Bulletin E-Edition:
more photosPilot Fran Bera, 84, left, and her co-pilot, Mary Ford, both of San Diego, walk away from their plane at Bend Municipal Airport after completing the Palms to Pines air race on Saturday morning. Bera, who has been flying since she was 16, said the race might be her last — although she might come back to competitive flying after getting a knee replacement.
Old-school air race
For the women who compete in Palms to Pines, the race - from Santa Monica, Calif., to Bend - is about honing skills and, above all, camaraderie
By Erin Golden / The Bulletin
Published: August 16. 2009 4:00AM PSTIn her nearly seven decades as a pilot, Fran Bera has flown planes and helicopters as a charter pilot and flight instructor, racked up dozens of air racing titles and even been recruited for an astronaut testing course.
In 1993, when she was nearly 70 years old, Bera flew her single-engine plane to Siberia for fun, but she counts a different trip as her most exciting adventure in the cockpit: a 1971 flight in a small, twin-engine plane from England to Victoria, British Columbia.
Now 84, the San Diego-based pilot is retired from full-time flying, but she still cruises the skies in her spare time and participates in air races — including the Palms to Pines race, an all-women contest that ended Saturday at Bend Municipal Airport.
Bera’s plane was one of 18 that flew in the race, which began in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday. The event, now in its 40th year, is the longest-running race for female pilots and one of the only contests of its kind in the U.S. Organizers said most of the participants in the race are from California, with a few from Oregon and Washington.
Some of the women who flew in the race said they look forward to it because it gives them a chance to meet other pilots and hone their skills in the cockpit.
Grace Crittenden, 62, of San Luis Obispo, Calif., flew with co-pilot Maureen Curran, 62 — a Central Oregon native who graduated from Bend High School and now lives in Los Osos, Calif. Crittenden said this year was her fourth time racing in the Palms to Pines — an event she said has become fairly unusual as air races have lost popularity over the years.
“It’s kind of an old-fashioned kind of race, and it’s kept its old-fashioned flavor,” she said.
Donna Taylor, 74, of Redding, Calif., said she’s participated in the Palms to Pines race about 20 times. Taylor said she keeps coming back because she enjoys the camaraderie with other female pilots.
“I started meeting these women, and I thought, ‘These people are not run of the mill — they’re exceptional,’” she said.
After completing the first leg of the flight on Friday, the competitors stayed overnight in Red Bluff, Calif. Because the pilots were flying different types of aircraft, their times were adjusted based on how fast their planes could go and when they took off. The winners will be announced at a breakfast this morning.
But with so many planes in the sky, the women said the race requires a high level of concentration, and awareness of both a pilot’s own plane and the planes around her.
The race was a first for Catherine Houghton, a retired diplomat from Novato, Calif., and her co-pilot, 30-year-old Shana Nussbaum, of Grass Valley, Calif. Houghton said she enjoyed flying in a competitive event because it tested all of her skills in the cockpit.
“Basically, what it is, is precision — you fly your very best, most precise course from point A to point B,” she said. “So, in a way, you’re racing against yourself.
Bera, who flew a red- and pink-striped Piper Comanche with custom tail numbers bearing her initials and the number 99 — a nod to The Ninety-Nines, an all-female flight association of which she is a member — said the weather was just about perfect for flying.
In the sky, Bera said she felt great, but on the ground, she used a cane to walk from the plane to an airport building, and said her biggest concern was a sore knee that started giving her trouble during the trip.
“Getting in and out of the plane — that’s the hardest part of flying at 84,” she said.
Her co-pilot, Mary Ford, of San Diego, said Bera is still just as skilled in the cockpit as she was decades ago as a young pilot and flight instructor.
“She’s always fun to fly with,” Ford said. “She’s got a good sense of humor, and I have total trust in her.”
Bera said she’s thinking about retiring from competition, but she might think about coming back after having knee-replacement surgery.
Several of the pilots who flew into Bend on Saturday mentioned Bera as one of the most inspiring female pilots they’d ever met, including Bera’s own co-pilot.
“I don’t think there’s anybody better,” Ford said of Bera.
Bera shook her head, shrugging off the compliment.
“There is today,” she said. “But there didn’t used to be.”
Erin Golden can be reached at 541-617-7837 or at egolden@bendbulletin.com.
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