New scholarship honors the legacy of Jacquie Warda

By Kelly Jeffries

Ladies Love Taildraggers has launched the Jacquie Warda Ladies Tailwheel Endorsement Scholarship to honor airshow performer Jacquie Warda, who passed away Jan. 26, 2022.

Known as Jacquie B on the airshow circuit, Jacquie was a life-force and an inspiration. Watching her precision performances at airshows was always a thrill.

It’s difficult to believe she was taken from us so swiftly. She finished her airshow career with a show in Corsicana, Texas, October 2021 and planned to retire to care for her ailing husband, David.

But Jacquie was also ill. In December 2021, she was diagnosed with cancer and a few short weeks later, she was gone. Even more tragically, her husband succumbed to his illness less than a week after Jacquie.

Jacquie took a different route to become an airshow performer and I believe her unique path is what made her so special. She was first inspired to become an aviator by her father, who worked for Douglas Aircraft. While exposed to flying at a young age, she didn’t earn her wings until much later.

Life and a series of earthbound jobs stood in the way and Jacquie was 32 years old before she earned her private pilot certificate. An aerobatic flight shifted her focus and she was soon training for and competing in aerobatic competitions.

From that foundation, she became an airshow performer when she was 50. Her first airshow was in 2003, the centennial of powered flight.

When Jacquie decided to do something, she gave it her all and ultimately performed for 17 years.

More than a pilot, she was a mentor and a friend. When I heard of her passing, I looked back on my relationship with Jacquie and realized that I had only known her for a few short years, but it felt like I had known her for my whole life. We met at the International Council of Airshows (ICAS) convention in 2018. She sought out me and my husband, newbies to the business, to welcome us and offer her help and support. And she meant it — her no-nonsense advice to us was needed and appreciated.

We were so lucky to perform with her at a small show in Minnesota, our very first!

She was a really good mentor and the adjective used over and over about Jacquie was that she was approachable. She said that the most important thing we can do is to make sure to teach others what we know and share the love of flight with who will take our place in the sky. Jacquie often said that it was our duty to help others achieve their dreams.

Whether she was talking to a group of school children, chatting with spectators after a performance, or speaking to a gathering of Ladies Love Taildraggers, a group of mostly middle-aged female taildragger pilots, Jacquie connected with people.

In an interview in Erik Hildebrandt’s book, “Front Row Center 4: Inside the Great American Airshow,” Jacquie was quoted as saying: ”We must provide opportunity to those with the desire. Many young people will come along the way I did, paying for flight lessons one hour at a time. The ones who need help should never have trouble finding it.”

To honor our flying sister, Ladies Love Taildraggers has created the Jacquie Warda Ladies Tailwheel Endorsement Scholarship. The $2,000 scholarship, which is open to all women pilots, will pay for a tailwheel endorsement.

Application requirements and instructions are outlined on the group’s website, LadiesLoveTaildraggers.com. Applications must be received by April 15, 2022.