Ninety-Nines bring women aviators to N.S. for first time
The Ninety-Nines’ Gold Cup Air Rally is flying in to Nova Scotia for the first time at the end of August, with YZX in Greenwood as the landing destination for two dozen women aviators.
“Too bad we didn’t have more Auroras: we could go to the start, be ready and then – GO! As they leave,” says 14 Wing Greenwood’s well-known CP140 Aurora pilot Major Mary Cameron Kelly, helping with some of the hosting logistics as a 99er herself. “Hah!”
With Elizabeth Walker of Berwick, a past chair of the East Canada Section of The Ninety-Nines, and an organizing committee; they aim to “correct” the fact the cross-country Gold Cup challenge has not –yet – landed in British Columbia or Nova Scotia.
The East Canada Section represents over 350 military and civilian, recreational and commercial female pilots in Ontario, Quebec and the four Atlantic provinces. Its marquee Gold Cup flight started in 2000 as a two- to four-day annual VFR challenge that tasks participants to plot their multi-leg route cross-country. En route, they tie in points-winning landmark photos, flight and fuel calculations, scavenger hunt finds, spot landings and more.
“It will be all single-engine planes,” says Walker. “It’s a challenging, tiring flight – the legs are long, about 220 nautical miles, with winds, the heat in the planes, your bladder…. That’s enough! At the upper end, we could see 80-year-old women pilots and, at the lower end, there will be people in their 20s – it’s a wonderful group.”
This year’s challenge route will see rally participants gather in Rockcliffe, Ontario (CYRO), for an August 21 departure. That all happens at the same time, but the variety of aircraft and the route challenges will see them jump at varying times through a fuel and lunch stop at St. Georges (CYSGO), a crossing over Maine, and a late afternoon arrival in Greenwood.
Walker and Cameron Kelly say East Coast weather has been a consideration in Gold Cup routing in the past, but they’re doing their best to guide flight plans that avoid common cumulous clouds over the Bay of Fundy: “bumpy in little planes,” Cameron Kelly says, and bring the 99ers in safely and comfortably.
Once on the ground at 14 Wing Greenwood, participants will stay in base accommodations, eat at the Annapolis Café and socialize Friday evening, through Saturday, including local touring and an evening banquet; and then depart as they like on August 23. Organizers expect some non-flying 99ers to arrive by car, keen to join in the camaraderie that comes with the annual challenge and social.
The Ninety-Nines is an international, non-profit organization of licensed women pilots from 44 countries. The group’s members promote the advancement of aviation through education, scholarships and mutual support, while honoring a unique history and shared passion for flight. For more information, and details on local chapters, visit ninety-nines.org
