On October 16, I completed my first little cross country trip (100nm) in 24 years. Sometimes I have moments where I’m a little unsure of myself until I conquer it and this was one of those times. I planned a trip to Yerington, down to Lake Topaz and up to Minden. I landed at Yerington for the first time. Then we continued on and I landed at Minden. The cool part was Jere and Chris invited me to brunch ( you never know who you will find in the air!) except the Taildragger was closed! So Jere says let’s go to Lake Tahoe! So I added yet another airport to my trip. I struggled a bit to figure out how to go into South Lake but managed a great landing! Brunch was excellent! Lastly, we headed back to Carson where I had my best buttery landing ever and used the opposite runway for the first time. A big thanks to Jeff Goodwin, Jere and Chris for all the encouragement. I’m so proud of myself today!

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Congrats to Stacie! Figuring out a new airport on the fly like that is a skill indeed.

Also, I think we need some type of notification system for Airport Restaurant closures. What do you think?

You may recall a year or so ago, the FAA started changing the runway numbers. I even snapped a photo of the new numbers! But then inexplicably, they undid everything and we stayed with our current numbers.

Well, they’re at it again, and maybe it’ll stick this time. If you’ve flown in or out of Reno lately, you’ll have notice that 16L is closed. If you’re like us in a small plane based on the east side, you’ve been requesting an intersection departure at Delta on 16R.

Why is this happening though? Magnetic Variation my fellow aviatrixes. Check out this article for an in depth explanation of how and why.

In preparation of our new runway headings, practice with me now, “35 Right” “35 Left”…

See the bulletin below! And if you know why they changed their minds a while back, let us know!

Report by RHS Treasurer Stacie!

The Utah Air Hearts Chapter (Love their name!) put on a great weekend. Everything went very smoothly and that included any transportation I needed for events and to and from the airport. I also ended up with a fantastic roommate from Palm Springs. All in all I saved a bit of money in the end.

As far as the weekend went, I attended a tour of Salt Lake Center. If you haven’t toured a “Center” it is fascinating. Long ago, I toured SoCal Center in San Diego. Technology has changed a bit since then! In any case, we learned about traffic spacing and flow, where your flight plans go and flight following. Our guide had being working there for 10 years and was a wealth of knowledge.

Next we enjoyed the new Top Gun movie in a brewery. The business meeting was brief. My takeaways were that we need to find really goods ways to report back on our activities (none had been reported for 6months or more by any chapter!), nominate women for pilot of the year (nobody was nominated!) or for any other award. Lastly if we cannot attend events that other chapters put on, let’s offer support even from afar by attending on zoom as that option will now be a normal part of all events moving forward. It is soo much work to put on these fabulous events and it would be sad to see them not happen.

Next we had a wild west themed dinner and the formal banquet. So much fun with minute to win it games, a photo booth, live music and delicious food. I did not attend a few seminars as I had a chance to see some dear friends from when I lived in Salt Lake. I also did not attend the Salt Lake Tower tour as my flight home was at the same time.

We are an amazing organization and I was so glad I was able to connect with so many cool women!

The next event is the Winter Workshop in January in Los Angeles which will focus on Health and Wellness for Women Pilots. If I was going to be here I surely would consider going!

Keep in mind Aloha Chapter is hosting in Fall of 2024... how fun would it be to go to HAWAII Ladies!!

From Stacie:

Laura Starkey and I got to go flying in her VERY COOL plane. We had so much fun and shared so many fun stories. She even let me try flying! I have never flown a stick and I got to experience a glass cockpit which I will start flying with in Florida. Laura thank you for a fun morning and for your friendship!

Dani here -

My hubby and I flew out last weekend and noticed this plane sitting on the tarmac at Reno. I immediately knew who this plane belonged to (and I was VERY excited), but my husband had no idea.

Do YOU know who this plane belongs to? Write in the comments if you do (or don’t) and what generation you’re part of. My hubby is Gen X and didn’t know, I’m a xennial (or millennial) and did.

RHS99 Dani and Kid Rock’s Airplane at KRNO 10/8/22

For those who didn’t know - this plane belongs to Kid Rock, a musician. “American Bad Ass” is a hit single off his “History of Rock” album released in 2000.

