Aviation for Women

MAR-APR 2016

Aviation for Women is the flagship member publication of Women in Aviation International. Articles feature women who have made aviation history, professional development ideas, and current-topic articles.

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44 Aviation forWomen 2 7 T H A N N U A L I N T E R N A T I O N A L W O M E N I N A V I A T I O N C O N F E R E N C E W A I P I O N E E R H A L L O F F A M E Previous Inductees 1 9 9 2 Moya Lear Emily Howell Warner Fay Gillis Wells Edna Gardner Whyte Jeana Yeager 1 9 9 3 Nancy Hopkins Tier Bobbi Trout Women Airforce Service Pilots 1 9 9 4 Olive Ann Beech Mary Feik Evelyn Bryan Johnson Jessie Woods 1 9 9 5 Bessie Coleman Eileen Collins Wally Funk Jean Ross Howard Nadine Jeppesen 1 9 9 6 Lorna DeBlicquy Audrey Poberezny Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees Sheila Widnall 1 9 9 7 Amelia Earhart Bety Skelton Paty Wagstaf Navy Women Navigators of WWII (WAVES) 1 9 9 8 Loreta Jones Harriet Quimby Jacqueline L. Smith The Whirly-Girls Inc. 1 9 9 9 Arlene Elliot Gloria Heath Anne Morrow Lindbergh June D. Maule 2 0 0 0 Katherine Cheung Jerrie Cobb Marion P. Jayne Louise McPhetridge Thaden 2 0 0 1 Mary Barr Ann Baumgartner Carl Elizabeth (Bety) Pfster Elinor Smith 2 0 0 2 Soviet Air Women of WWII Fiorenza de Bernardi Julie Clark Doris Lockness Blanche Stuart Scot Amy Johnson Arguably Britain's most famous aviatrix, Amy John- son, was born July 1, 1903, in Hull, Yorkshire. Follow- ing her graduaton from Shefeld University in 1923, she moved to London, where her interest in aviaton began. It was not long before her hobby gave way to an all-consuming determinaton to prove women's competence in the feld. She qualifed as the frst Britsh-trained fe- male ground engineer, and was the only wom- an in the world to do so at the tme. In early 1930 she set her sights on a solo fight to Australia to beat Bert Hinkler's record of 16 days. Her inital eforts in rais- ing fnancial support failed, but eventually her fa- ther—oil magnate Lord Wakefeld—came through with the 600 Britsh pound purchase price of a used de Havilland Gipsy Moth. The aircraf was nicknamed Jason afer the family business trademark. Amy set of alone from Croydon on May 5, 1930, and landed in Darwin on May 24—a fight distance of 11,000 miles. She was the frst woman to fy solo to Australia and came home to a hero's welcome. In July 1931 she set of again, this tme with Jack Humphreys in a Puss Moth, for a record-setng England to Japan fight. In 1932, she few solo from England to Cape Town, and then again in 1936, to set another record from England to Cape Town in a Percival Gull. The early 1930s also saw her fy nonstop in a de- Havilland Dragon from South Wales to the United States with her husband Jim Mollison in 1933. The two also competed the England to Australia air race, fying nonstop in record tme to India in a de Havil- land Comet in 1934. Amy served as the president of the Women's Engi- neering Society from 1935 to 1937. She joined the Air Transport Auxiliary in 1939, fer- rying aircraf from factory airstrips to Royal Air Force bases. It was on one of those routne ferry fights that Amy crashed into the Thames Estuary and was pre- sumed drowned on January 5, 1941. She was the frst person from the Air Transport Auxiliary to be killed in service. Brenda E. Robinson Brenda E. Robinson was born in 1956, growing up in North Wales, Pennsylvania, as the only daughter of Susan and Edward Robinson. In 1961, her kinder- garten teacher sent a note home, concerned about Brenda's desire to become a secretary on the moon. This was only the beginning. Brenda entered a career study program at Wings Field in Blue Bell Pennsylva- nia as a high school student, broadening her view of aviaton careers. Interest grew into a passion as she studied aeronautcs at Dowling College in Oakdale, New York. Brenda earned her private pilot certfcate at MacArthur Airport in Islip, New York. While a senior at Dowling, a military services meetng paved Brenda's path to a military fight deck. Her 1977 selecton as one of 10 women naton- wide to atend the Navy's Aviaton Ofcer Candi- date School in Pensacola, Florida, launched her on a path to become a naval aviator. Brenda became the frst African Ameri- can female graduate from Aviaton Ofcer Candidate School. She earned her wings of gold on June 6, 1980, at Naval Air Staton Cor- pus Christ. As call sign "Raven," Brenda be- came the frst African American certfed for C-1A carrier onboard delivery carrier land- ings on USS America in January 1981. She amassed 115 carrier landings while transportng mail, cargo, and passengers to aircraf carriers. Her entre career is peppered with frsts for African American women in the U.S. Navy: fight instructor, evaluator, and VIP transport pilot to name a few. In 1992, Brenda transitoned to the Naval Reserves and was hired by American Airlines. She was among the frst African American female pilots at American and few with them for 17 years aboard Boeing 727, 757, and 767 aircraf. Today, Brenda shares her success stories in a num- ber of ways. She published Success is an Attude: Goal Achievement for a Lifetme in 1995. She is a sought-afer speaker at schools, and launched the Aviaton Camps of the Carolinas in late 2014. She is currently working on her next book, The Very First Raven, detailing her life as a pioneering aviatrix. Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger Janet Wolfenbarger was commissioned in 1980 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a mem- ber of the frst class to include women. She began her career in acquisiton as an engineer at Eglin Air Force Base. With a masters degree in aeronautcal engineering from MIT, she played key roles at all levels in three © CAPSTACK PORTRAIT ARCHIVE © 2014 FOX-3 PHOTOGRAPHY

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