At the start (Oshawa)	Marilyn & Jean	Akky and Anna	Noriko & Suzanne
Caroline & Jocelyn	Gwen, Mary and Margo	Kelly, Adele & Daphne	Susan & Sharron
Mont Joli from the air..	Rally planes at Mont Joli airport	St. Flavie	Marc Gagnon's sculptures at St. Flavie
Gaspé from the air..	The "Link" (bridge to PEI)	Gorgeous PEI	At Finish. Back-Jean, Mary, Gwen, Suzanne, Noriko, Erna Scriven (Halifax), Marilyn Affleck (PEI Host); Front-Adele, Winners Anna & Akky; Jocelyn, Kelly, Sharron & Susan

Flying the Gold Cup Rally 2003

by Akky Mansikka

Once again I had the privilege of participating in the First Canadian Chapter Gold Cup Rally. To me it is what flying and the 99s are all about.  I enjoy and learn so much from the various age and experience levels.

The women ranged in age from early twenties to the seventies (that’s age not the 1970s). Whether you were young or old, novice or experienced (which had nothing to do with age), rich or poor, rented, owned your own plane or not, there was such bonding and camaraderie that only develops by having undergone mutual experiences, training (remember those stalls, spins and your first solo), passions, and goals.

For me the excitement started at the Aviation Show in Oshawa on Saturday the 14^th of June. I volunteered to staff the 99s booth and realized shortly after why no one had taken that time slot. I missed the East Canada Section Meeting at Durham College but managed to catch the end of Kathy Fox’s presentation and join in for lunch. You could feel the excitement building as most of the participants were at this meeting. Anna Nosko and I were part of Team 2. She, as had several other participants, flew her plane to Oshawa to begin the rally on the next day as part of the Aviation Expo.  We chatted and visited with friends and toured the show during the afternoon.  Several of us went to the COPA Awards Dinner that evening to support Patricia Crocker from the Maple Leaf Chapter as she was recognized for all her work in aviation. Most stayed overnight in the residence at Durham College but I went home and would rejoin the group the next morning for the rally briefing in Oshawa.

All the teams gathered in Oshawa at 0900 HRS, in one of the classrooms in a hangar of the Canadian Flight Academy. The teams looked very professional in their flight suits with badges for this rally and from previous ones, Skywatch, NASA, or from other aviation related things. Gwen Hems presented us with white scarves with the Gold Cup Rally logo that she had made. We now looked like true pioneer aviators….a tribute to 100 years of aviation and Amelia Earhart. Marilyn Dickson introduced the flight crews.

Team 1:  (First Canadian Chapter)

• Marilyn Dickson, a former teacher, former governor of the East     Canada Section of the 99s and flight instructor from Guelph.

• Jean Franklin Hancher, a lawyer, a student and friend of Marilyn’s.

• Cherokee 140  C-FVLA

Team 2:  (First Canadian Chapter)

• Akky Mansikka, teacher and dragon boater from Toronto.

• Anna Nosko, family therapist from Toronto.

• Grumman Cheetah  C-GHLN

Team 3: (First Canadian Chapter)

• Noriko Date Moss, worked many years for Japan Airlines, flies the pipeline.  Toronto

• Suzanne Wiltshire, Brantford

• Cessna 172

Team 4:  (Maple Leaf Chapter / FCC)

• Jocelyn Lecluse. Hamilton.  Maple Leaf Chapter

• Caroline Kolasa, student at Ryerson, Toronto

• Cessna 150  C-GFWJ

Team 5: (First Canadian Chapter)

• Margo McCutcheon.  Participant in cross Atlantic Air Rallies

• Gwen Hems,

• Mary Warner-Smith.

• Beech Baron

Team 6:  (First Canadian Chapter)

• Adele Fogle, Owner of Guelph Airport,              

• Daphne Schiff, teaches aviation at York University

• Both fly humanitarian missions in Africa.

