She Soars

Introduction

Chapter 1.

Ruth Law - Loops de Loops and Dips of Death on Daytona Beach


first woman to fly at night
first to carry official air mail to the Philippines
first to fly nonstop from Chicago to New York
performed daring stunts and raised money for the war effort
bought first airplane for Orville Wright who refused to teach her to fly because women were not mechanically inclined.




Chapter 2.

Dessie Smith Prescott - A Florida-Born Pioneer in the Sky and the Great Outdoors


First Female Licensed Pilot
Friend of Marjorie Kinman Rawlings
served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II and flew planes for the military.




Chapter 3.

Bessie Coleman - Brave Bessie's Inspiring Career Ends Tragically in Florida


She was the first African American woman and the first Native American woman to earn a pilot's license.



popular stunt flyer and performed in many air shows across the United States.
Died in Plan Crash in 1929 at age of 34



Chapter 4.

Ruth Nichols - Co-Piloting the First Non-Stop Flight from New York to Miami


American aviation pioneer who set many records for speed, altitude, and distance for a female pilot.



founder of the Ninety-Nines, an organization of licensed women pilots, and a friend of Amelia Earhart.
Press called her the Flying Debutante



Chapter 5.

Jacqueline "Jackie" Cochran - From Panhandle Poverty to International Aviation Fame ...


considered to be one of the most gifted race pilots of her generation.



first woman to break the sound barrier on 18 May 1953.
led the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II, which employed about 1000 civilian American women in a non-combat role to ferry planes from factories to port cities.
successful business executive and a sponsor of the Mercury 13 women astronaut



Chapter 6.

Betty Skelton - Florida's First Lady of Aerobatics Speeds into the Record Books


record-breaking American pilot and auto racer, who was known as the "First Lady of Firsts".
set 17 aviation and automobile records, and helped create opportunities for women in aviation, sports, and business.
first woman to undergo astronaut testing in 1960, although she never went to space1



Chapter 7.

Gladys "Penny" Thompson - Her "Flying Car" Stunt Boosts Women's Air Shows and Florida Aviation


an American aviator and women's intercontinental air race-air show promoter and aviation publisher-editor during the 1940s and early 1950s.
Inducted into the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame in 1994



Chapter 8.

Capt. Judith Neuffer Bruner (ret. Navy) - A "Hurricane Hunter" Flies into the Eye of the Storm


NASA manager, who was the first woman to pilot a P-3 aircraft and the first woman to fly through the eye of a hurricane.
She served 28 years in the US Navy and retired as a captain
led several large programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Died 2022 buried Arlington National Cemetary



Chapter 9.

Capt. Beverley Bass - Call Her Captain in the Cockpit...and on Broadway


first female captain of an American Airlines commercial plane.
known for safely diverting her flight to Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001 as part of operation yellow ribbon



Chapter 10.

Capt. Patrice Clarke Washington - Embry Riddle Alum Helps Diversify Commercial Aviation


first Black woman to graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
first Black woman to serve as captain for a major U.S. airline.
joined UPS in 1988 as a flight engineer
became a captain in 1994, flying DC-8s and MD-11s



Chapter 11.

Patty Wagstaff - Three-Time Aerobatic Champ Thinks Outside "The Box" in St. Augustine


U.S. national aerobatic champion.
one of the few people to win it three times.
set numerous records and won many awards in the field of aerobatics.



Chapter 12.

Capt. Linda Pfeiffer Pauwels - A Latina Pilot Marks Firsts in the Cockpit and in Poetry


first Latina captain at American Airlines
youngest woman jet captain (cargo) at age 25 on a Boeing 707 in 1988
Also, a poet and author



Chapter 13.

Lt. Col. Christine Mau Kelley (ret. USAF) - Air Force Pilot Zooms into Aviation History in Fighter Jets


American fighter pilot and NASA manager, who was the first woman to fly the F-35A Lightning II,
flew the F-15E Strike Eagle for 16 years, and led the first combat mission planned and flown entirely by women in 2011.
served 28 years in the US Navy and retired as a captain.
led several large programs at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Died 2022 Buried at Arlington National Cemetary



Chapter 14.

Col. Eileen Collins (ret. USAF) - Don't All Moms Fly the Space Shuttle?


American astronaut and Air Force colonel
first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle.
flew four shuttle missions, including the first "return to flight" mission after the Columbia disaster in 2005.