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Upcoming Events and Press Releases |
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Next Chapter meeting - Sept. 1, 5:30pm, at the Spirit of San Luis. Cynthia Douglas will present a DVD on icing. Flying on the Central Coast, it can be too easy to forget the dangers of precipitation and icing. This DVD will gives a refresher on how to recognize the hazards of icing, how to avoid dangerous situations, and what to do if you encounter unexpected conditions. Social 1/2 hour is from 5:30-6:00pm. The program begins at 6:00 and will be followed by a brief business meeting.
Press Release:
Elizabeth Dinan Receives Master Pilot Award for 50 Years of Flying
Saturday, January 23, 2010, Elizabeth Dinan was presented the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot award at the EAA meeting. John Howard from the San Jose FSDO made the presentation and presented her with a packet of all her FAA records tied up with a blue ribbon. Nine of our Ninety-Nines chapter members were there to cheer her accomplishments.
The Master Pilot award was established to recognize pilots who have contributed and maintained safe flight operations for fifty or more consecutive years. The award includes a plaque, certificate, and a lapel pin, with a smaller pin for the spouse. Her name was added to the Roll of Honor that amazingly includes 1478 recipients. There are not very many women on the list. In 2006, Oscar Bayer also received this award. The award requires an application. The effective start date is the applicant’s first solo. It requires three letters of recommendation, documentation of certificates, and a detailed description of the applicant’s flying history.
Elizabeth has always loved flying and she has logged more than 7000 hours in many different planes. Her favorite is the PT22 with its open cockpit and great sounding engine. She has flown in 51 air races, the most recent being the Palms to Pines last summer with her daughter Maya and Cheryl Cooney. She has had lots of adventures, and The Ninety-Nines have figured prominently in her career.
She grew up in Los Angeles. At age 8, she announced to her family "All I want for my birthday is to go flying." Her father thought he could nip her fascination with planes in the bud. He took her down to the airport and arranged for an instructor to take her for a ride and asked the pilot to do some aerobatics. Elizabeth loved every minute of it! After that she made model airplanes and dreamed about flying, but she didn't fly again until high school where she took two semesters of aeronautics that included ground school and meteorology and one flight in a Cessna 172 at the end of the year.
Elizabeth's mother insisted that she should to go to collage, but all Elizabeth wanted was to go to work and learn to fly. They compromised and Elizabeth went to Glendale City College where they had an aeronautics program. She was the only girl in the class. While going to school, she started taking flying lessons once a week at Grand Central Airport in Glendale and earned her private license at age 17 in 1956.
She was introduced to the Ninety-Nines as soon as she finished her license. It was an active group that met at the Burbank airport. She earned her commercial license and bought 1946 Taylor Craft with nine fellows, each putting down $100.
All her time was spent working and flying. She met her husband with the line "Its such a beautiful day, I wish I were flying." The next weekend she took him flying. That flyout with Ninety-Nines to the Salten Sea turned out to be a great adventure. It turned out that there was no fuel on the field. Liz knew she could fly her plane with regular gasoline, but it would run a little hot. They got someone to bring some gas. Her plane did not have a radio or lights. They ended up landing at Riverside a little after dusk, left the plane there and took the Greyhound home. She was still living at home and her mother was waiting up for her when they got home at 2 AM. “What do you mean bringing my daughter home at this hour?!” she demanded as they came in the door. That was their first date, and shortly after she and Don were married,
She got her CFI in 1979 and started teaching for a Ninety-Nine, Audrey Schutte, at Viking Aero, a flight school at Van Nuys. Some of her first students were a group of seven Girl Scouts, or Wing Scouts as they were called. Elizabeth donated her time. The local Ninety-Nines chapter donated the books, and Audrey donated the use of a Cessna 152, charging only for the gas. All 8 soloed, and 3 went on to get their private pilot license. One of those went on to a career as an ATC with Continental, Faith Hillman, and was at Osh Kosh last summer. When she recognized Elizabeth at the group photo for women pilots, she came running across the field yelling, “There is my first instructor!” It was a happy reunion.
Elizabeth was able to get her multi-engine rating through a scholarship from the Ninety-Nines, though her only interest was teaching ...and racing. She has been in many air races, including international races. Her first Powder Puff Derby was as a co-pilot in a Cessna 140, the slowest plane in the race, but they finished in the allotted time with one minute to spare.
She taught flying with Claire Walters and ATE (now American Fliers) and worked for Santa Monica Propeller. She moved San Luis Obispo in 1990 when Don retired and continued teaching with Air San Luis. It was also about this time that their daughter Maya came into their life as a 6 year old. Mia, now 20 years old, loves to fly, too.
Elizabeth still maintains her CFI certification and flies every chance she gets. She is a mainstay of the San Luis Obispo Ninety-Nines and she goes to every Southwest Section meeting she can get to. She is a safety officer for the FAA, and her enthusiasm for flying is contagious.
She has so many stories and adventures to share. There is a move to get her to write a book. She sums up her career in flying saying, “I have had such a good time! I have loved every minute!” |
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Event Calendar |
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There are no upcoming events currently scheduled. |
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September 2010 |
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Who's Online |
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We have 17 guests online |
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