Laura McDermid
A quick Google search of ‘Linda Sollars’ brings up a plethora of articles detailing the remarkable journey of this petite dynamo. Notably, she flew from Johannesburg to Oshkosh in N915HW, the inaugural Sling High Wing, which she built from the kit at Sling Aircraft in Tedderfield.
For most individuals, such an endeavour would mark a pinnacle achievement, a feat many dream of, but few realise. Yet, for Linda, it was merely another feather in her very large cap.
I had the privilege of meeting Linda at an EAA Chapter 322 gathering at Rand Airport, and was immediately intrigued. What drove her to undertake such a remarkable expedition? What sets her apart from the other 8 billion humans she shares this planet with?
Perhaps Linda had the privilege and opportunity that elude many. However, there are countless individuals with even greater advantages who would never contemplate a journey akin to Linda’s.
Her affinity for flying traces back to her fascination with Snoopy and his iconic red biplane, which symbolised adventure and freedom. However, her teenage years presented a stark contrast as she navigated the challenges of caring for her ailing mother, who succumbed to cancer when Linda turned 18.
Despite excelling in math and science, Linda’s high school guidance counsellor dissuaded her from pursuing a career in aviation due to her gender. Trusting the guidance of an elder, she diverted her focus to improving her weaker subjects and pursued an undergraduate degree in English literature at the Regency College in England. It was during her year abroad that Linda’s horizons expanded exponentially, igniting a newfound passion for exploration and learning.
The dynamic landscape of the 1980s in the United States, marked by financial prosperity and technological advancements, prompted Linda to harness her mathematical acumen by pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration with a focus on finance. A fortuitous encounter with her Personal Finance professor, who happened to be a pilot, reignited Linda’s dormant passion for flying, leading her to obtain her pilot’s license.
While Linda aspired to become a commercial pilot and fly for a living, she found that her eyesight fell short of the 20/80 correctable to 20/20 vision requirements. Undeterred, she ventured to Brooklyn, New York, in pursuit of biofeedback therapy to enhance her eyesight which unfortunately did not yield the desired results.
Armed with her MBA in finance and computer skills, Linda accepted a more lucrative job on Wall Street. This came naturally to her and soon she was earning a lot of money, which allowed her to buy her own plane, a 1979 Cessna 210.
Although she was earning a fortune, she was also spending a fortune on maintaining the C210. She needed more flexibility and so took a sabbatical from Wall Street to study Airframe and Power Plant Mechanics, thinking that she could save money by maintaining her own aircraft.
Then the FAA announced they were to drop the 20/80 correctable to 20/20 requirement for Class One Medicals, opening a path for Linda to achieve her CPL. The expectation was that the airlines would follow suit.
Even though she was aged 35, this news changed Linda’s game plan and she decided that she would be flying for United Airlines by the time she was 40.
This upped the ante and so Linda added a Piper Apache to her ‘fleet’ to gain experience on multi-engined aircraft.
As is often the bane of old planes, she found herself logging more hours fixing the plane than actually flying it. She did however accumulate enough flying hours to secure a job at a charter company, after which she accepted a position at a regional airline.
Not one to be idle while awaiting line operations training at the regional airline, Linda spent the time documenting various inconsistencies that she had identified in a variety of flight training manuals. In addition, she researched and developed a Cockpit Resource Management course for the airline.
Linda passion for these projects made then invaluable to her management team, reaping her great rewards in the future.
Finally in 2001, a year before she turned 40, Linda’s dream came true when she was hired by United. However, fate had other plans, as September 11 led to Linda being furloughed from her new job.
Once flights resumed following 9/11, Linda received a call from the regional airline she had worked for before joining United, offering her the position of Chief Pilot.
She told them she’d consider if they would pay the salary that she wanted, thinking they would never agree, as it was substantially more than the going rate. To her astonishment, they agreed, and Linda became their first female chief pilot.
The appointment did not sit well with some of her male colleagues, and they made it their mission to make life hell for her, going as far as putting up signs in the office barring women and accusing her of getting the job due to affirmative action, and not because of her skill.
Despite facing adversity and discrimination in her role, Linda’s perseverance and expertise propelled her career forward, culminating in an offer from JetBlue to head their Systems Safety department.
Once Linda had set up the department, she applied for a position as a pilot and did both jobs for a couple of years. Initially, she worked mainly in the office and flew a few times a month, and gradually built more hours flying the line until she was doing the occasional office job.
A past colleague from Wall Street convinced her to take a leadership role in information systems at a hedge fund during the week, and soon she was earning three times that of a First Officer. For about a year she juggled hedge funds between flight schedules before she decided that it wasn’t a great fit and ditched the hedge fund.
At around the same time, Linda received a call from United, asking her to return, but after some deliberation, she decided to stay at JetBlue. Had she taken the job at United, she may have made more money in the long run, but she would not have the schedule flexibility that she enjoys at JetBlue (and she would have been furloughed a second time when the world shut down due to Covid).
One of Linda’s many ambitions was to build her own plane from a kit. She considered a variety of makes, but there was always something that fell short of her ideal.
In 2016 she had the opportunity to fly the Sling 4 at Fun and Sun Florida, and although it made a positive impression on her, it did not meet her criteria for a plane with high wings.
The high-wing Sling was on the drawing board, so she put her name on the list. Her patience paid off and Linda was offered the first Sling High Wing kit, the plan being to ship the kit straight to the USA.
However COVID caused huge backlogs and subsequent delays in shipping.
A friend suggested she build the plane in South Africa, an idea that Linda pitched to the folk at Sling. The request was heartily welcomed and so began Linda’s grand adventure.
In order to meet the 51% amateur home-build requirements, Linda travelled to South Africa 11 times within a period of three years. Five of these were spent building the plane whilst the balance was spent enjoying our beautiful country, both from the air and the ground.
The challenge they now faced was how to get the plane to the States, as freight costs were exorbitant, and Sling strongly advised her to never take the wings off the high wing.
So James Pittman and Mike Blyth suggested she fly her plane from Johannesburg to Oshkosh. Having already flown their various Sling models around the world, these two adventurers got planning. On Monday 18 July 2022, three Sling High Wingst took off from Lanseria on a journey of a lifetime.
If I had to sum Linda up in one word it would be ‘determined’. Wikipedia defines determination as ‘a positive emotional feeling that promotes persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles’.
Since her childhood Linda has faced a barrage of obstacles, yet she never perceived herself to be a victim, or ever indulged in self-pity. Every obstacle represented a challenge to vanquish, and each successive victory made her even more determined.
Linda turns 63 this year which means that according to the current FAA rule, she only has two years in the left seat before she is forced to retire.
I found an article published by Forbes in February that reported that ‘a small group of pilots nearing retirement age are advocating to raise the age.’
I can’t help wondering if it is in fact a small group of pilots or just one small pilot with heaps of determination. I have no doubt that if Linda is spearheading this campaign, the FAA does not stand a chance.
Linda is the true epitome of inspiration, and I can’t wait to see what she does next.