know what I’m talking about. Tail draggers just make it that much more fun! I took my private check ride in our 1954 Cessna 170B. I’m in the process of restoring a 1947 Cessna 140.

The barn doors down on the 170B on final into 3M5.

Thanks!

Brandi Terkeurst

Moontown Airport 3M5

Anna Schwisow is based at KPUW, Pullman/Moscow Regional Airport, Moscow, Idaho.

Anna Schwisow (right) & friend Elizabeth (left)

Hi, my name is Anna.
I started flying with a friend in a Taylorcraft when I was 13.  Since, I’ve been flying almost exclusively in taildraggers – I have hardly any tricycle time!  I took some time off from flying for college, but now I’m trying to get back into it.

Me & my airplane

A couple of years ago, my dad and I bought a 1952 Cessna 170B with the Lycoming 180 conversion and constant speed prop.  The plane lives part of the year with me at the Pullman, WA airport (near Moscow, ID), and part of the year with my dad at Sunrise Skypark near Marsing, ID.

Panel Before

We’ve been working on fixing it up, and even made it a new instrument panel last summer.

Panel Installation

The two guys cutting a piece of aluminum are working on cutting my instrument panel – they’re a couple of my friends at UIdaho, Josh and Cam.

UIdaho Friends Panel Cut

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Panel After

Since the plane is so capable and Idaho has some sweet backcountry, I’m hoping to start learning backcountry flying this summer.
I’m currently at the University of Idaho working on my Master’s degree in Adult Organizational Learning and Leadership.  Once I graduate in August, I hope to do research in aviation education, and I’m especially interested in AOPA’s research on attrition rates among student pilots.

Rudder

I’m super-excited about finding this awesome group of beautiful and talented women!  Hopefully I’ll make it to the Idaho fly-in at Smiley Creek to meet some of you.  :)

Me and Dad!

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Jump Start

Blue Skies!

Anna

Hug

Susan and Andy are two of the most passionate aviators I know and they KNOW aviators from one end of this country to the other. Heck, make that around the world!! You’ll agree after reading Susan’s story ….

I’m getting too old to stay up til midnight and get up at 0330 to catch a 0530 flight to Charlotte, NC! All that said… we headed out Thursday morning on a grand adventure to inspect and possibly purchase a Cessna 170A for our friends from Germany. A zillion phone calls, wire transfers, last minute changes in plans later… we were finally on our way. Andy, Brad and I… I was along as Navigator but mostly for the ride and adventure! We non-rev’d on the “company jet” and landed in Charlotte about 7 am after a great flight with a good friend as Captain! We were met by the owner/seller of the 170, had a nice visit on the 30-45 minute ride out to Lincoln County Airport and found out that we knew a lot of the same people! Steve & Tina Thomas, Doug Parsons and a few others I don’t recall at the moment.

Once at the airport, Brad set about inspecting the aircraft…

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As soon as that was accomplished, Andy went for a test flight with Rick while Brad perused the paperwork….

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After the test flight, we left Brad and Rick to discuss business and were standing outside when I heard that distinctive sound and looked up and said… “Andy… a Custom Cabin in the pattern!” Sure enough….

Bob Perkins and his wife Barbara landed and as they taxied up we walked over to the plane and Andy said… “I’m with the FAA and I’d like to see your paperwork…” Bob had this puzzled look on his face like… “I know this guy….but he’s not supposed to be here!” And then it finally hit and we all simultaneously said… “What are you doing here?”

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What a great treat to see the AGC-8 looking spiffy as ever and have a great visit with Bob and Barbara! We unfortunately had to decline their kind invitation to visit with them at their strip just a few miles away — but we knew we were facing a long trip home and needed to get on the way. We will be back tho!!!

We felt badly for Rick as you could see in his face he hated to part with his beautiful 170 — but we loaded up and promised to see each other soon. I curled up in the back seat with my nifty iPad2 complete with nifty Nav programs while Andy and Brad flipped a coin for left seat!

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We started the long climb up to 8500ft to clear the mountains… (I say that with tongue in cheek as they really are more like hills for someone like me who used to live on the West Coast!) Anyway – we finally leveled off and thankfully it was MUCH cooler at altitude than it was back at Lincoln County Airport! I actually got a bit chilly up there! But the air was smooth and starting to clear as the weak cold front had passed through earlier.

The scenery was beautiful… (if you look past the strip mining)

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Eventually, we managed to clear the “mountains” and started a slow decent back down … and I finally convinced my “drivers” to make a stop at Portsmouth, Ohio… The winds aloft made our trip a bit longer than we wanted so it was great to get out and stretch a bit…. I kept the new owners up to date with emailed photos of our trip.

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Topped off with some fuel and we were on our way for the last 45 minutes of the “Adventure”.

We finally landed at I73 and it was great to be back home…

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98C is now tucked in the hangar at Moraine waiting for her new owners to arrive and have a good look and take a spin around the patch. The plan is to leave the plane here for the summer and attend some fly-ins with us — then crate her up for the trip to Germany this fall. While I hate to see another plane go across the pond… she will have great new owners who will love and take care of her with promises of rides for us when we venture over to visit!

Susan Theodorelos

Wendy Frazer is based at (KEUL) Caldwell Industrial Airport, Caldwell, Idaho.

Colorado Springs

Got my instrument rating in 2004. Love to fly Idaho’s beautiful back country!

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8301A Lava Hot Spring

N8301A Kelowna

Claire Swigard is based at (KDVT) Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, Phoenix, Arizona.

I signed up for flying lessons in 1965 because my husband bought an old Aeronca Chief and I thought, as long as I was going to help pay for it, I should see if I liked flying. I loved it! I am still learning and now own a Cessna 170A, a Cessna 180 and am restoring a Cessna 185A. My eldest son is my IA and keeps them in pristine condition.

As you can tell, I really like bright colors!  They do show up well in the air, especially the 170.

Dianna Klein is based at (KSMS) Sumter Airport, Sumter, South Carolina.

I had my very first flight before I was a year old in a Piper J-3 Cub and I’ve been in love with flying ever since! My husband and I just bought a 1953 C-170B and are having a blast with it. The biggest reason I fly taildraggers is the challenge. A taildragger is something that will never be mastered, and with the proliferation of tricycle gear aircraft, flying a classic taildragger is becoming a lost art. It’s my way of preserving history while enjoying the present.

Wonderful website! So good to see there are many of us!