On Saturday 24 January, for the third year in a row, we were visited by a most seasoned 71-year-old Dutch glider pilot, Marijke Waalkens.
Marijke is a regular at the VGC vintage glider rallies, where she flies a curious two-seat glider, the Doppelraab. Curious because, despite being a tandem two-seater, it has a single control stick and a single instrument panel. What is more, she had fitted out her trailer with everything needed to live in it during the days of the meeting, including her beloved cat Pietro.
Marijke was born in 1944 in a small town in the area of The Hague. She graduated in agronomy and worked for a time in Cameroon. On her return she joined the Air Force, serving as a meteorologist for 30 years. She spent the last 10 years in the press and communications department.
She took up gliding at the Eindhoven Air Force gliding club in 1967, where they used the Rhönlerche Ka-4 two-seater for training. She currently flies at Leeuwarden air base.
She acquired the Doppelraab-V HP-814 in 1987, flying it all over Europe at the many vintage glider rallies, both national and international, where she has clocked up more than 1,000 launches by aerotow and winch.
Together with another well-known Dutch glider pilot, Marja Osinga, she has held for 30 years the Dutch women’s two-seater distance record, set in a Ka-13.
Speaking of her friend Marja, it should be said that she is the wife of the owner (Nelco Osinga) of the only Kraich II built in Spain that is still flying.
This year she has had to part with her beloved Doppelraab but she continues to fly a Ka-6 CR, in which she has completed her 2,000th flight.
Marijke has also flown in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. During her time in the Air Force she was able to fly all kinds of military aircraft, including several types of modern fighters. And she happily confesses that the only time she has been able to fly in wave was with the Bergfalke II-55 (EC-FPU) on this third visit to Igualada.
It is a great source of joy and satisfaction for our Club to receive, from time to time, visits from someone of the calibre of this extraordinary lady, to whom we wish to express our deepest admiration.
Text: José Ignacio García Colomo.
Photos: José Ignacio García Colomo and Josep Ollé Purtí.
