September-October 2020
Volume XVI. Issue 168A Bimonthly Publication of the U.S. Consulate Krakow
In this issue: American Women Pilots Zoom in on America
page 2
Aida de Acosta ies Alberto Santos-Dumont’s dirigible. Photo: Wikipedia
Aida de Acosta: The First American Woman to Fly a Motorized Craft
A hundred years ago aviation was still in its infancy. Pioneer inventors, builders and pilots were paving the
road for the spacecraft of today. Enthusiasts had a chance to be the rst person to y, pilot a ying vehicle or
parachute jump. Women had as much stamina, perseverance and enthusiasm to go up in the sky as men. In this
edition of Zoom in on America we take a look at some of the women pilots of powered ying craft.
It is the beginning of the 20th century. Women have al-
ready been in the air in hot air balloons or as passengers,
but who will be the rst to actually pilot a motorized ying
craft? It is June 27, 1903 and passers-by near the Cha-
teau de Bagatelle in the 16th arrondissement (district) of
Paris witness an unusual sight. They notice a man who is
riding his bike, shouting and waving his arms. They follow
his gaze up and see a huge airship above their heads.
After a while they realize that the man is shouting advice
to a young woman pilot who is maneuvering to land the
airship in a nearby polo eld. There is a match between
an American team and a British team and the spectators
are momentarily distracted from the game. The fearless
pilot is nineteen-year-old American Aida de Acosta and the
man assisting her is Alberto Santos-Dumont, a Brazilian
inventor and ying enthusiast, ten years her senior. After
a successful landing, she disembarks and Santos-Dumont
greets her, saying, “Miss, you are the rst woman aero-
driver in the world!” Aida is thrilled and has denitely en-
joyed the experience. Acosta is the only person to y any
of Santos-Dumont’s many aircraft. Her parents, however,
do not share her joy. On the contrary, they manage to hush
the extraordinary feat for fear that no man will want to mar-
ry a girl who dared such a thing. More than 20 years later,
Aida nally shares the story of her ight with the public. Ai-
da’s parents had nothing to worry about. She did ultimately
marry – twice, in fact! Although she never ew again after
her initial ight, she went on to make signicant contribu-
tions, such as establishing the Wilmer Eye Institute, the
rst eye institute in the U.S.
Aida de Acosta. Photo: Library of Congress
page 3
Blanche Scott in an airplane. Photo Library of Congress
Blanche Stuart Scott: the First American Woman Aviator
An enthusiast of automobiles, the rst to drive auto cross-
country in May-July 1910, Blanche Scott decides to try her
hand at ying. She is invited for ying lessons by Glenn
Curtiss, aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a pioneer
of the U.S. aircraft industry. On September 6, 1910 she
practices taxiing on the ground when a strong gust of wind
lifts her biplane up some 40 feet. Suddenly, she nds her-
self in ight, cruising a short distance before making a gen-
tle landing. Is she the rst woman to pilot and y solo in an
airplane? The question stirs much debate, as some view
the ight as unintentional. The skeptics believe, rather, the
honor goes to Bessie Raiche, who ies solo ten days later,
on September 16. Raiche herself says “Blanche deserved
the recognition, but I got more attention because of my
lifestyle. I drove an automobile, was active in sports like
shooting and swimming, and I even wore riding pants and
knickers. People who did not know me or understand me
looked down on this behavior. I was an accomplished mu-
sician, painter and linguist. I enjoyed life, and just wanted
to be myself.”
Regardless of who deserves the title, Blanche Stuart Scott
continued her engagement in aviation. She became a pro-
fessional pilot and then worked in exhibition teams. Her
daring exhibition ying earned her the nickname “Tom-
boy of the Air”. She was also an accomplished stunt pi-
lot known for ying upside down and performing “death
dives,” diving from an altitude of 4000 feet and suddenly
pulling up only 200 feet from the ground.
Blanche Scott with friends. Photo: Library of Congress
page 4
Harriet Quimby: The First Licensed Female Pilot in the U.S.
Before Harriet Quimby became interested in planes, she
worked as a journalist in San Francisco. Later she was
a theater critic in New York City. Occasionally she would
go to airshows and write reviews. Harriet sensed the eco-
nomic potential of commercial aviation. Soon she devel-
oped a passion for aviation herself. Harriet thought that
ying was a tting sport for women. She attended ight
school and on August 1, 1911, Quimby received a pilot’s
certicate from the Aero Club of America, thus becom-
ing the rst woman to gain a pilot’s license in the United
States.
Her greatest achievement was to y across the English
Channel. On April 16, 1912, she took o from Dover,
England, en route to Calais, France. The ight lasted 59
minutes and Quimby became the rst woman to pilot an
aircraft across the English Channel. Her feat did not get
sucient media attention, however, due to the fact that
the day before, the RMS Titanic sank and all media fo-
cused on that tragedy.
