Page 52 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2024 - Online Magazine

LOCAL LEGENDS
Flying with a
Rosemary Stidham’s LEGACY
and My Journey as a Student Pilot
n a world where only 3% of
pilots are women, Rosemary
IByers Stidham stands out as a
trailblazer. A seasoned aviator and
FAA-Designated Pilot Examiner
(DPE) based in Lubbock, Texas,
Rosemary has guided hundreds of
aspiring pilots through their check
rides, molding them into competent
and safe aviators. Her career,
spanning over five decades, has
been one of both quiet persistence
and remarkable achievements. As
a student pilot under her watchful
eye, I can personally attest to the
depth of her knowledge and the
formidable reputation she holds in
the world of aviation.
52 Lubbock Senior Link
LEGEND:
by Ron Chambless
But before she became a renowned way—with a map, an E6B aviation
figure in the skies, Rosemary’s slide rule, and sharp eyes. In
story began in the small town of one instance, the wind whipped
Electra, Texas, where a childhood her map right out of the plane’s
friendship blossomed into a lifetime window, leaving her to rely solely
partnership. on pilotage—finding her way by
reading the landscape below. Water
From Electra to the Sky: towers, roads, and landmarks
Rosemary’s Early Life and Love for became her guideposts, and her
Aviation cool-headed determination saw her
Born and raised in Electra, through.
Rosemary Byers met her future Her skills quickly grew, and she
husband, Noble Martin Stidham soon found herself flying corporate
Jr., in second grade. The two were aircraft. As Gene Messer’s personal
inseparable and, in 1961, they pilot, Rosemary commanded the
married in their hometown. Noble skies with confidence. However,
and Rosemary’s journey together despite her talents, opportunities
would soon take flight—literally. for women in the aviation world
By the late 1960s, Rosemary remained limited. While she
found herself working at the local dreamed of flying for major airlines,
airport. While office work wasn’t companies simply weren’t hiring
exactly thrilling, the buzz of planes female pilots at the time.
taking off and landing around her
captured her imagination. In 1969, Breaking Barriers in a Male-
she began taking flight lessons. She Dominated Field
didn’t know it at the time, but that Rosemary’s experience was part of
decision would set her on the course a broader struggle faced by women
to become one of the most respected in aviation. While attitudes have
pilots in the region. shifted, progress has been slow. To
this day, only 3% of pilots globally
Rosemary’s early flying days were are women, and in 2022, there were
far from the advanced, GPS-aided just over 74,000 women pilots in the
navigation of today. She ferried United States, accounting for less
Piper Cubs from Pennsylvania, than 10% of the pilot workforce.
navigating the old-fashioned