What we do: fun flying

Women join The Ninety-Nines for the pure love of flying! Whether we soar for pleasure, integrate aviation into our businesses, or make flying our career, it's all about the thrill of being in the sky.

Most of our Ninety-Nines activities revolve around hopping into our planes and having an adventure. We organize day or weekend fly-outs to airports with local attractions, aviation museums, FAA facilities, and, of course, awesome restaurants. Sometimes, we escape to resorts or get-away spots to unwind with our fellow pilots and friends. And if there's an air show happening, that's just the perfect excuse to take to the skies.

Flying Fun Days, hosted by a Ninety-Nines chapter for other 99s, are all about friendly competition and fun. We engage in exciting events like poker runs, spot landing challenges, and flour bombing showdowns.

Poker runs

In a poker run, we deal out cards at five airports, including our home base. Pilots and passengers visit each airport, collecting envelopes with playing cards. At the end of the day, we reveal our hands, and prizes go to the highest, lowest, and some other unique combinations.

Flour bombing & spot landing contests

Spot landing and flour bombing contests often go hand in hand. For flour bombing, a pilot and their "bombardier" get to unleash flour-filled "bombs" from the sky. We aim for a target beside the runway, marked with a tarp, ribbons, or more flour. After a thrilling bombing run, it's all about nailing a precise landing on "the spot," often marked by a line of flour. Awards are handed out for the best efforts and, of course, those who "need a bit more practice."

Many of us Ninety-Nine members fly to the organization's Section meetings and the annual International Conference. These journeys allow us to explore new airports and reconnect with women beyond our local circles. Some meetings even include fun flying competitions like spot landing, flour bombing, and poker runs, followed by camping out under the wing of our planes.

For those looking to enhance their aviation skills, many chapters organize skill-building days. These events feature speakers from local aviation schools and the FAA, followed by hands-on lessons from experienced flight instructors. Themes often include emergency procedures, instrument flying, or IFR training.

So, whether it's a serious aviation endeavor or a lighthearted adventure, we'll seize any opportunity to rev up those engines and relish the joy of flying!