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Fly Girls


How five daring women defied all odds and made aviation history.
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Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Created: 04/03/19

Replies: 26

Posted Apr. 03, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?


Posted Apr. 04, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I had not heard of any of the other women. So glad that I know about them now. The reason I love to read!


Posted Apr. 05, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
katherinep

Join Date: 07/16/14

Posts: 374

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

no, and if it weren't for her marriage and through it, her connections, we probably wouldn't know about her either.


Posted Apr. 07, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I recently read another fine book about early women pilots - Crossing the Horizon. Ruth Elder was one of three women who was featured in it, so I was familiar with her story. I did a bit of research after reading that one and was surprised at the number of women who undertook this dangerous activity, and how only Earhart remained famous nearly 100 years down the road.


Posted Apr. 07, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
suelizbeth

Join Date: 01/15/17

Posts: 19

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Yes, I had heard of Beryl Markham, and have read her book, West With the Night.


Posted Apr. 07, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alwaysdaddygirl's Gravatar
alwaysdaddygirl

Join Date: 09/04/16

Posts: 110

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I was not aware of Florence Klingensmith, Ruth Elder, Ruth Nicols, and Lousie Thaden.


Posted Apr. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
juliep

Join Date: 04/07/12

Posts: 250

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I had not heard of any of the female aviators in this book, although I read about Beryl Markham in another good book, Circling the Sun, by Paula McClain.


Posted Apr. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
johnw

Join Date: 03/11/12

Posts: 102

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I had not heard of any of the female aviators in this book


Posted Apr. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alycet

Join Date: 04/23/12

Posts: 182

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Yes, I've heard of all of them but then I'm a pilot and have an interest in reading. I've had the pleasure of knowing Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes.


Posted Apr. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
katherinep

Join Date: 07/16/14

Posts: 374

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

alycet--how lucky to have known them--it must have made reading the book all that more interesting. Did he do justice to them based on your experiences with them?


Posted Apr. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
terriej

Join Date: 07/28/11

Posts: 422

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

No, I hadn't heard of the other female flyers.


Posted Apr. 15, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Loveslife

Join Date: 08/01/15

Posts: 66

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Honestly, other than Amelia Earhart, I had not heard about the other female fliers. That was one important aspect of this book. It enlightened me and I hope many others. So much history can be left between the "lines".


Posted Apr. 17, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
annettes

Join Date: 04/15/11

Posts: 35

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Now that women have been included in space flights (and succeeded) there are many women fliers that are known. The space missions really boosted the presence and ability of women aviators. They have proved they are equal to male fliers and respected for their abilities.


Posted Apr. 18, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianaps

Join Date: 05/29/15

Posts: 460

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Earhart and Beryl Markham are the only two women fliers I had heard of.


Posted Apr. 18, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
elizabethl

Join Date: 06/19/13

Posts: 19

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I had not heard of any of the female aviators in this book other than Earhart.


Posted Apr. 19, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kathrynb

Join Date: 09/11/14

Posts: 12

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I had only heard of Earhart but was pleasantly surprised at how many female pilots there were. The author drew me in with each chapter and I grew in appreciation of what these women accomplished.


Posted Apr. 19, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Peg A

Join Date: 04/14/17

Posts: 12

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I hadn’t heard of other female fliers prior to reading this book. These women fliers made history and yet are unknown to most of the population. They risked their lives and were leaders for woman’s rights. Amazing that in general they remain unknown


Posted Apr. 22, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
JulieAB

Join Date: 07/16/13

Posts: 117

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I knew of only Earhart. I lived in Earhart dorm at Purdue (Boiler Up!). The only other female pilot that I knew of as a pioneer in the field was Mama Bird Johnson (Evelyn Bryan Johnson). She was a female pilot that logged the most number of hours flying as a woman. She flew well into her 90s. She died in 2012 at 102. She was a remarkable woman that I actually met several times in Tennessee.


Posted Apr. 26, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Beryl Markham was the only other woman (besides Earhart, of course) whose name sounded familiar.


Posted Apr. 28, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
djcminor

Join Date: 03/14/19

Posts: 208

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I was not familiar with the other women besides Earhart, but I became fascinated with all of them, particularly Louise Thaden, originally from AR. I reviewed Fly Girls: https://parkdalear.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/the-book-whisperer-reviews-fly-girls/. My cousin Mary Silitch is also a pilot and a pioneer, coming along after the women in Fly Girls, but carrying on the tradition.


Posted May. 02, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alwaysdaddygirl's Gravatar
alwaysdaddygirl

Join Date: 09/04/16

Posts: 110

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

djcminir, I understand your cousin came afterward. However, did your cousin face problems like the ladies in the book?


Posted May. 02, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alwaysdaddygirl's Gravatar
alwaysdaddygirl

Join Date: 09/04/16

Posts: 110

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Julie AB that sounds interesting! Was Mama Bird Johnson experiences like the ladies in the book?

Anyone else that I missed that had a loved one ( family, friend, an, etc) experience like this, was their experiences like the book? I understand every journey can be different. Sometimes there are similarities no matter what.


Posted May. 03, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
djcminor

Join Date: 03/14/19

Posts: 208

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I asked my cousin about the prejudice she faced. Here's her answer: "The publisher of Flying told me I couldn't be managing editor because I was a girl. One I think that's not mentioned is the fact that when I went to work for the National Pilots' Association, I was supposed to be writing about what the organization was doing to lobby for general aviation, but it wasn't doing much, so I started lobbying so I would have something to write about. I was so successful at it that they hired a man, yes a man, to be lobbyist. I was taking him around Capitol Hill, introducing him and it was at lunch with Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr that I discovered he was making more than I was!!! You can imagine the fuss I made about that, and got a raise. My newsletter was so successful that the new president of the much larger pilot organization, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, hired me to do their newsletter, replacing one of the founders of the organization." She graduated from college in 1957, so theses experiences are well after the women in Fly Girls encountered prejudice and discrimination.


Posted May. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alwaysdaddygirl's Gravatar
alwaysdaddygirl

Join Date: 09/04/16

Posts: 110

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Mahalo djcmimor for asking your cousin! Your cousin has a rich history and should truly think about writing a book. Again, Mahalo!


Posted May. 08, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
djcminor

Join Date: 03/14/19

Posts: 208

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

alwaysdaddygirl, thanks! Here's a link to an article about my cousin: http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6634. She is included in a book called 50 Notable Women of Arkansas. Louise Thaden is also in the book. My book club discussed Fly Girls this week. We had a lively discussion and I took my cousin's comments to share. One of our members had read another book about the pioneering women pilots: Sky Girls by Gene Jessen, herself a pilot.


Posted May. 13, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
djcminor

Join Date: 03/14/19

Posts: 208

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

I was not familiar with the other pioneering female pilots. I am embarrassed to say I did not know anything about Louise Thaden who is from my home state of AR. I have remedied that lack of education now, however. I've learned about Louise and the other women as well. Fly Girls provides much food for thought.


Posted May. 21, 2019 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
alwaysdaddygirl's Gravatar
alwaysdaddygirl

Join Date: 09/04/16

Posts: 110

RE: Other than Earhart, had you heard of any early female fliers, and if so, who?

Mahalo Djcminor! You are lucky to have a cousin like that. I will read the article. Again, Mahalo!


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