Women and Flight

Women pilots took to the skies soon after the Wright brothers, but only a few - Amelia Earhart, Beryl Markham and Sally Ride for example - have been recognized for their achievements. In this volume, the author and the National Air and Space Museum of Washington, DC, seek to set the record straight by celebrating aviation's "unsung heroines". Interviews and biographical sketches accompany black and white photographs capturing 36 of today's most notable women aviators - from Air Force Fighter pilots and aerial photographers to airline pilots and skywriters. The women include an 88-year-old who still operates an airfield; a 22-year-old who is one of the country's most highly respected civilian helicopter pilots and mechanics; and the only Inuit woman aviator in Alaska.