Aloha Ninety-Nines spread holiday cheer to Hawaiian Islands

“Our chapter mission is really best summarized by the international chapter,” said Tanya Rames, vice chair of the Aloha chapter. The Ninety-Nines Inc. International Organization of Women Pilots was founded by Amelia Earhart and 98 other female pilots in New York more than 90 years ago. “We strive to promote the advancement of aviation through education, scholarships, and mutual support while honoring our unique history and sharing our passion for flight. Passion is the key word there. Our passion for flying makes all of this possible.”

More than a dozen volunteer pilots and a small fleet of single-engine airplanes will help the two chapters provide “toys and donations to homeless children on the Big Island and children in need on Lanai,” the Aloha Ninety-Nines said. Combining charity and flight training is a model that was successfully implemented by these same organizations in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I never thought that my flight training would be able to bless other people,” said Abigail Dang, an 18-year-old private pilot who also participated in the delivery of personal protective equipment earlier in the year. “When I wanted to become a pilot, I thought that training was just training, but the amazing thing about the Aloha Ninety-Nines and the local aviation community is that training can be a vessel for so much more. It can really branch out and bless other people.”