Later that same year, Quimby ew in the Third Annual
Boston Aviation Meet at Squantum, Massachusetts. The
organizer of the event, William Willard, sat in the passen-
ger’s seat with Quimby, as the pilot in her brand-new two-
seat Bleriot monoplane. Neither she nor her passenger had
seat belts. At an altitude of about 1,500 feet the aircraft un-
expectedly ew through turbulence, which ejected both Wil-
lard and Quimby from their seats and the two fell tragically
to their deaths. Soon after that catastrophe, pilots began
using seat belts to avoid being tossed out of their aircraft.
Harriet Quimby. Photo Library of Congress
Harriet Quimby. Photo Library of Congress
page 5
Bessie Coleman: the First African-American Woman Pilot
As a young woman, Bessie Coleman learned about WWI pi-
lots and was attracted to the idea of ying. Becoming a pilot
was an impossible dream for a woman of color in early 20th
century America. She applied, but was rejected by a num-
ber of aviation schools on the grounds of her race and sex.
Following a friend’s advice, Bessie decided to go to France
to study there. She rst learned French in a school in Chi-
cago and collected all her savings from her job as a beauti-
cian, to buy a plane ticket to Paris. In 1919, she enrolled at
the Ecole d’Aviation des Freres Caudon at Le Crotoy. On
June 15, 1921, Bessie received her pilot’s license and be-
came the rst American woman to be awarded the title by
the French Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the
only licensed African American woman pilot in the world, at
the time.
Upon her return to the United States in 1921, Bessie be-
came a role model for many women of color who wanted
to follow in her footsteps. Over the next few years, she
conducted many exhibition ights, performing at countless
air shows. She was invited to give lectures across the
country from 1922 to 1926. Bessie also fought for equal
rights, by refusing to perform unless the audiences were
desegregated.
April 30, 1926, Jacksonville, Florida. Bessie Coleman
and a young mechanic from Texas, William Wills, are
preparing for an air show, planned for May 1. They go
up in a new plane to check how it ies. Then, catastro-
phe strikes. At 3,500 feet with Wills piloting the plane, an
unsecured wrench gets caught in control gears and the
plane plummets to the ground. Both Coleman and Willis
are tragically killed.
Bessie Coleman’s great career and young life came to
an abrupt end, but her legacy lived on. Many African
American pilots followed. An annual yover of her grave
in Chicago was established in 1931. In 1927, the Bessie
Coleman Aero Clubs were established. In 1995, a post-
age stamp was introduced in her honor.
Bessie Coleman. Photo Smithsonian Institution
page 6
Amelia Earhart: The First Woman To Fly Solo Across the Atlantic
In the 1930s, aviatrix Amelia Earhart achieved her most
spectacular successes - she set a world altitude record of
5613 m, she was the rst woman to y solo across the
Atlantic, and she was the rst person to make a solo ight
across the Pacic (from Honolulu to Oakland, California).
The 1930s were a time of great advancement in aviation,
although technological feats such as GPS systems were
still a long way o. Pilots relied on navigators, who had to
rely on celestial observation and maps, which were often
inaccurate. Flying a plane and navigating a ship still had
elements of uncertainty and adventure; the romantic tinge
of exploring the unknown and the challenge of ghting the
primeval forces of nature.
Successful and praised for her achievements, Amelia Ear-
hart was preparing for the challenge of her life - a ight
around the world. She was used to hardships and setbacks
and she disregarded what a more superstitious pilot might
have treated as a warning sign. In March 1937, during an
attempted takeo for her around-the-world ight, Amelia’s
plane crashed. She simply repaired her Lockheed Electra
and tried again. Amelia ominously stated, “I have a feeling
that there is just about one more good ight left in my sys-
tem and I hope this trip is it.” In June that same year, the
plane was t to y, and along with navigator Fred Noon-
an, Earhart set o. A month later when they had covered
about 3/4 of the distance, the tragic moment came. They
set course for the small Howland Island located southwest
of Honolulu, Hawaii, but never made it. A ship that was
positioned near the island to serve as radio contact, lost
communication with the plane.
Amelia Earhart, great explorer of the skies, disappeared
mysteriously about 7,000 miles before completing an at-
tempted circumnavigation of the world. To this day, the
mystery of Amelia’s disappearance has never been solved.
Neither her body nor her plane, the twin engine Lockheed
Electra, have been found, despite the huge rescue opera-
tion, which cost $4 million.
Nine ships and 66 aircraft combed the area of the Pacic
where Earhart’s plane allegedly perished, but resulting in
no signicant ndings. That Amelia Earhart realized what
the heavy risks involved in her circumnavigation attempt is
evident from a letter she sent to her husband George Put-
nam shortly before the fatal ight. The letter was published
in the book titled “Last Flight”: “Please know I am quite
aware of the hazards... I want to do it because I want to do
it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When
they fail, their failure must be, but a challenge to others.”
