Mar 2012 AOPA Pilot Magazine, “I came for this”
Wilma Melville showing a New York Terminal Area Chart (photo from AOPA Pilot Magazine)
There’s a lovely article in the January issue of AOPA Pilot Magazine, written by Dave Hirschman, and I highly recommend it to you. Turns out Dave is the son of Wilma Melville of Santa Paula Airport, who I was fortunate enough to meet at the 2011 Women Wise Aviation Adventure fly-in in Idaho. Wilma had spent the better part of a month flying her Citabria around the Idaho backcountry, accompanied by her adorable wiener dog, Edison, and I’m lucky enough to have met her there. Wilma not only owns a partnership in the Citabria but also is the proud owner of her very own RV10.
Wilma, Edison & Wendy at the Women Wise Airmanship Adventure
Read the article and you’ll learn how Wilma & her son Dave were on a long overdue mission to scatter Wilma’s husband’s ashes over the Statue of Liberty – a personal memorial to a husband and stepfather who was from New York. It’s a very poignant story that brought a little tear to my eye. Alas, it didn’t last long though – the story has a happy ending.
- Photo from AOPA Pilot Magazine, Wilma Melville and son Dave Hirschman
And when it comes to the aircraft – well let’s just say “what a great perk”! The Aviat Husky they flew is the AOPA 2012 Sweepstakes “Tougher Than a Tornado” Husky that’s now famous for riding out the tornado at last year’s Sun ‘n Fun! Dave is the AOPA Pilot editor who gets to “marshal” the taildragger (I think that means ‘fly the heck out of’) till this year’s AOPA Aviation Summit in Palm Springs, CA. Check out the article …. The Husky handles a special delivery
Jeanne MacPherson
Posted at 17:59h, 07 MarchWilma is amazing. I am blessed to have her in my life~
what an inspiration!
Naomi
Posted at 06:48h, 05 MarchI was read that article when it was published and hopefully became impressed by Wilma good stuff. Thanks mate for get back me on that article.
Anne Wright
Posted at 10:54h, 03 MarchI, too, enjoyed meeting Wilma at Smiley Creek. She is a great inspiration to me, and love reading about her dog rescue efforts.
Lisa Martin
Posted at 08:44h, 03 MarchI think about Wilma sooo often, since Smiley Creek. She’s one of the greatest inspirations in my life.
Judy Birchler
Posted at 08:23h, 03 MarchThanks to Anne Wright for telling me about the AOPA’s article!
christina chapman
Posted at 18:22h, 02 MarchI read this when it was published and loved it. Very touching article. Wilma is a breath of fresh air that delighted everyone at the Woman Wise Airmanship Adventure 2011 and she’s planning to return to this year’s event. I can’t wait to see her and hear about all her continuous adventures from the past year…