Linda Sollar’s love affair with aviation was born as a young girl reading Snoopy and the Red Baron and watching movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, she realised at that young age that she belonged in the sky. In the 70s this was easier said than done, aviation was and still is a male-dominated world but Linda wasn’t about to let her dream die. While in high school Linda approached her career counsellor with the revelation that she wanted to be a pilot, but the answer she received was not what she wanted. The counsellor told her that she should apply as a stewardess as girls couldn’t become pilots. Linda believes she was wrong for the right reasons as the first woman to fly for major US airlines was 1973, and the military only started with a few women flying in the 70s but not as the more publicized fighter pilots until the 90s.

In 1985, while Linda was working on her Masters of Business Administration in Finance, one of her professors had mentioned he had a small plane that he flew out of the local airport. It had never occurred to Linda that one could just choose to fly and do it. She drove down to the airport that day, took an introductory lesson, and has been flying ever since.

Linda having previously met James and Mike, the owners of Sling Aircraft and had the opportunity to fly their low wing aircraft, both of which made a very positive impression on her, decided to order a Sling High Wing and complete the build herself with the assistance of the Sling Factory in Johannesburg. Linda’s Sling High Wing would become the first production built High Wing in the world.

Flightline had the honour to meet this remarkable lady at an EAA event held at Krugersdorp Airfield where Linda and her husband Gordon were flown to the field by Derek Hopkins and Mike Puzey in their Vans RV8s. Linda and Gordon are planning on flying her newly completed Sling HW from South Africa to the EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh later this year, we wish you all the best on your future journeys and thank you for flying the South African flag high all around the world.