AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2014 - 61

TAMARA LATIMER GRIFFITH'S corporate pilot
experience includes flying a Cessna Citation
Sovereign (left). She continues to flight instruct
independently and through the Girls in Flight
Training (GIFT) program (below).

"I am pretty sure we are the
only mother/daughter [team]
who both hold the IA certificate."

"The mechanic license was so we could buy, rebuild, and
sell airplanes," she said. "Someone had to have a license.
Lawrence made more money, and I was a better student,
so it was logical for me to be the one to go to school." In
1973 she enrolled at Texas Aero Tech in Wichita Falls,
where she was the only female student in a class of 20.
"They thought I was joking when I went to the school to
enroll," she said.
She wasn't joking. Latimer earned higher grades than
anyone else in her class. She later learned that her instructors had a betting pool on her. None of them thought she
would last longer than two weeks.
Tamara, the Latimers' only child, would ride in the
back of a 1939 Aeronca as her mother flew from Vernon
to Wichita Falls. Tamara stayed with her grandmother
while Latimer attended classes, then they would fly home
together.
Adding commercial, multiengine, and flight instructor certificates in 1974, Latimer found flying jobs hard to
come by. She related a couple of "memorable turndowns":
"We don't think the students would fly with a female

instructor," and "We have a lot of overnight trips and my
wife wouldn't like it." She applied to become an air traffic
controller and was hired in 1976. Once again, she was the
sole female in the class of 18. She finished second in the
class and was sent to Lawton-Fort Sill Regional. In 1999
she transferred to Fort Worth Meacham International and
worked there until retiring from the FAA in 2002.
While working as a controller, Latimer was flying and
rebuilding airplanes. She and Lawrence owned an aircraft
salvage business for a time. "One of the ways to become a
mechanic is to work under the supervision of a mechanic
for three years," she said. "After I had my mechanic license
for three years, I was able to sign [Lawrence] off to get his
license. Not too many mechanics get signed off by their
wife." She earned an inspection authorization certificate
in 1977-as did Tamara, years later. "I am pretty sure we
are the only mother/daughter [team] who both hold the IA
certificate," Latimer said.
In the ensuing years, Latimer has continued to fly as
a CFI, ferry pilot, and corporate pilot. She became a designated pilot examiner for the Lubbock Flight Standards
District Office in 2009. In 2013, she was named FAA
Southwest Region Flight Instructor of the Year.
A NEW GENERATION

Tamara Latimer Griffith grew up not only riding in airplanes but also working on them. She had her own tool
set at age 4, and recalls helping Mary sew ribs on a wing.
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 61
http://www.aopa.org/pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - June 2014
