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?

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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?

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

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".

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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