The Katahdin Wings Chapter of the 99s meets monthly at various locations in Southern Maine. Meetings are the first Wednesday of each month from 6 to 8pm, plus occasional fly-to Saturday meetings.

Established in 1929 by 99 women pilots, the members of The Ninety-Nines, Inc., International Organization of Women Pilots, are represented in all areas of aviation today - and, to quote Amelia, fly “for the fun of it!”

The Katahdin Wings are the Maine/New Hampshire chapter of The 99s. It is also one of three chapters that make up the New England Section, which includes the Eastern New England Chapter and the Connecticut Chapter. The 99s are about flying and friendship. It is a great support group for a unique portion of the pilot population where a special camaraderie exists. There is a special energy with other women who are all inspired by the love of flying. It also celebrates the history of women's involvement in aviation.

The chapter provides various missions to be involved in: service projects like painting compass roses or airmaking at airports, presenting aviation classes and outreach to students from elementary through high school and presenting and hosting aviation safety seminars and fun flying events like flying treasure hunts and poker runs. Some of these events are a source of fundraising that go toward scholarships that range from providing financial aid to students interested in the local summer Ace Camps, to donations to the organization's Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship among others. The Lightspeed Foundation has supported The 99s and the Amelia Earhart Scholarship with $10,000 in grants to date. The 99s are in the running for another $10,000 grant this year. Lightspeed produced a wonderful video highlighting The 99s and the scholarship

Please support the 99s and aviation scholarships again in 2012 by voting for the 99s and the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund HERE

Brandy Pond SPB (5ME)- Naples, Maine - www.naplesseaplane.com
June 9, 2012 - 9am-2pm

Win a Dave Clark Headset!

Lunch at Noon provided by the Katahdin Wings 99’s

The Expo is brought to you by: the Seaplane Pilots Association, FAA Safety Team and PWM FSDO, Maine Aviation, the Katahdin Wings, Naples Seaplane Service and Western Maine Aviation, Scruffy Productions, Aviation Digest, ACE Academy, and your Maine Aeronautics Association.
For more information contact Maine’s SPA Field Director Steve Williams - swilliams@mecoseal.com - 207-350-2120

The morning of April 14, 2012 dawned bright and clear with light winds - a perfect start to the 2012 Women Interested in Aviation Day! The above photo collage captures the event - starting with the C172 49Q (top) warmed up and ready to take the women and young girls that arrived in a steady stream in the morning for their first experience in a small aircraft.

Mary (shown at left & right) "shared her wings" with the women, allowing them to take the controls and fly - with their moms looking on from the back seat. As the center photo shows, dads (and little brothers) waited patiently at the FBO while the ladies enjoyed the skies.

KW members Mary (at far right), Lori, Jenny & Lisa (lower center) where on hand to help inspire an interest in aviation in young girls and women. Lori greeted parties at FBO - sharing info on KWs/99s and had presentation of women pioneers of aviation history (shown far right top & center). Jenny took parties on tours of the hangars explaining the different makes/models of aircraft, and sharing other aviation info; Lisa, Steve & Tomas flew in later for camaraderie.

Winds picked up a bit in the afternoon making flights a little too uncomfortable for first-time fliers. Mary said, "I had a wonderful day flying 12 women to share my passions with aviation. I've flown 3 more who couldn't make it on Sunday." The lower right photo shows Mary with Samantha - one of the friendly voices we hear on PWM's ATC.

Many thanks to Western Maine Aviation for sponsoring this wonderful event - let's hope it's sparked in interest in following a dream of flying.

Lori Plourd, left, presents Kate Keough, right, with her Amelia Earhart Scholarship Medal, for completing her instrument rating with the scholarship funds.

New Member Carol Vavra earned her wings on January 8, 2012!

Member Mary Build (2nd from the right) and her crew at Western Maine Aviation have just celebrated their first year in business. She reports, "we just finished our first year with over 400 hours of flight instruction in the 172 and I'm now researching the possibility of a college or university getting involved with a PR project to further develop the maintenance department."<