“When Linda Sollars, WAI 372, was in high school in the 1980s, she told the career counselor that she wanted to be a professional pilot. “The high school counselor told me I couldn’t do that because I was a girl,” Linda remembers, who today is an Airbus A320 captain for a major airline.
The information wasn’t correct, Linda says, because in 1973 Bonnie Tiburzi, WAI 18, became the first woman to fly for a U.S. airline and that same year, the United States Navy allowed women to train as pilots.
Instead of a career in flying, Linda went to college for a career in finance. It was practical, she notes, and when you have a practical career, there are jobs that pay you well enough to survive and do what you want to do on the side. Then one day, fate intervened.”
-Meg Godlewski (Aviation For Women)
It’s go‑time! Load up your gear, strap on your gravel shoes, and aim for the wide‑open Karoo horizon. The Tanqua Kuru is calling, and we’re answering with throttles, pedals, and hearts wide open. At least four Sling aircraft and our solid team of riders will make the pilgrimage to Tankwa Tented Camp for what’s become an annual tradition of grit, gravel, and greatness.
There’s still one title former Springbok Bob Skinstad hasn’t claimed… This isn’t a stadium victory. No crowds, no ceremony, no easy applause. This one is fought for. Across endless gravel, through the dust, under the relentless Tankwa sun. And he’s chasing it down on a Sling Cycles Tagati. So, the question is — when he rolls up to the start line… will you be there with him?