MANAGEMENT IN AVIATION HISTORY BENCH MARKS
“We women of the Derby were out to prove that
flying was safe, and to sell aviation to the layman.” Louise Thaden, Author
High, Wide, and Frightened
LEFT: Journalists took many posed group photographs of the women who entered the 1929 Women’s Air Derby but this might not have made the newspapers or magazines. It is assumed to have been taken in California at the beginning of the race, perhaps by a friend. The fliers look relaxed during a moment that captured the sense of camaraderie shared among competitors. Easily identified among them is the race’s ultimate winner, Louise Thaden. She is not wearing goggles or a hat, rather she is sporting high boots and sitting on the running board of the automobile. RIGHT: The Women’s Air Derby winner, Louise Thaden, crossed the finish line at the site of the forthcoming Cleveland Air Races in Ohio. She flew a new blue Travel Air recently produced at Walter Beech’s factory. Photos: The International Women’s Air and Space Museum, Ohio.
THE FIRST ALL-WOMEN AIR RACE BY DR. GIACINTA BRADLEY KOONTZ
IN 1929 AMERICA’S ANNUAL NATIONAL AIR RACES CONTINUED ITS POLICY TO EXCLUDE FEMALE PILOTS. CREATED IN RESPONSE WAS THE WOMEN’S AIR DERBY, AN EIGHT-DAY ENDURANCE RACE OPEN TO ANY LICENSED WOMAN WITH 100 HOURS OF FLIGHT TIME. THE RACE STARTED AT SANTA MONICA, CA, AND ENDED AT CLEVELAND.
Famous newspaper columnist and radio personality Will Rogers reported on the race with humorous remarks that reflected the sexist attitude of male pilots during that time. He nicknamed the race “The Powder Puff Derby” and newspaper cartoons depicted women powdering their noses in the cockpits of their planes. Detractors claimed that an accident during the race would prove that women were not suited to be pilots. Just prior to the start, one entrant received an anonymous telegram with the message, “Beware of sabotage.” The threat was taken seriously but none of the women dropped out.
12 |
DOMmagazine.com | march 2016 Most of the 20 entries for the
derby were seasoned American pilots like Florence “Pancho” Barnes, Marvel Crosson, Amelia Earhart, Blanche Noyes, Phoebie Omlie and Bobbi Trout. Entrants were divided into classes designated by the power of their engines. Thea Rasche from Germany and Jessie Miller from Australia were the only foreign entrants. Earhart’s Lockheed Vega, Omlie’s Monocoupe, and a Curtiss Robins flown by Neva Paris and Vera Dawn Walker had enclosed cockpits. The rest of the aircraft were open-cockpit tail-draggers including six Travel Airs, four of which were specifically built for the race at Walter
Beech’s factory in Wichita, KS. One of these newly-produced aircraft was given by Beech to Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden (1905-1979). McPhetridge was born in Arkansas
and remained there until 1926. She dropped out of college, contemplating a career in journalism or medicine but found her first job in sales and public relations for a coal company in Wichita. Charming and persuasive, she impressed a member of the board of directors for the Travel Air Company that hired her to sell aircraft in Oakland, CA. Her salary included free flying lessons. McPhertridge earned her pilot’s license in 1928 and soon held altitude, endurance and speed records.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
