The Motor Maids (motorcyclists) Meet in Kissimmee for Reunion

Over 60 Florida Motor Maids, rode from Reunion to Orlando Harley Davidson East where OHD East, is graciously hosting a lunch for the Motor Maids, Inc. The Motor Maids began in 1940.

Orlando, FL (MMD Newswire) November 3, 2009 -- www.motormaids.org : MOTOR MAIDS HOLDS YEAR END MOTORCYCLE EVENT AT REUNION RESORT, NOVEMBER 6 & 7, 2009, a cocktail party Friday night features Motor Maid Margaritas by the pool, beginning at 8PM on the 11th floor of THE GRANDE at REUNION RESORT which overlooks the fireworks display of Disney World! In the lobby of the GRANDE, there will be a SUSHI BAR, offering Sushi Specials from 6 - 8PM. Motor Maids will be mingling about all evening at the GRANDE to meet and greet each other and anyone interested in learning more about this historical organization. Motor Maids, Inc., founded in 1940, is the oldest active organization of women riders in the United States. There over 1,000 Motor Maids living in the US and Canada, Florida District has over 100 Active Motor Maids. In addition, the Florida district is home to Betty Fauls, daughter of Motor Maids co-founder, Dot Robinson. Dot passed away in 1999 at the age of 83. Betty, following the motorcycling family tradition, has been actively riding for 58 years and owns and rides her own Heritage Softail as well as her mother's former bike, a pink 1994 Harley Ultra Classic.

Read more on the 69 year old organization at www.motormaids.org and go to the history button.

Orlando Harley Davidson East, 11898 Lake Underhill Rd. Orlando, FL 32825 (407) 447-7400 hosted the luncheon on Saturday. Betty Fauls, Lisa Coons, co-District Director and Tammy Jenkins, Co-District Director, as well as over 60 Florida Motor Maids, ages 29 - 83, were on hand to meet and talk to women riders and those interested in their organization.

Membership is open to women only and the type of bike a woman rides is not important only that she rides her own bike. Harley and Indian were the prevalent bikes at the time Motor Maids was founded in 1940. Motor Maids Inc. seeks to encourage women riders, promote safe riding practices, build riding skills as well as the enjoyment of riding.

Through the use of assistant directors Lisa and Tammy are able to cover all sectors of Florida serving all women riders in Florida. Lisa, Tammy, Betty, most of the assistant directors and members will be on hand at Orlando Harley Davidson to meet interested women riders.

Here's a video about Linda Dugeau:
Pioneer and Founder of the Motor Maids of America, the oldest motorcycling organization for women in North America. Motorcycle rider and enthusiast throughout her life.

You Fly Girl's Research Library

Need information from any of the following books? Send us an email. (Any info available from a glance through the indexes of each book is provided free. We charge $15 an hour for in-depth research).

--Private Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA (1965)

--Captain Gramma: Single Mom to Sky High, Nancy Welz Aldrich
--I Live to Fly, Jaqueline Auriol

--Sharpie: The Life Story of Evelyn Sharp, Nebraska's Aviatrix, Diane Ruth Armour Bartels
--Just For the Love of Flying, Betty Rowell Beatty
--Soaring Above Setbacks: The Autobiography of Janet Harmon Bragg, African-American Aviator, Janet Harmon Bragg as told to Marjorie Kriz
--Powder Puff Derby -- The Record 1947-1977, Kay Brick, editor
--East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart, Susan Butler

--Shuffleboard Pilots: The History of the Women's Air Raid Defense in Hawai: 1941-1945, Candace A Chenowith and A. Kam Napier

--Jerrie Cobb: Solo Pilot. True Flying Adventures of One of the World's Top Pilots, Jerrie Cobb, edited by Dena Hall and Ruth Lummis

--No Limits: A woman pilot's search for the real Amelia Earhart, Linda Finch.
--Patterns: Tales of Flying and of Life, Bette Bach Fineman
--Mr. Piper and His Cubs, Devon Francis
--Alaska's Women Pilots: Contemporary Portraits, Jenifer Fratzke

--Contributions of Women: Aviation, Ann Genett
--Zero 3 Bravo: Solo Across America in a Small Plane, Mariana Gosnell

--The Book of Airshows, Philip Handleman
--Amelia Earhart's Daughters: The Wild and Glorious Story of American Women Aviatiors from World War II to the Dawn of the Space Age, Leslie Haynsworth and David Toomey
--American Women of Flight: Pilots and Pioneers, Henry M. Holden
--Her Mentor Was An Albatross: The [Auto]biography of Pioneer Pilot Harriet Quimby, Henry M. Holden
--Ladybirds: The Untold Story of Women Pilots in America, Henry M. Holden with Captain Lori Griffith

