“I want flying to be fun! Not a job…”

Words and Photos by: Wild Bill Hill

Before Nancy Ginesi-Hill  started flying she restored classic cars and motorcycles. “I was a tomboy growing up, working on engines in garages since I was 16. In 1988 while living in Grass Valley she read a story on the front page of the Grass Valley Union about the 99s at the airport flying airplanes. She thought, “how cool would it be to ride my 1940 Harley Davidson, to the airport and jump in my 1940 bi-plane and fly.”  She went to the local airport in Sacramento and said “Teach me how to fly!”  Nancy started flight training in 1989, moved to Santa Rosa and earned her license in Jan 1990.

After receiving her license she couldn’t afford to continue training. A single mom of two, with no support, struggling just to pay the bills. No one in her family flew, so of course they all thought she was crazy to even want to fly. “I tried to get into the military to continue my training but at that time I was 29 years old and they told me the cutoff age was 28 1/2. I also tried applying for scholarships which were scarce at that time with no luck.” To be able to hang around the airport and airplanes she started working at the local FBO for $6 an hour. “I was able to obtain grants to continue my ground school and was the first to receive a government grant to go through the Aeronautics Program at Santa Rosa JR College.” When the flight school went under and closed down, her dreams of aviation went on the back burner for a while. Nancy continued to work nights bartending and driving limousines to feed her family.

Several years later the aviatrix found herself back in Sacramento working and managing flight schools. Also flying for the Civil Air Patrol and the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department to log hours and get back into flying.

In 2003 while Chairman of the International Organization of Women Pilots, (the 99s) she was voted Women Pilot of the Year and received the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship.

After the first time a friend took me up in his Stearman I was hooked! I was able to get my tail wheel endorsement and logged over 200 Stearman hours.

In 2002 Nancy and her instructor flew his Stearman down to Eagle AAFB in Dos Palos, CA. They were having their annual Dinner Dance Reunion. Everyone was dressed in 1940’s uniforms and clothing. The air was filled with sounds of the big bands and Glen Miller in the original 30,000 sq ft hangar. Older pilots telling the stories of flying during the war. B-25’s,  Stearmans  and PT-22’s outside. “I was in warbird heaven! I fell in love with Eagle Field and would do anything to go back “She started to volunteer help restore the airfield.

“I went every weekend and holiday until finally I ended up moving there with my son and worked there for 3 years. What an adventure! “

Eventually she came back to Sacramento and ran into Bill whom she had not seen for 28 years. It was love at second sight. They got married in Las Vegas by Elvis. Now living in Roseville, CA. where Bill owns a business named Wild Bill’s Tattoo. She found her Stearman in Petaluma.

“After I bought the airplane I sent for the Military History of my plane and found out its last assignment during the war was at Eagle Field AAFB where I worked and lived for several years, I was very excited! I knew this plane was meant for me. I now had a connection.” It was a little rough and needed some work. Nancy worked on it every spare moment she had. Flying it 2 to 3 times a week, taking it to air shows and fly-ins “To honor the men and women who trained and flew in them during WWII.”

“I have been coming to Eagle Field for many years, and I have always wanted to own and fly a Stearman”, says Nancy, “But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever own one that had been stationed at this particular field in 1944.

When Nancy flew her plane down to Eagle Field for the next dinner dance the owner of the old Army Air Force base, Joe Davis, was especially happy to see the plane.  It was the only plane there that could say it flew there 65 years ago during the war. The Dos Palos Sun was there and wrote a two page story. “My plane and I were on the front page. It was very exciting!”

Nancy has a large hangar at Lincoln Regional Airport, filled with aviation art, glass cases full of Amelia Earhart, WWll memorabilia, and framed newspaper articles collected over the years. The big movie screen on the hangar wall projects old time aviation movies or you might hear the sounds of Glen Miller on the radio if you’re passing by.

“It’s my time to fly! I plan to take my plane with my husband as navigator to all the places around the country I ever wanted to go — all the museums, air shows and fly-ins I have never been to. At this point in my life I want flying to be fun! Not a job…

She remains busy with her Stearman and the large list of aviation organizations she’s involved in; Vice Chairman of the Sacramento Valley 99s, Vice President of EAA Chapter 52 Sacramento, Vice President of Gray Eagles, the Lincoln Regional Aviation Association, EAA Chapter 526 Auburn, FAA Safety Team Representative and the P-38 Forktail Devils. I also give presentations to various organizations and schools to promote Women in Aviation. Hoping to educate women on the options for careers in aviation I never had during my training.