After taking the photo above, we flew out to Concord to spend the weekend in the bay area with family and friends. My husband flew the leg down, and I flew the leg home (pictured below). You can tell some of the areas in which I was task loaded and drifted around. I’m looking forward to spending more time in the air and further improving my skills.

RHS member and student pilot Tara T working hard on her PPL at GIFT! She’s busy flying, but sent these photos to Stacie. Way to go TARA! We can’t wait to hear all about your week of flight training!

If you’re unfamiliar with GIFT, please check out their website and if you’ve the time, consider volunteering your time (or funds) to them!

It’s hard to believe it was just a year ago that RHS members Serena and Hannah M. were at GIFT! Check out Serena’s blog post from a year ago!

Some know her as our Chapter’s Amelia Earhart Scholarship Committee Chair, some know her for instituting the Chapter’s rule on use of the word “Just”, but I call her “My Favorite Moe!”. (If you’re new to the chapter, don’t worry, Chapter ATC will warn you before issuing a pilot deviation for the “Just” rule) However you know her, here’s the exciting news from Moe yesterday:

“Boom! All Done. Finished SIC checkride today. “

Moe - SIC Checkride - DONE!

There she was, having fun doing stalls in a Jet around Bozeman. Anyone (other than Heather and Moe) know what the stall speed on a Phenom 300E is?

But wait, there’s more….No, really, we have to wait until November, but stay tuned because Moe is out there flying.

Funny Cartoon, but a serious topic. I firmly believe that mid air close calls are a matter of when, not if. Whether you’re VFR in a glider or IFR in a jet we must all see and avoid, deconflict, and take aggressive action to avoid midair collisions.

Safety Guidelines From the FAA

Mid Air collisions in aviation tend to be deadly. Check out this FAA Air Circular and this FAAST publication on how to avoid them. The Circular in particular is interesting because it has reaction times, and my fellow aviatrixes, they are not as fast as you’d think.

AOPA Air Safety Institute Video and Preliminary NTSB Report - a Case Study

Check out this AOPA Air Safety Institute Video and the associated preliminary NTSB Report on a tragic accident that occurred on July 17, 2022, at the North Las Vegas Airport (VGT). This case study is particularly applicable for us because the accident took place on an offset parallel runway, which is of course what we have here in at the Reno Tahoe International Airport (RNO) .

Back to something fun

To end (dare I say land?) this post on a lighter note, take this fun Right-of-Way quiz from Bold Method which involves a plane on fire, a tow with Glider, and a balloon. Do you know who has right of way? Take the quiz and find out.

Because a picture is worth 1,000 words and just in case you don’t remember….

This past Saturday morning Dani did some touch and go’s in Reno with her hubby in their 182, Monday Heather flew her Dakota to breakfast in Reno, and on Tuesday Stacie was out flying a Cherokee during lunch.

You may wonder where we’re getting these flight paths from. If you’re interested in “following” your favorite pilots (and no, I’m not talking about social media here), check out a neat little website and app called “Flight Aware”. (Yes, I’m sure there are others, but this is what Stacie and Dani use.) All you need is a tail number and you can see your favorite pilots flight path. Not only this, but you can receive notifications of when they take off and land! This is all thanks to a little piece of technology required by all aircraft that enter airspace classes A, B, and C, known as ADSB.

So, tell us, what’s YOUR tail number?? Better yet, send trip reports with photos and or screenshots of your aviation adventures to rhswebmistress@gmail.com

When you’re at lunch with one of your fellow RHS99ers, you pull your wallets out to pay the bill, and then get distracted and excited about seeing one another’s Pilot Certificates. Picture perfect moment.

This past weekend was the bi-annual Minden Aviation Roundup. This was an excellent event with a number of fantastic aerial demonstrations. The piloting skill of the performers was breathtaking and beautiful. I didn’t get any good photos of the jet powered glider, but his performance was one of my favorites.

Heather, Sammy, and her future 49 1/2 Kelsey met for breakfast before heading to the show. Dani went early with other friends and saved seats up front for everyone. At the airshow Dani ran into our own Gwen, and later on Tina, from the Reno Area Chapter. A good time was had by all! Enjoy the photos below!

