A freshly painted blue and white 12-point compass vividly stands out against the black tarmac at the Richland airport, visible to all aircraft flying over.

The 80-foot marker is striking as well as functional, allowing pilots to calibrate their compasses.

Completed this May, the compass rose is a signature project for the Mid-Columbia Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, an international group of female pilots that number 40 locally.

“It’s neat that we’re going to be able to see that every time we go out,” said Diane Lambert, 51, of Richland, who frequently flies out of the Richland airport with her husband. 

“We’ve seen them at other airports, and it’ll be really neat when we go out and just double check our compass, to be able to know that … we were part of this.”

Members of the Mid-Columbia chapter of the Ninety-Nines paint the Richland airport’s new compass rose. They hired a surveyor to mark magnetic north.

| Courtesy Port of Benton

Compass rose project 

Along with compass roses, Ninety-Nines around the world regularly paint airports’ names on tarmacs so pilots can identify their location.

The Richland airport was the first compass rose for the Mid-Columbia chapter, founded in 1982, said Aileen Coverdell, 60, of Pasco. 

She’s chair of the air marking committee for the entire Northwest section, a group of Ninety-Nine chapters throughout Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. 

Coverdell said the group followed a manual as they worked on the Richland airport’s compass – plus, she did a trial run on her own driveway. 

Before the group began painting, they had the location professionally surveyed to mark magnetic north. Then, members spent about four hours laying out the compass rose with chalk, marking the compass points and colors for each section.

On May 23, the group began painting parts of the compass, using a paint roller connected to the center of the compass with a piece of string to keep it moving in a perfect circle. 

The group put in four to six more hours of work that day, then returned over the weekend to wrap up the painting, including putting its logo in the center of the compass rose.

Quentin Wright, airport manager for the Port of Benton, which operates the Richland airport, said the Ninety-Nines had initially reached out about the project several years ago, but it had to be delayed because of pavement work at the airport.

The Ninety-Nines volunteered to create the compass rose, as well as the air markings, Coverdell said. “They have to buy the paint. We provide the labor,” she said.

There’s currently a functional compass rose at the airport, but Wright said it will be moved or taken out altogether.

“We’re really grateful that they offered to do this. It’s going to make the airport look great,” Wright said. “It’s something that pilots will be able to see from a long ways away and just really makes our airport stand out.”

Women in the Mid-Columbia chapter of the Ninety-Nines range from plane owners to plane renters, new pilots and pilots in training to seasoned pilots, and women with full-time jobs to retirees. Above, Diane Lambert, left, and Bonnie Monitor work on the Richland airport’s new compass rose.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Ninety-Nines history

The Ninety-Nines was first established in 1929 in New York, and when all the female pilots at the time were invited to join, 99 responded, Coverdell said. That’s how the organization got its name.

Amelia Earhart was elected the first president of the group. Now, the organization is international, with 27 sections and 154 chapters, according to the Ninety-Nines’ website. 

Membership is exclusive to female pilots or students and promotes women in aviation. The Ninety-Nines also runs two museums and a scholarship program. 

Members of the Mid-Columbia chapter range from seasoned pilots to women working toward getting their licenses and the group meets monthly and tries to fly in for their meetings, whether at Desert Aire or Pendleton.

In the summer, the members camp out at Electric City or Curlew Lake. The group also attends airshows, gets the word out about their group and scholarships, socializes and brushes up on airplane safety.

The Ninety-Nines’ scholarships are global and competitive, but local women have won them before.

Lambert received a $6,000 First Wings scholarship in 2022 to go toward getting her pilot’s license. She trained part time while still working and earned her license in 2024.

Coverdell said applications come from all over the world, and their group is “thrilled to death” when someone local has the opportunity that the scholarship provides. 

The Ninety-Nines support women pilots, from monthly meetups to international scholarships to help cover pilot training. They volunteer for air markings, or writing an airport’s name so it’s visible to pilots, and painting compass roses.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Supporting female pilots

For Lambert, the Ninety-Nines are “really great because we support pilots of all ages,” she said. Membership ranges from young students to retirees and all types of aviation interests are welcome, from aspiring commercial pilots to recreational flyers. Some members own their aircraft, while others choose to rent.

Lambert had been flying as a passenger with her husband for several years before deciding to pursue her own license. Eventually, she tried flying for herself, intending for it to be just the one time. But she decided that she wanted to keep flying, and now she’s flown to a number of places, including a five-week cross-country trip from the Tri-Cities to Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado and Utah.

Coverdell first got involved with the Ninety-Nines in 2014 after the death of her husband. She considered getting a master’s degree, but instead she took a discovery flight at Bergstrom Aircraft in Pasco and decided to pursue her pilot’s license.

For any woman interested in becoming a pilot, Coverdell’s advice is to just go for it. “Women can do it just as well as men,” she said, noting there’s no need to be scared because it’s a predominantly male activity. 

Local women can reach out to the Mid-Columbia chapter of the Ninety-Nines for more information. 

“We’ll wrap our arms around them, and bring them in,” Coverdell said.  “Our wings around them.”

Go to: midcolumbia99s.org.