Ninety Nines touch down at Warwick airpor
WARWICK — The weather on Saturday, Sept. 7, was picture-perfect for flying so some of the members of the North New Jersey chapter of the “Ninety-Nines,” who returned to Warwick Municipal Airport for their annual picnic and meeting arrived by plane.
Others, all of whom are licensed pilots but live nearby, left their airplanes at home.
Pilot Shannon Osborne, for example, and her co-pilot Susan Cafoncelli, flew into Warwick from Caldwell, N.J., in Osborne’s Cessna 182.
It took 36 minutes from chocks removed to chocks in place. “Visibility was unlimited,” said Osborne. “It was a piece of cake.”
Holding the event at Warwick Airport has become a tradition.
“We love it here,” said chapter chair Rosanne Isom. “And we always receive a wonderful welcome.”
The “Ninety-Nines” has been home to women pilots since the early days of aviation. The organization, named after the number of original charter members, is an international non-profit association of licensed professional and private women pilots. The world famous pilot, Amelia Earhart, its first president, and 98 other early female aviators established the “Ninety Nines” in 1929.
Full membership requires that the applicant be licensed as a fixed wing, helicopter, balloon or glider pilot. And many of the 65 members of the North New Jersey Chapter also have instrument, commercial and other advanced ratings. Some have served as airline pilots or were even former members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).
The annual picnic in September is the chapter’s official kick-off for the year’s activities.
During the year members participate in the annual women’s cross country air race, flights to meetings at local airports and the largest of annual aviation celebrations in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Essential information
The North New Jersey Chapter of the “Ninety-Nines” continues to offer scholarships for flight training, which are open to any male or female student pilot with an earnest desire to further aviation achievements.
The next fund raiser, Pennies A Pound, will be held at Lincoln Park, N.J., on Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Women pilots will take you on a 20-minute scenic flight. The charge is $0.30 per pound with a max of $60.
For information contact the Ninety Nines at northjersey99s@hotmail.com.