R-L, Sammy, her future 49 1/2 Kelsey, and Chairman Heather

L-R Chairman Heather McCoy, Past Chair / Webmistress Dani Rhoda, and Sammy Lanz; with Blue Angels 4,5, and 6 in the background.

Pro Tips if you’re never attended the Minden Aviation Roundup: Bring your own chair, large refillable water bottle, sun screen, large shade hat, wear light weight breathable long sleeves and pants, and bring and a bigger umbrella to get some protection from the sun.

Airspace Education! Ladies, if you attended the Reno Air Races, Girls in Aviation, or the Minden Aviation Roundup, those all count towards our Chapter’s Airspace Education scores for the Southwest Section. Look for an email and a web fillable form in the near future!

If you were at our BBQ, you saw Laura and Mike’s Kit plane in person, with that AMAZING paint job. Here’s an article on what they did to prep for that gorgeous paint.

Mike and Laura Starkey’s RANS S-21: Part 15

Happy October everyone!

How many different types of aircraft have you flown, and which one is your favorite?

Yes, you can only chose one!

This past Monday afternoon Dani completed her 2nd biannual flight review. When was your last BFR? (Ok, you don’t have to answer, but are you legal to fly??)

Congratulations to the Sierra Battle Born Chapter of Women in Aviation for hosting their first Girls in Aviation Day this past weekend. The event was held at Atlantic Aviation and Great Basin Aviation. There were over 50 girls registered to attend, and at least 4 Reno High Sierra 99s volunteered at this event. This event was a huge success; attendees had a grand time learning about all aspects of aviation, and meeting women who work in aviation. Naturally, we were all excited to meet the fighter jet (lady) pilot. See some of photos below. Our own student pilot, Tara was dressed up as Amelia and had her dog Piper in tow.

If you live in the Minden area, then you probably already know the Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron arrived on Sunday night. They’re here in preparation for the Minden Airshow, the Aviation Roundup this weekend.

The Taildragger Cafe was not expecting the 35 pilots and crew to descend on them for dinner, but they successfully managed to feed everyone anyway.

We can’t wait to see the Blue Angels perform this weekend. In the meantime, we’ll enjoy watching their practice performances over the Carson Tahoe / Minden practice fields.….

As many of you already know, we lost a pilot at the Reno Air Races on Sunday, Aaron Hogue. One of the RHS members working in our fundraiser booth commented that she heard crowd react, and immediately knew someone had crashed. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Hogue. Click here to read a Flying Magazine article with some more information.

RARA / Ballista, the L-29 flown by pilot Aaron Hogue, was at the top position for the start of the Jet Gold Class race on Sunday. [From racingjets.com ] and [Flyingmag.com]

The Reno Air Races are still going strong, with Stol races, unlimited, and more. I honestly couldn’t keep up. Here’s the beginning of one of the races!

The coolest thing about working the Air Races is that you get to meet 99s from all over!! So, the photos below are not only RHS 99s, but also 99s from Kansas, Texas, and California. Thank you again to our volunteers, you’re amazing ladies.

Some interesting things - a gentleman who visited our booth yesterday came back by today, with a briefcase he believes belonged to Amelia Earhart.

Lastly, planes are fantastic, but I love jewelry. I was thrilled to see the Aviation Jewelry booth was back. I just love their “Bad Attitude” pendant and earrings, but I bought the regular attitude pendant instead. :)

Despite the smoky skies, the Reno Air Races are going strong and so is our Merchandise booth! Thank you to all of our volunteers!! We’ll post more photos as we get them!

I received permission from Stacie to share her FB post about earning her BFR sign off. Please see her comments and photos below:

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Stacie - September 13, 2022

Today was the best day EVER!!! I flew in some strong crosswinds at Minden and after some instruction I nailed the landings. Maybe better than when there’s no wind. Then Jere signed off my long anticipated biannual flight review and I can now fly on my own!!! I can’t even stop doing the happy dance!!!

I need to thank Laura Starkey and Heather McCoy for introducing me to Jere (best instructor ever!), Jeff Goodwin for listening to every last detail of every flight and every video, and lastly all my friends, the ladies of the 99s and my family for all the support!