Pilot Perspectives on the Haunted Flying Tour

Oct 2018 Pilot Perspectives on the Haunted Flying Tour

The Haunted Flying Tour may be said and done but I’m still enjoying it through photos and comments sent by a few of the pilots who flew along with us. Hope you enjoy their slide-shows and memories as much as I did!

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Hella Comat from Ontario

As a Canadian who has seen very little of Texas, and certainly not from the fantastic viewpoint of a thousand feet or so, I was intrigued to join the Ladies Love Taildraggers Haunted Flying Tour. It was unique and wonderful! I loved all the little and, sometimes enormous, airports we flew into. I experienced incredible museums and tours that invoked thoughts and inspiring reminders of the distant past. I stayed in fantastic places like the Excelsior Hotel in Jefferson and the Hotel Settles in Big Spring that I would never have known about. And I ate food never before experienced by this northerner – chicken fried steak, butter dipped turkey, and throwed rolls!

But even though we too often hear, ‘It’s all about the people’, I have to admit that the saying suits this tour to a T! I was amazed to meet:
a Black Hawk helicopter pilot
a T-38 pilot who flew supersonic
a smoke jumper and forest fire lead pilot
a 737 captain who can entertain a crowd with her hilarious original songs
a Super Cub pilot who flew to Texas from San Diego
a pilot who has flown all 48 lower states and flew over 7 hours IMC in this tour alone
a skydiving pilot who jumped in a 40 way formation in Italy this summer

And lots more! And, to top it all off, they were all ladies that flew taildraggers too! I could actually chat with them and ask endless questions about their amazing careers and adventures. That was one of the most memorable features for me! Thank you, Judy, for your tireless work and superb organization in making this trip happen. I can’t wait for the next one!

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Lynn Gardner from Florida

Skill, Style and Fire!

The opportunity to fly with women of “Skill, Style and Fire,” was a once in a lifetime event. At least so far. Thanks to Judy’s brilliant passion to bring us together, we all experienced something truly special in our aviation life.  It was wonderful to sit and listen as discussions about airplanes, weather, technique and performance just bounced around the table without any hesitation or intrusion.  By the time we reached Sweetwater, we all could empathize with how the WASP pilots must have felt eating, sleeping, and breathing aviation with other women.  I think we all made new friends we will cherish forever and look forward to flying with again.

Godspeed Ladies.

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Bill & Yvette Tracy from Ohio: It’s not what you fly or how you fly. It’s about the people you meet and the memories you make along the way. The haunted tour exceeded all expectations of meeting so many new people along the way and visiting such interesting new places. Never would we have just up and said ‘let’s go on a haunted walk around town’. Even if the ghosts were a farce, there was lots of local history and fun stories at each stop.

Sitting here writing this, one of the things that made this trip so special was that everyone spent  most of their days at the airports. In the past everyone usually disappeared to a motel room as soon as they landed. This year people actually sat around at each stop and visited!

 

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Nina Marousek from New York

This was a quality Fly-in, unmatched in every way. The tours were delightful, informative and often very moving. The flying was wonderful, camaraderie awesome and the food outstanding. Can’t say enough about the event organization and finely tuned logistics. And the many special touches throughout made this an overall awesome experience. I left with many happy memories, more good friends and a substantially increased logbook. Triple thumbs up to Ladies Love Taildraggers!! Blue Skies and warm regards, ~Nina~

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Kathy Royer from Florida

I made it home in good time on Friday with even a few knots of TW’s. The trip was fun and the flying great….no weather concerns for the week. I met many new and interesting people and look forward to staying in touch. The highlight for me was Sweetwater. It’s a special place and a great way for all of us to be together and have a good chance to visit. I’d like to remind anyone who wants to support the WASP’s to consider joining the WASP Squadron of the CAF. They are doing a great job of keeping the history alive and relevant. I look forward to next year’s adventure…whatever it may be. Thanks for organizing this this…you did an awesome job and I appreciate the effort that it took. I’m glad I went….

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Kelly Jeffries from Illinois (and our official LLT poet laureate!)

(Hum the following to the Monster Mash while reading) 🙂
LADIES LOVE TAILDRAGGERS HAUNTED FLYING TOUR 2018
Judy working in the hangar late one night
When she came upon a great insight
From there an idea began to rise
And suddenly to her surprise

We’ll do a Dash!
A Haunted Flying Dash
We’ll do a Dash!
It’ll be a big ole bash
We’ll do a Dash!
It caught on like a flash
We’ll do a Dash!
A Haunted Flying Dash

From Indianapolis, North, West and East
Some came for a week or just a piece
Girls flew in from their humble abode
Be a part of this party on the road

(Chorus)

The RV’s were having fun
The Party had just begun
The Guests included Supercubs, Luscombe and a Champ

The scene was rockin’
All diggin’ the sounds
Of ladies talking
About what they flew round
The Cessna taildraggers were about to arrive
That’s when things really get live

(Chorus)

Out on the ramp a voice did ring
Who are the ladies and this taildragger thing?
We know they’re all women, high heels you can’t miss
Who was it that came up with an idea like this?

(Chorus)

Now everything’s cool flights well in hand
This years’ fly-in is the hit of the land
All U.S. four corners and Canada too
Ladies Love Taildraggers are coming to you!

(Chorus)

Be sue and check out Kelly on YouTube performing “A Haunted Flying Dash”!!

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Beth Wichterman & Bill Simpson from Michigan

When you feel like you have lived a lifetime in less than a week, you know it was a good vacation and even better … I was flying every day with other great pilots and companions! I wasn’t flying one of the many taildraggers on the trip. None the less, I was highly motivated to fly along on the LLT tour! I reacquainted myself with the Archer – some nice work done and some rusty, all mine – 11 airports in a variety of conditions, check! Landing at Sweetwater was stirring and I couldn’t help but spend a few moments thinking that the WASPs saw a similar sight above the airport and were evaluating conditions expertly! Like other rusty pilots displaying good judgement, I was proud to have another Archer pilot with me, my spouse to boot!

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Dee Ann Ediger from Ohio