2017 Pilot of the Year Recipient

October 15, 2017 marked the 44th year that the Lake Erie 99’s have chosen a distinguished lady pilot to honor from among their own ranks. In keeping with the past tradition, a delicious dinner was scheduled and we all looked forward to spending time talking and reminiscing about our favorite subject. Flying. This newbie loves the opportunity to listen and my seasoned sisters talk about their current and past days of flight. I also find it interesting to learn what brought each of us to the point of starting flight lessons. The reasons for taking those first steps are as diverse as our hair color and just as creative.  In 2017 Donna G. Fulks was given the award of Pilot of the Year for the Lake Erie Chapter of the 99’s. The following is her story as shared through an interview at one of our meetings.

Donna’s flying career began one evening at the dinner table. With her children all filling their mouths with the dinner Donna had prepared, her pilot husband announced, “Dear I think you should learn how to fly.” Well that wasn’t on her to do list. She was a happy wife and mom taking care of her family in the style of the early 1960’s.  She and her friends did some bowling and a little golfing during the day and she was perfectly happy with her life as it was. So Donna promptly said. “No thank you. I don’t think so.”

His argument, however, was completely logical. If anything were to happen to him while they were flying, she could land the plane. Donna assured him that she was willing to take her chances.

Her husband soon won the debate and scheduled her flight training which began on April 1, 1964. She decided to go along with the lesson and hope for a thunderstorm or tornado. Neither of these things happened.  Her first lesson led to another and then another until she had her Private Pilots license.

She received her instruction at Southern Airways near Youngstown, a “rinky dink little airport near Boardman, OH, a dirt strip with a bit of gravel and grass growing here and there.”  There were trees at one end and a hill at the other end of its 2900 feet.

She had most of her lessons in a Piper Colt and a couple in a Cherokee.  Eventually her husband and his partner bought an airplane. She thought she was off the hook since the two of them could fly together. Then one day when she saw them land in a pretty blue and white Comanche 250, she decided that maybe she’d need to try it out. Blue was her favorite color after all!  She started lessons in the Comanche and got her instrument and commercial license in that airplane.

Her instructor Nick was an Air Force Pilot and very hard. She knew that as long as she did exactly what she was supposed to do it was fine. Truthfully she was too afraid to forget anything!  Her advice to student pilots reflects this experience.  “If you want to do it just get out there and do it. And even if you don’t want to do it just get out there and do it anyhow. Do just what you were taught every time and it will work out.”

Donna will tell you that she was a reluctant student. She began flying out of a sense of family and desire to be a good wife. She was content to be a passenger. But flying came easy to her and she grew to love it.

As her experience grew, she became interested in the many small proficiency races that were available and she began flying these races with several different co-pilots.

In 1979 she thought she’d try one of the big races. She decided on the 50^th Anniversary Commemorative race of the 1929 Powder Puff Derby. This was the race that Amelia Earhart had flown. That 1979 race was called the Angel Derby which later became Air Race Classic. 

Her co-pilot that year was her daughter Dana. The race started in California with 18 stops just like the 1929 race and terminated at Burke Lakefront Airport. They also flew in the 1986 race that started in California and terminated at Toledo. They had a whole lot of fun flying these races together. In total she flew for 28 years before she retired.

Since there weren’t many women pilots in the 60’s, she went on a search and came across the Ohio Chapter of the 99’s. They met in Cincinnati and the distance made it a challenge for her. So in January 12, 1974 she, along with Bernice Barris and Dodie Jewett formed the first group that became the Lake Erie Chapter.

As we wound up the meeting that day, Donna was asked to supply the Safety Tip for our meeting. Her advice was what we all need to remember no matter how long ago our training was. She said, “Do a good walk around. Listen to your instructor and do exactly what he says.”

Here is a tip of the wing to Donna and her dedication to the 99’s organization especially the Lake Erie Chapter. We are thankful for her vision all those years ago and for her dedication to flight as pursued by woman and the encouragement we can be to one another. We are all better for having the privilege of knowing her. 

