In the tongue-in-cheek spirit of Major Tony Hibbert, I wonder who can claim to be the oldest women (and youngest girl) to have flown. Sam 'Baberider' England has received a lot of press, but she's probably not the oldest, and certainly not the youngest. I remember Tamra writing on the US site about juniors in San Diego trading off with a couple of Bladeriders and I believe there was a junior girl in the bunch. So who is the youngest?
I started thinking about this when looking at the Moth records page on the world site that Doug maintains. Susan and I were sailing this afternoon, she in Aftermath and I in Try-Foil. The conditions were marginal - 6-8 knots - and I only got in a couple of good foiling runs, but Susan said she had a ball in her boat.
When I asked if she wanted to try the foiler she declined, and it wouldn't have been fun for her anyway (needing to pump, dive in to the center, etc.) But if the conditions were more favorable (steady 10 - 12) I'm sure she would give it a go. So, if she manages to fly, would a 51 year old lay claim to the "oldest bird?"
1 comment:
Go Susan! When the wind is up ... go for it! Flying a Moth looks like a blast! I have been working on getting back into sailing shape ever since I watched a video of a Moth fly. I couldn't believe my eyes and have been pushing to get this old lady Moth sailor back into shape just in case someone is crazy enough to ever let me try one of these amazing contraptions. :-)
Go for it Susan! Show those guys ... and young gals how to really fly!
Nancy Patterson Tidy
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