Lieutenant colonel Kathy La Sauce | |
|---|---|
 Kathy La Sauce standing before a C-141 Starlifter | |
| Born | 1949or1950(age 74–75) |
| Occupation | Pilot |
| Known for | First woman to pilot a C-141 Starlifter |
Lieutenant colonel Kathy La Sauce (born 1949 or 1950) is a former United States Air Force (USAF) pilot. She was the first woman to pilot a C-141 Starlifter, and the first woman aircraft commander at Norton Air Force Base.
La Sauce was born in 1949 or 1950. She graduated college in the early 1970s [1] and worked as an English teacher in New York. [2] She joined the United States Air Force in 1972 with no flying expirience. [3] She began flight training at Williams Air Force Base on September 29, 1976 with a group of women, Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) class 77-08, many of whom would go on to attain notable achievements in their field. The class became the USAF's first class of women graduates on September 2, 1977. [4] La Sauce reitred from the military in 1992. [5] La Sauce and the other members of UPT class 77-08 were inducted to the Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2016. [6]
She reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. [7]
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants.
Jacqueline Cochran was an American pilot and business executive. She pioneered women's aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation. She set numerous records and was the first woman to break the sound barrier on 18 May 1953. Cochran was the wartime head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (1943–1944), which employed about 1000 civilian American women in a non-combat role to ferry planes from factories to port cities. Cochran was later a sponsor of the Mercury 13 women astronaut program.
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The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The medal was established on July 2, 1926, and is currently awarded to any persons who, after April 6, 1917, distinguish themselves by single acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Both heroism and extraordinary achievement are entirely distinctive, involving operations that are not routine. The medal may be awarded to friendly foreign military members in ranks equivalent to U.S. Pay Grade of O-6 and below, in actual combat in support operations.
Nancy Harkness Love, born Hannah Lincoln Harkness, was an American pilot and airplane commander during World War II. She earned her pilot's license at age 16. She worked as a test pilot and air racer in the 1930s. During World War II she convinced Colonel William H. Tunner of the U.S. Army Air Forces to look to set up a group of female pilots to ferry aircraft from factories to air bases. This proposal was eventually approved as the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron. Love commanded this unit and later all ferrying operations in the newly formed Women Airforce Service Pilots. She was awarded the Air Medal for her work during the war and was appointed lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force Reserve in 1948.
The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). A subordinate command of the Air University within the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), AFROTC is aligned under the Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. The Holm Center, formerly known as the Air Force Officer Accession and Training Schools (AFOATS), retains direct responsibility for both AFROTC and OTS.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat roles during World War II. Despite various members of the armed forces being involved in the creation of the program, the WASP and its members had no military standing.
Nicole Margaret Ellingwood Malachowski is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and the first female pilot selected to fly as part of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Thunderbirds. She later became a speaker and advocate on behalf of patients with tick-borne illnesses.
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Ruth Rowland Nichols was an American aviation pioneer. She is the only woman yet to hold simultaneous world records for speed, altitude, and distance for a female pilot.
Women in the Air Force (WAF) was a program which served to bring women into limited roles in the United States Air Force. WAF was formed in 1948 when President Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to serve directly in the military. The WAF program ended in 1976 when women were accepted into the USAF on an equal basis with men.
Initial Flight Training (IFT) is a preliminary flight training course for U.S. Air Force officers, to include active-duty Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard, who have been selected for Pilot training. Attendance consists of both newly commissioned USAF officers and prior-commissioned USAF officers with no previous rated flight experience.
Lieutenant Colonel Olga E. Custodio is a former United States Air Force officer who became the first female Hispanic U.S. military pilot. She was the first Hispanic woman to complete U.S. Air Force military pilot training. Upon retiring from the military, she became the first female Hispanic commercial airline captain of American Airlines.
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The UPT Class 77-08 was the first class of the first 10 female officers to graduate in the Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training Program.
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Theresa M. Claiborne was the first African-American female pilot in the United States Air Force (USAF).