FLYING : Women Pilots Honor First Lady of Flight

Barbara Michaels did not really expect to find Amelia Earhart but that did not stop her club, the San Fernando Valley Ninety-Nines, from looking.

Fifty years to the day that the pioneering aviatrix disappeared in the Pacific, the Valley-based chapter of the Ninety-Nines participated in a commemorative flight from Van Nuys Airport to honor the group’s first president. The Ninety-Nines is an international organization of women pilots with more than 7,000 members, 90 from the Valley.

Michaels, of Encino, who was chairwoman of last Thursday’s flight, joined the club 12 years ago to overcome a fear of flying. Now she is a veteran pilot active in numerous club-sponsored flights and activities.

“I had always been interested in aviation,” she said. “I had a minor trauma when I first started, but once I got into it I really loved it. Anyone who flies has a real camaraderie with the air.”

The Valley has one of the biggest chapters of the Ninety-Nines. Its members range from novice pilots in their 20s to airline pilots and mechanics to great grandmothers. In addition to aviation, the chapter awards an annual $1,500 scholarship to a pilot interested in pursuing a career in aviation. The chapter also conducts flight-instructor clinics as well as flying safety and education programs.

While there are no male members, men are active in support roles. The most supportive husband receives an annual award.

“The husbands do the dishes,” Michaels said. “They cook and they clean and make sure that the planes are OK.”

The Ninety-Nines started in 1929. Of 117 licensed women pilots who were contacted about joining the organization, 99 responded, hence the name.