• Kelly Sheret, Vancouver, British Columbia, Flight Instructor

• Cessna 172 

Team 8:  (Eastern Ontario Chapter)

• Susan Begg, Ottawa, recipient of the Amelia Earhart scholarship.

• Sharon  Lutmann, Ottawa, Veterinarian Technician

• Moonie C-FTEM

After a morning of briefing and flight planning we took off from Oshawa as part of the Aviation Show.

The route followed the north shore of Lake Ontario to Colborne, the Consecon route through the Quinte area, south of Trenton. The northern route around Trenton was active that day.

From there the route was to Kingston, on to Cornwall south of Montreal Tersa with a stop to re-evaluate the weather, and on to Quebec City.

We stayed overnight in Quebec City and left the next day at noon along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The intention was to go around the Gaspe Peninsula to Prince Edward Island, however, Team 1 developed an oil leak that needed attending to, so we stopped in Mont Joli. There was no mechanic at Mont Joli so Marilyn and Jean went back to Rimouski where Claude fixed the leak. Apparently Claude was a very handsome, appealing man, and a day did not go by that he wasn’t mentioned. There was talk of us all taking the same route back and developing engine problems at Rimouski.

We enjoyed our lunch and overnight stay in Saint Flavie, an interesting artist center on the Saint Lawrence River near the Mont Joli Airport. Susan Begg let off some fireworks on the beach that night but Mother Nature, not to be out done, put on her own light show. That was the first time Noriko had seen Northern Lights.

Next morning some of us did not have time to follow the whole Gaspe Peninsula to Perce Rock, but had to cut across the peninsula and over the mountains straight south to Prince Edward Island so we would not miss the B.B.Q. arranged for us at Summerside Airport and a tour of the Island. At the Lobster dinner that night, we, Team 2 Akky and Anna were declared the winners of the Gold Cup.

We had managed to score the highest in the enroute challenges. There had been navigation problems, spotting things on the ground, from airports, bridges, to people; questions to answer, from Air Law to Airmanship; history questions; and questions about the 99s from our Section to International. The challenges were particularly well done, I thought. The person we had to find near Colborne was Vi Milstead and what a tribute it was to her, to have these planes circling overhead, and what a challenge for us to spot her home and her. Did anybody do it? There were 50 questions from the AIP (ones that we really should know) and by answering them we had done the questions for recurrency. What a good idea that was! There was also a spot landing in Summerside. Jean from Team 1 won that. It was probably the highlight for her. It certainly was for Marilyn her instructor, who also tried the spot landing. Marilyn said that certainly showed she was a better instructor than pilot.

It took great team work to make the rally a success. The committee who put it together consisted of Jean Franklin Hancher, Marilyn Dickson, Anna Nosko, Noriko Date Moss, Margo McCutcheon and Dee Birchmore. Without them there would be no rally. It took great co-ordination and planning to make the rally work so smoothly, from the weather briefings, the routing, the accommodations and the challenges. It took planning and connecting with the Atlantic Chapter to have such a wonderful agenda for us in PEI.

On the way back some participants were weathered in at St. Jean, Quebec, and connected with the Montreal Chapter. Somehow all the Chapters in the East Canada Section were involved.

Activities such as these promote flying skills, comradery and team work and foster connections between Chapters and Sections of the 99s. For me as a graduate in Geography to float over the majestic St. Lawrence River, across the mountains of the Gaspe Peninsula and over the water to Prince Edward Island with its red beaches and green fields was spectacular. Pictures and books don’t do it justice. New friends were made and flying skills were improved. It was like getting a new rating. This to me is what the 99s are about. Oh, and I forgot to mention the most important thing…it was fun! I can’t wait for the next one. 

Akky Mansikka 

(A more detailed account of the rally will follow which will include more information about the participants, with their hours of flight time and ratings, their occupations and their thoughts about the rally including most memorable moments.)

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