By Howard Deevers
… this is not an obituary, this is a remembrance
Barbara was born in San Diego and was involved in aviation long before coming to Arizona in 1974. I did not arrive in Arizona until 1999. Barbara and I first met while we both served on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Pilots Association. Board meetings were held at the Chandler Airport meeting room. Since we were the only Board members from Southern Arizona, it was logical for us to carpool for the monthly meetings. I would drive for one month, and she would drive the next month, and at times we would fly from Tucson to Chandler for the meeting and back.
It was nice to have company on the drive or flight to and from Chandler. Naturally we talked about many things during those drives and got to know each other well. Most of our conversations were aviation-related, and I quickly learned that she was a storehouse of information, knowledge, and experience. She became my go-to person when I had any kind of aviation question.
We also co-authored several articles for the Arizona Pilot’s Association newsletter. Barbara would have an idea for an article and would send her thoughts or an outline to me by email. I would edit or add other material to the article. Sometimes it took several exchanges until we were both satisfied with the final draft.
In addition to her knowledge she was involved in many aviation groups: the Arizona Pilots Association, AOPA, the CAP, the women pilots, the 99's, Women in Aviation, and many more. She was also a FAA SAFETY TEAM (FAASTeam) Lead Representative. She was passionate about aviation safety and accident prevention. While still serving on the APA Board, Barbara was working on her PHD Doctorate.
In 2010 she was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson. I was fortunate to be invited to that induction ceremony.
Since we are both flight instructors, we would exchange Flight Reviews; I would give her a Flight Review, then she would give me a Flight Review (and if necessary an IPC), to keep each other current and proficient. It also happened that our CFI certificates renewed about the same time, so we would attend a Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic at the same time.
When I sponsored the IMC Club in Southern Arizona, she was one of the first to join that club and was a very good contributor to the instrument flight scenarios for that club.
Barbara passed away March 26, 2023.
A memorial will be held at the Pima Air and Space Museum meeting room on April 23 from 10 AM to 12:30. Come share your memories of Barbara Harper with all of those that show up.