Women in the sky.

Women have been impacting the history of aviation since the first hot air balloon crested the horizon, yet their accomplishments have gained little recognition in the memories of people worldwide. 

Throughout history, women have routinely faced obstacles along the road to aviation success. Since the first woman tried to go up in the first aircraft built, women aviators have been looked upon as a novelty at best, inferior at worst. Nevertheless, women viewed this male-dominated field with a sense of  adventure and a willingness to rise to the challenge. The generalized lack of familiarity of aviation career opportunities remains the single most prominent barrier to diversifying the aviation workforce today. But that¹s not to say women haven't faced other problems throughout their struggle to be seen as successful aviators.

The opinion that great muscular strength was a necessity to fly an airplane has long since been dispelled. Women during World War II met this challenge with ingenuity, and it was later found that during emergency situations, the burst of adrenaline women experienced allowed them to do whatever was necessary, regardless of strength or size.

Another problem women faced was a lack of money. In 1940, women¹s incomes averaged $850 a year and it cost $750 for a pilot¹s license. In general, for a wife taking flying lessons in 1940, the husband would have had to relinquish half of his annual salary. The economic factor continues to be an obstacle - the cost of tools and lessons has discouraged many women from attempting to pursue their dreams. Nevertheless, despite these obstacles, women have challenged the field of aviation to accept them and watch them succeed. Succeed they have, and succeed they will continue to do!

Today, women pilots fly for the airlines, fly in the military and in space, fly air races, command helicopter mercy flights, haul freight, stock high mountain lakes with fish, seed clouds, patrol pipelines, teach students to fly, maintain jet engines, and transport corporate officers.

Amelia Earhart

If we think who is the most important woman pilot we think of Amelia Earhart, but not everyone knows that Women have made a significant contribution to aviation since the Wright Brothers' first 12-second flight in 1903. Blanche Scott was the first women pilot, in 1910, when the plane that she was allowed to taxi mysteriously became airborne. In 1911, Harriet Quimby became the first licensed woman pilot. And later in 1912, Harriet became the first women to fly across the English Channel.

Bessie Coleman became the first African-American woman pilot in 1921. Because of the discrimination in the United States towards women as pilots, Bessie moved to France and learned to fly at the most famous flight school in France, the Ecole d'Aviation de Freres Caudron. Bessie returned to the United States and pursed a barnstorming career until 1926.

Blanche Scott

Katherine Chngeu, in 1931 in Los Angeles, CA was the first woman of Chinese ancestry to earn a license. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wife of Charles Lindbergh, was the first U.S. woman glider pilot and first woman recipient of the National Geographic Society's Hubbad Award. And, Phoebe Fairgrave Omelie was the first woman transport pilot. Phoebe, considered to be one of America's top women pilots in the 1920s and 1930s, developed a program for training women flight instructors and was appointed as Special Assistant for Air Intelligence of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (the forerunner of the NASA), and was active in the National Air Marking and Mapping program to paint airport identification symbols on airports or nearby buildings.

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Willa Brown was the first African-American commercial pilot and first African-American woman officer in the Civil Air Patrol. In her hometown of Chicago, IL, she taught aviation courses in high schools and founded a flight school at Harlem Airport. In 1939, Willa helped form the National Airmen's Association of America whose purpose was to get African-Americans into the U.S. Armed Forces as aviation cadets. Willa also was the coordinator of war-training service for the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA), and more importantly, was the director of the Coffey School of Aeronautics. The school was selected by the Army and CAA to "conduct the experiments" that resulted in the admission of African-Americans into the Army Air Forces. Later, Coffey became a feeder school for the Army Air Forces' program for African-American aviators at Tuskegee Institute.

Most women who learned to fly during World War II, got instruction through the CAA's Civil Pilot Training Program. More than 935 women gained their licenses by in 1941 with 43 serving as CAA-qualified instructors. Mills College in Oakland, CA was one of the participating training colleges for women.

As World War II progressed, women were able to break into many aspects of the aviation world. They served as ferry and test pilots, mechanics, flight controllers, instructors, and aircraft production line workers. At the beginning of 1943, 31.3 percent of the aviation work force were women. World War II was very beneficial to the movement of women into aviation fields. The history of aviation during these years is immense.

 Nancy Harkness Love

The Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS), founded by Nancy Harkness Love, and the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), founded by Jacqueline Cochran, were fused together by President Roosevelt to become the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The new organization was a vital part of the history of women in military aviation. Although these women were civilians and outnumbered by women in the regular military service of World War II, their experiences present a paradigm for the service of WWII military women. 

The years since World War II have brought down many more barriers for women pilots and records continue to be broken. Jackie Cochran went on to be the first woman pilot to break the sound barrier, with Chuck Yeager acting as her chase pilot, on May 20, 1953.

Geraldine Cobb

Women got their first step closer to space in 1959, when Geraldine Cobb, a talented young pilot, became the first woman to undergo the Mercury astronaut physiological tests. "Jerrie" was 28 years old, had 7,000 hours of flight time, and held three world records. Cobb successfully completed all three stages of the physical and psychological tests that were used to select the original seven Mercury astronauts. Although thirteen women finished this first round of testing, NASA refused to authorize the completion of the tests for fear that such action might be taken as approval of female astronauts.

Valentina Tereshkova

Not even the Soviet Union's launch of Valentina Tereshkova into space in 1963, nor the 1964 Civil Rights Act broke ground for women in space. It was not until June 17, 1983, that Dr. Sally Kristen Ride, NASA astronaut and a South Central Section 99, made history as the first U.S. woman in space, serving as a specialist for STS-7 on the six-day flight of the orbiter Challenger. In 1995, the first woman pilot in the U.S. Space Shuttle program was Lt. Col. Eileen Marie Collins.

 Lt. Col. Eileen Marie Collins

there have been other women pilot less known but that have achieved a lot of important succes for their career, and their life.

People become pilots for the same reasons. First, they love flying, and they love using their talents and being respected for them. And mostly, they love the feeling of belonging to this strong family called aviation, and women have earned the right to belong to this family.