2018 © Charlene M Campanella

Personal Limits

It was really a beautiful evening to fly. The winds were out of the north at about 5 knots. I could already see the sun beginning to set painting a rustic glow across the rich blue sky. The sweet bird that was my magic carpet for the first solo completed months before sat with eager anticipation. She knew that we were about to depart this earth. The bond that develops between a pilot and her plane is something almost spiritual. There is a union that comes from the singularly surreal experience of soaring like a bird together. Body and machine become one as we both trust each other in the air.

That Saturday, however, something felt different. I couldn’t put my finger on it. So beginning  my pre flight check and pushed the butterflies aside. After all, this was not my first solo flight. I had successfully piloted 972 all by myself several times. Tonight would be no different.  Yet with each item checked off the list my hesitation grew. Something wasn’t right. Was it me or the airplane? My mind questioned, “What the heck?” Within the next few minutes I decided not to fly. And with that came another more looming thought. “Had I lost my nerve? Why was I second guessing my ability?”  

This feeling wasn’t new. This anxiety was often present early in my training. I would struggle to maintain smooth and level flight while being buffeted by a cross wind. It got under my skin and made me fight for control. A casual word from my instructor to relax and go with the flow eased my tension. I needed to ride the waves so to speak. I needed to trust what I couldn’t see.

So here it was again that same gnawing feeling in my gut. My husband walked out from the FBO and I saw the question in his eyes. He asked if I was alright and I couldn’t answer except to say that there would be no flight for me tonight.

He helped me pull 972 over to her tie down spot under the overhang without a word. He must have sensed my confusion because he didn’t push the subject. We secured the plane and headed back to the FBO. When he reached for my hand I couldn’t grasp it, I wasn’t ready to be vulnerable. During the next 12 hours a battle raged in my head. It wasn’t until the next morning that clarity arrived.

The truth was that the opportunity to fly that day had been a surprise. We had reserved the airplane for Sunday, but Saturday was clear and calm and 972 was available. My husband had called me at work with the news. My answer was yes and he booked us in.

But that was the last time I thought of flying until we closed the doors at the bank four hours later. In between was the busiest and most hectic that I had experienced at our branch. The line for the teller window was seven deep all day and the lobby was full. It was crazy nonstop for everyone. Though busy was always preferred over slow this was over the top. But our team pulled together and we got it done. Customers were happy and we had fun meeting the challenge.

With a quick stop home to pick up my flight bag and let the doggies out, feed them and change my clothes I headed my Jeep to 1G5. Once I got to the FBO I took Stephens place behind the counter so he could fly and again had nonstop customer traffic taking payments, answering the phone and scheduling flights. It was a fun and enjoyable time at the airport.

Needless to say, there had been no time to mentally prepare for flight. No time to check the weather for myself or think about my route of flight once airborne or put myself into a PIC (Pilot in Command) condition. I hadn’t put on my pilots cap yet.

It’s not like jumping in my Jeep and heading to the mall. It’s not like grabbing a bicycle and heading down the driveway. It’s not like donning tennis shoes and starting a morning run listening to traveling music. Flying an airplane requires your head to be completely in the game. This is a process that begins, for me, way before putting on the headset.

What I was feeling was not a loss of nerve. It was simply the warning to make a good decision. My gut knew what my mind had not caught up to yet. I was not mentally prepared to fly. History proves that the best safety decisions are made while on the ground. It’s never a matter of can I fly. It’s always a matter of should I fly.

It was the next morning that it all became clear. I was finally able to text my flight instructor back and answer his question. Yes. Everything was okay. I made a safety call and was no longer embarrassed. I was secure in knowing that for that day and that flight a tough choice was made and it was a good one.

I am so grateful for this experience early in my career. Slowly my backpack of knowledge is filling up not only with textbook information but also with practical experience. When I am finally ready to teach Ground School to a crop of new students, not only can I teach from those books but also from personal experience. I will be able to encourage and caution them that flying is not only knowledge based endeavor but a physical and emotional endeavor as well. Since most accidents can be avoided by good decision making before the prop is twirling, setting personal limits well beforehand is imperative to flight safety.  

Charlene M Campanella © 2017