by J. Rion Bourgeois

Breakfast Report

             We served 218 at the August 5, 2023  breakfast compared with 260 at the July breakfast and 257 at the June breakfast.  Nine pilots flew 22 YE flights with a ground crew of five.    

Monthly Chapter Meeting Report

The monthly meeting was held Thursday, August 10, 2023, in Chapter G1 at Twin Oaks.   Benton Holzwarth brought the fixings for hamburgers and Stephanie Sieg grilled the patties on our recently cleaned charcoal grill.

At Jerry Van Grunsven’s invitation, retired USAF Lt. Colonel Sandra (“Sandy”) Scott of Forest Grove was our guest speaker.  She was one of 20 women who broke the glass ceiling for pilot training in the USAF in 1976.  While in high school, she was given an airplane ride by one of the Van Grunsven brothers, probably Jerry.  Her freshman year in college at Oregon State, she applied for ROTC, and was told women were not eligible.  She joined the rifle team her freshman year, and her sophomore year the rifle team’s table at freshman orientation was next to the Air Force ROTC table, where she was informed that women were no longer relegated solely to “Angel Flight” delivering cookies to male cadets,  but could now actually apply for Air Force ROTC scholarships, which she promptly applied for and was granted. Three years later, she graduated as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.  The first officer that Lt. Sandra Scott  saluted when she was commissioned was her father, who was also the first officer her daughter saluted many years later when she was also commissioned as an officer in the USAF. 

Pilot training was not yet open to women when Sandy was commissioned, so she was initially assigned weapons controller duty (“scope dope”) staring into a radar screen.   In 1976, the Air Force decided to conduct a “test program” to determine if women were capable and worthy of flight training.   At an officers’ convention where the program was being considered, one male officer asked if those present would really want their daughter sent to fly combat in Vietnam. Sandy asked if he would really want his son sent to fly combat in Vietnam.  Crickets. There were two classes for twenty women total, and Sandy was in the first class of ten.  She had already gotten her private pilot license while stationed in Texas, and, no surprise, got her military wings in 1977 along with all the others in her class.  She qualified in two jets during training, the Cessna T-37 and the Northrop T-38 Talon.  She later also flew the Lockheed T-33 and the McDonnel Douglas F-4 Phantom on occasion but was assigned after flight school to tankers (which was what she requested) and flew the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker for the Strategic Air Command for three years starting in 1978 on 24/7 alert duty during the Cold War. She was the first woman to “sit alert” in this capacity and flew extended missions (flying ahead of the bombers and fighters to the foreign bases from which they flew their refueling flights) in the USA, England, Spain, Korea, and the Philippines.  The KC-135’s would pre-deploy, and then “sit alert” at the extended bases in case the fighters and bombers were deployed and needed refueling.  To keep current and flight ready, the tanker pilots would fly formation in smaller jet aircraft.  She said her favorite was the T-33. 

After three years with SAC,  the Air Force decided they needed female role models for the female cadets at the Air Force Academy, and transferred her to Colorado Springs where she was a Parachute Platform Instructor Pilot in the DeHavilland UV-18A Twin Otter, and also flew sailplanes as a Soaring Instructor Pilot.  She subsequently transferred to the DC National Guard and flew VIP’s around.  She retired from the military at age 42 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  Her daughter is currently a Major in the Air Force. Initially, a pilot’s pregnancy was considered a permanent flight duty disqualification by some wing commanders, but others considered it merely a temporary nine month medical disqualification, like a broken arm.   (Since 2022, Air Force  policy is that no waiver is required to fly in the second trimester with an uncomplicated pregnancy in a non-ejection seat aircraft if all flight safety criteria are met.  All pregnant aircrew members are also authorized to apply for a waiver regardless of trimester, aircraft or flight profile. https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3284847/new-af-pregnant-aircrew-policy-means-new-achievement-for-b-1-pilot-others/) 

Sandy stated she comes from a proud military family and is very grateful for her military career.  It is clear why the Air Force chose her for duty as instructor at the Air Force Academy.  We were very fortunate to have this pioneering pilot speak to us at our chapter meeting.  

Calendar of Upcoming Events

Upcoming events, including the Poker Run (Sunday 8/27/23), Pie Auction (11/9/23), Holiday Banquet (1/12/24) and the First Saturday of Every Month Pancake and Grits Breakfast are on the chapter website EAA105.org under the “Calendar” tab.  I hope to see y’all at the next Saturday breakfast on September 2, 2023.  The next monthly chapter meeting is on Thursday, September 14, 2023.  There will be Young Eagle Events after the September breakfast at Twin Oaks.  Details are on the website.  The Cessna 120 project group meets on Saturdays or Sundays and the Build and Fly youth program meets on Sundays at the chapter’s project hangar G1 at Twin Oaks.  Details and contact information is available on our website.  The Independence EAA Chapter 292 “Wings Over the Willamette” Fly In and STOL event is August 19 and 20, 2023.  See their announcement on their website at eaa292.org.  The last of the Reno Air Races will be held in Reno September 13-17, 2023. See airrace.org. The Jordan Chicken Dinner is September 24, 2023 (see their brochure here on our website).