Pilot Amelia Earhart c. 1937. Photo Library of Congress
page 7
Jacqueline Cochran: The Record Lady
Jacqueline Cochran (real name Bessie Lee Pittman) held
more speed, altitude and distance records than any oth-
er pilot. Her parents died when she was a child. At just 8
years old, Jacqueline began work in a cotton mill. Later
she worked as a beautician and moved several times. In
1932, she took her rst ying lessons and soon got her
pilot’s license.
1935 marks the start of her record-breaking streak, when
she became the rst woman to enter the Bendix Trans-
continental Air Race. Three years later, she won the Ben-
dix Trophy in a pursuit plane. In June 1941, Jacqueline
piloted a bomber to England, where she trained a group
of female pilots for war transport service. Later, Cochran
enrolled in a similar program for the Armed Forces in the
United States and became a director of the Women Air-
force Service Pilots (WASP) in 1943. The task of WASP
was to supply more than a thousand auxiliary pilots for the
armed forces. In 1945, she was the rst woman civilian to
receive the Distinguished Service Medal and in 1948, she
became a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve.
The most spectacular of her records was set in 1953,
when Cochran piloted a jet aircraft and ew so fast that
she became the rst woman to break the sound barrier.
This feat was achieved in an F-86. Soon she set world re-
cord speed for 15, 100, and 500 km courses. Cochran also
broke altitude records. In 1961, she ew her plane to an
altitude of 55,253 feet (16,841 meters), breaking her own
record. In 1964 she set the women’s world speed record of
1,429 miles (2,300 km) per hour in an F-104G Super Star
jet. Even after her retirement in 1970, Cochran remained
active as a special consultant for the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA).
From 1959 to 1963 Jacqueline Cochran, served as the
rst woman president of the Fédération Aéronautique In-
ternationale. She was a member of many other aviation
and service-connected organizations. In 1965, she was in-
ducted into the International Aerospace Hall of Fame, and
in 1971 into the U.S. Aviation Hall of Fame.
Jacqueline Cochran stands in front of the Canadian-built F-86
Sabre jet, in which she became the rst woman to break the
sound barrier, at Edwards Air Force Base, California, May 19,
1953. Cochran made history on May 18, ying at a speed of
625.5 miles per hour. Photo AP Images
Jacqueline Cochran photographed in a Sabre Jet aeroplane in
Palmadale, California. She ew this plane at 670 miles per hour
on June 3, 1953. Photo AP Images
In 1937 Jacqueline Cochran set a 1,000-kilometer speed
record averaging more than 320 kph (200 mph) in a Beech-
craft Staggerwing plane. Photo Smithsonian Institution
page 8
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER
2020
TRIVIA QUESTION
Who was the rst woman
pilot to break
sound barrier?
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2020
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Read the stories about women pilots in this issue of Zoom including the text below
about aviatrix Katherine Stinson (shown on the cover of this issue of Zoom in on
America - photo Smithsonian Institution.) Then decide if the sentences below are
true (T) or false (F).
ACTIVITY PAGE
ACTIVITY 1: READING COMPREHENSION
Katherine Stinson wanted to become a pilot because she needed money for mu-
sic lessons. However, after receiving her pilot’s certication in 1912, she decided
that she wanted to pursue her career in aviation. She was the fourth woman in the
United States to obtain a pilot’s certicate. Katherine set ying records for acrobatic
maneuvers, distance, and endurance. She is thought to be the rst woman pilot to
“loop the loop”. In 1915 she invented the “dippy twist loop,” a stunt that required
rolling her plane wing over wing, at the top of each loop. She was welcomed as a
hero in Japan, with Japanese women hailing her for performing stunning maneu-
vers in her plane. She set a new American non-stop distance record on December
11, 1917, when she ew 606 miles from San Diego to San Francisco. During World
War I, she ew for fundraising tours for the American Red Cross and later became
an ambulance driver for the Red Cross in Paris. Unfortunately, in the 1920s, she
contracted tuberculosis, which put an abrupt end to her ying career.
Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)?
1. Enthusiasts had a chance to be the rst person to y, pilot a ying vehicle or
parachute jump at the beginning of the 20th century.
2. Jacqueline Cochran’s real name was Bessie Lee Pittman.
3. Harriet Quimby was the rst woman to y solo across the Atlantic.
4. Blanche Stuart Scott applied, but was rejected by a number of aviation schools.
5. Aida de Acosta established the rst eye institute in the U.S.
6. Amelia Earhart was the rst woman to break the sound barrier.
7. Bessie Coleman wanted to become a pilot because she needed money for piano
lessons.
8. Amelia Earhart was the pilot of Lockheed Electra when she disappeared mysteri-
ously about 7,000 miles before completing an attempted circumnavigation of the
world.
9. Jacqueline Cochran was the rst woman to y across the English Channel.
10. Before Harriet Quimby became interested in planes, she worked as a journalist
in San Francisco.
