The Ladies' Fly-Out

1949 Luscombe T8F Dan & Karren McNeill

Every fall early in the crisp morning air a group of intrepid aviatrixes lift off from Placerville, Cameron Park or Swansboro airports. Their fleet of planes represent fast planes, slow planes, high-wings, low-wings, new planes, antique planes and homebuilt planes. Most have a passenger; some are qualified as pilots themselves and some are non-flying guests. The destination of this group is the annual ladies' fly-out. The objective is camaraderie and fun. In the millennium year of 2000 the ladies chose to return to a much earlier time and flew to Ashland, Oregon for the Shakespeare Festival and took in a play based in medieval times. Other aerial journeys have taken them to an evening tour of the Hearst Castle in the San Luis Obispo area, hiking and shopping in Old Town Truckee in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains and a longer trip to Sun Valley, Idaho for the annual harvest festival and a wonderful breakfast trip to a restaurant at the foot of the Sawtooth Mountains.

When in flight, the ladies tune to the same aircraft-to-aircraft radio frequency as airspace conditions allow so they can remain in voice contact during the flight. They share information on winds, turbulence and each other's position as well as fall colors observed along the route. Their numbers vary between 12 and 16 each year, and this year they adopted a name for their group. The Fifinellas were a good gremlin that brought good luck to the pilots during the war, and it is the name the WASPs used as their mascot. It's a fitting name for this group that has been given fair winds and clear skies each year for their trip. The ladies of EAA Chapter 512 love to fly and love to share their skills with others including Young Eagle Rallies. Sorry fellas ... this is one time it is "ladies only".

Ladies Fly-Out Photos.