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My name is Jacquie Warda and I currently live in the San Francisco bay area. I lived in Spokane from 1972 until 1989 and learned to fly out at Felts Field in 1986. I was 32 years old then which is fairly old to start flying. As things went, I went on to become enamored with aerobatic flight and after years of flying upsidedown and training all the time, I became an air show pilot in 2003. I turned 50 years old that year! That in itself was fairly unusual but it just happened to be the timing. I am still flying air shows across the country. My website is www.JacquieBairshows.com There is much detail there. I got involved in air racing in 2001 at Reno and flew my biplane in the biplane class for 4 years. I did well enough with a stock airplane but my goal was to learn a new kind of flying and do something fun and different. All those boxes were checked! Got out as I wanted to get paid to fly airshows! Money going one way can only last so long!
I have long dreamed of racing again and my goal is to race in the AT-6 class of planes. That is a WWII advanced training aircraft and one of the most popular race classes at Reno next to the Unlimiteds. Well I am very close to that goal. I have found a guy in Deer Park, WA (just north of Spokane, WA) who owns an AT-6 and he is willing to let me race it next year! My job now is to get the required amount of flight experience in this aircraft in order to qualify at Reno next June. I need 40 hours of flight time minimum and will start that process as soon as the airplane is ready to fly. The owner is now doing the annual inspection and geting it ready for me. I hope to be up there in August to start flying off my 40 hours.
Very few women fly airplanes; fewer still fly aerobatics; fewer still fly big round engine airplanes like the AT-6; fewer still race them at Reno! So all that combined makes me very unusual. We still have a few WASPs left who flew this aircraft during the war and I am hoping to find one or two in your area who might be able to join us in this journey. I believe this story will interest many including women of all ages, young girls who might want to get into the aerospace industry and need a little push; war veterans who are delighted to see another old trainer pulled out of a hangar, dusted off and put into flying condition; seeing a woman of my age take on this task with the excitement of a teenager going on her first date; and all the people who live in Spokane and Deer Park who want to see their little part of the world make the news.
I need your help to make this dream a reality. The cost of flying airplanes is quite high, and airplanes with round engines is even more so. I am busy saving money towards this goal but could use some help. I have one year to raise enough money to be able to train to the level required of me to safely race at the Reno Air Races in Reno, NV in Sept. of 2016. I want to have 50-100 hours of flight time in the AT-6 to not only be very proficient at it but to give the impression to the other racers that I am serious and have done my part to be a safe and respected air race pilot.
Thank you very much in advance for any and all help you can provide!
I have long dreamed of racing again and my goal is to race in the AT-6 class of planes. That is a WWII advanced training aircraft and one of the most popular race classes at Reno next to the Unlimiteds. Well I am very close to that goal. I have found a guy in Deer Park, WA (just north of Spokane, WA) who owns an AT-6 and he is willing to let me race it next year! My job now is to get the required amount of flight experience in this aircraft in order to qualify at Reno next June. I need 40 hours of flight time minimum and will start that process as soon as the airplane is ready to fly. The owner is now doing the annual inspection and geting it ready for me. I hope to be up there in August to start flying off my 40 hours.
Very few women fly airplanes; fewer still fly aerobatics; fewer still fly big round engine airplanes like the AT-6; fewer still race them at Reno! So all that combined makes me very unusual. We still have a few WASPs left who flew this aircraft during the war and I am hoping to find one or two in your area who might be able to join us in this journey. I believe this story will interest many including women of all ages, young girls who might want to get into the aerospace industry and need a little push; war veterans who are delighted to see another old trainer pulled out of a hangar, dusted off and put into flying condition; seeing a woman of my age take on this task with the excitement of a teenager going on her first date; and all the people who live in Spokane and Deer Park who want to see their little part of the world make the news.
I need your help to make this dream a reality. The cost of flying airplanes is quite high, and airplanes with round engines is even more so. I am busy saving money towards this goal but could use some help. I have one year to raise enough money to be able to train to the level required of me to safely race at the Reno Air Races in Reno, NV in Sept. of 2016. I want to have 50-100 hours of flight time in the AT-6 to not only be very proficient at it but to give the impression to the other racers that I am serious and have done my part to be a safe and respected air race pilot.
Thank you very much in advance for any and all help you can provide!