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Bessie Coleman was an early American civil aviator. She was the first African-American woman to hold a pilot license. She earned her license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on June 15, 1921, and is the earliest known Black person to earn an international pilot's license.
Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie." The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio. It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes, with 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km). The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight. Although they were not in direct competition with each other, media coverage soon began tracking the progress of each pilot, fascinated with who would complete the journey first. Mock was the first to finish. The story of this race is told in a book written by Taylor Phillips entitled, Queen of the Clouds; Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock's Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World (2023). Jerrie Mock was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1965. In 1970 she published the story of her round-the-world flight in the book Three-Eight Charlie. While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos. Three-Eight Charlie is a reference to the call sign, N1538C, of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Mock used to fly around the world. Before her death, Mock, mother of three children, resided in Quincy, Florida; northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee.
Willa Beatrice Brown was an American aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist. She was the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States, the first African American woman to run for the United States Congress, first African American officer in the Civil Air Patrol, and first woman in the U.S. to have both a pilot's license and an aircraft mechanic's license.
Mary Wallace Funk is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador. She was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first female Federal Aviation Agency inspector, as well as one of the Mercury 13.
Kimberly Anyadike is an American pilot from Compton, California. In 2009, at the age of 15, she became the youngest African American woman to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States, from Los Angeles, California to Newport News, Virginia. Anyadike was accompanied by an adult safety pilot, and by a retired Air Force pilot who had served with the WWII Tuskegee Airmen. Her plane was autographed by about 50 Tuskegee airmen as she stopped at different cities across the US, and she completed the round-trip journey in a single-engine Cessna 172 in 13 days.
Charles Alfred Anderson Sr., was an American aviator who is known as the Father of Black Aviation. He earned the nickname "Chief" as chief flight instructor of the Tuskegee Airmen.
Emily Joyce Howell Warner was an American airline pilot and the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline.
Women have been involved in aviation from the beginnings of both lighter-than air travel and as airplanes, helicopters and space travel were developed. Women pilots were also formerly called "aviatrices". Women have been flying powered aircraft since 1908; prior to 1970, however, most were restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry. Aviation also allowed women to "travel alone on unprecedented journeys". Women who have been successful in various aviation fields have served as mentors to younger women, helping them along in their careers.
Early Australian female aviators were generally active since 1927 when it became possible for an Australian woman to hold a pilot's licence and fly within Australia. Women had participated in gliding, or taken a licence overseas, but they had not been permitted to fly a plane under licence within Australia. The first Aero Club in Australia was established in 1915.
This is a timeline of women in aviation which describes many of the firsts and achievements of women as pilots and other roles in aviation. Women who are part of this list have piloted vehicles, including hot-air balloons, gliders, airplanes, dirigibles and helicopters. Some women have been instrumental in support roles. Others have made a name for themselves as parachutists and other forms of flight-related activities. This list encompasses women's achievements from around the globe.
Beverley Drake is a Guyanese pilot and aviation expert who is an administrator and accident investigation analyst with the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). She was one of the first two woman pilots to work in the Guyana Defence Force, first woman commercial pilot of Guyana Airways, and was the first and only black woman to serve as a senior aviation accident investigator for the NTSB. She serves as the manager of the Federal Women's Program of the NTSB and program director of the Industry and Government Affairs division of the NTSB.
Amalia Celia Figueredo, was an Argentine aviator. She was the first woman in Argentina, and possibly in Latin America, to obtain a pilot's license.
Moretta Fenton Beall "Molly" Reilly became the first female Canadian pilot to reach the rank of captain, the first female Canadian corporate pilot, and the first woman to fly to the Arctic professionally. Her modifications to the Beechcraft Duke were used to improve the aircraft. Over the course of her career, Reilly logged over 10,000 flight hours as a pilot-in-command — without a single accident. She is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame.
Violet Milstead Warren was a Canadian aviator, noted for being the first female Canadian bush pilot and one of only four Canadian women to work in the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during WWII. With over 600 hours of flight time during the war, she was the longest serving female Canadian ATA pilot. She worked as a flight instructor at Barker Field in Toronto, Ontario, and her students included commercial pilot Molly Reilly and author June Callwood. She is a member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, the Order of Canada, and the Bush Pilots Hall of Fame.
Azellia White was an American aviator who was one of the first African-American women to earn a pilot's license in the United States. She is recognized as a trailblazer, overcoming widespread perceptions at the time, "that neither women nor African Americans were qualified to fly airplanes." She and her husband ran the Sky Ranch Flying Service, an airport and flight school for African-American aviators.
Vanita Kayiwa, is a Ugandan airline transport pilot, who serves as a first officer at Uganda National Airlines Company, Uganda's national carrier airline, on the A330-841 aircraft, since February 2021. Before that, effective April 2019, she served as a first officer on the CRJ 900 equipment, at the same airline.
Susan Mashibe is a pioneering Tanzanian certified pilot, maintenance engineer and businesswoman who founded her own company, VIA Aviation, in 2003. It supports private jet aircraft with services such as refuelling, catering, cleaning and logistics. In 2011, she was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and in 2013 was a speaker at the Bush Institute's African First Ladies Summit in Dar es Salaam.
Refilwe Ledwaba is South Africa's first female, black helicopter pilot.
Refilwe Moreetsi, is a South African airline transport pilot, who serves as a Senior First Officer at South African Airways (SAA), the national carrier airline of South Africa. From June 2022, she concurrently serves as the Fatigue Risk Management Specialist (FRMS) at SAA, having served as Deputy FRMS before that; the first black female pilot to serve in those roles in the 90+-year history of the airline.
References
- 1 2 Humayan, Hira; Sealy, Amanda; Parke, Phoebe. "South Africa's first black female pilot is inspiring girls to aim high". CNN. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ↑ "Young Gifted and Black: Asnath Mahapa, first black female commercial pilot". KAYA FM. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- 1 2 "First African female pilot joins Cell C project". Tembisan. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ↑ "Asnath Mahapa – Polokwane City". Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Captain Asnath Mahapa speaks at Global Conference". Female Wave of Change. 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- 1 2 "Flying high against all the odds". Capricorn Voice. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ↑ "First black female pilot for SAA". News24. 18 January 2003. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ↑ "PICS: She was told she couldn't fly, now she has wings | Saturday Star". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 29 October 2019.