--The Powder PUff Derby of 1929: The True Story of the First Women's Cross-Country Air Race, Gene Nora Jessen
--A Field Guide to Flight: On The Aviation Trail in Dayton, Ohio, Mary Ann Johnson

--Flying Higher:The Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII, Wanda Langley
--Before Amelia: Women Pilots in the Early Days of Aviation, Eileen F. Lebow

--Race With the Wind: How Air Racing Advanced Aviation, Birch Matthews
--Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat, Bruce Myles

--For God, Country, and the Thrill of It: Women Airforce Pilots in World War II, Anne Noggle
--A Dance With Death - Soviet Airwomen in World War II, Anne Noggle

--Bessie Coleman: First Black Woman Pilot, Connie Plantz
--Shuttle: The World's First Spaceship, Robert M. Powers

--Jackie Cochran: Pilot in the Fastest Lane, Doris L. Rich
--Queen Bess: Daredevil Aviator, Doris L. Rich
--Women in Aviation: Portraits of Contemporary Women Pilots, Carolyn Russo

--Daughter of the Air: The Brief Soaring Life of Cornelia Fort, Rob Simbeck
--Tethered Mercury: A Pilot's Memoir: The Right Stuff but the Wrong Sex, Bernice Trimble Steadman with Jody M. Clark
--Flying For Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Miltary Pilots of WWII, Amy Goodpaster Strebe

--Takeoff: The Story of America's First Woman Pilot for a Major Airline, Bonnie Tiburzi

--Wings Around the World: The Exhiliariating Story of one woman's epic flight from the North Pole to the Antarctic, Polly Vacher
--Best of the National Air and Space Museum, F. Robert Van Der Linden, editor
--Blue Ribbon of the Air, Henry Serrano Villard


--Spreading My Wings: One of Britain's top women pilots tells her remarkable story from pre-war flying to breaking the sound barrier, Diana Barnato Walker
--Spitfire Women of World War II, Giles Whittel
--Rising Above It: An Autobiography, Edna Gardner Whyte with Ann L. Cooper

Friday Fiction: The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship

Every Friday, I'll post an installment of The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship. This book, written by Margaret Burnham and published in 1911, is in the public domain.

It's interesting to read for a variety of reasons, not least of which is to see the prevailing attitude toward women.

The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship
Margaret Burnham
1911

Chapter One: The Golden Butterfly

"Roy! Roy! Where are you?"

Peggy Prescott came flying down the red-brick path, a rustling newspaper clutched in her hand.

"Here I am, sis -- what's up?"

The door of a long, low shed at the farther end of the old-fashioned garden opened as a clattering sound of hammering abruptly ceased. Roy Prescott, a wavy-haired, blue-eyed lad of seventeen, or thereabouts, stood in the portal. He looked very business-like in his khaki trousers, blue shirt and rolled up sleeves. In his hand was a shiny hammer.

Peggy, quite regardless of a big, black smudge on her brother's face, threw her arms around his neck in one of her "bear hugs," while Roy, boy-like, wriggled in her clasp as best he could.

"Now, just look here, cried Peggy, quite out of breath with her own vehemence. She flourished the paper under his nose and, imitating the traditional voice of the town crier, announced:

"Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! Roy Prescott or any of the ambitious aviators -- now is your chance! Great news from the front! Third and last call!"

"You've got auctioneering, the Supreme Court and war times mixed up a bit, haven't you?" asked Roy with masculine condescension, but gazing fondly at his vivacious sister nevertheless.

Peggy made a little face and then thrust forth the paper for his examination.

"Read that, you unenthusiastic person," she demanded, "and then tell me if you don't think that Miss Margaret Prescott has good reason to feel somewhat more enthusiastic than comports with her usual dignity and well-known icy reserve - ahem!"

"Good gracious, sis!" exclaimed the boy, as he scanned the news-sheet, "why this is just what we were wishing for, isn't it? It's our chance if we can only grasp it and make good."

"We can! We will!" exclaimed Peggy, striking an attitude and holding one hand above her glossy head. "Read it out, Roy, so that Monsieur Bleriot can hear it."

M. Bleriot, a French bull-dog, who had dignifiedly followed Peggy's mad career down the path, gazed up appreciatively as Roy read out:

"Big Chance for Sky Boys!

"Ironmaster Higgins of Acotonick Offers Ten Thousand Dollars in Prizes for Flights and Planes."

"Ten thousand dollars, just think!" cried Peggy, clasping her hands one minute and the next stooping to caress M. Bleriot. "Oh, Roy, do you think we could?"

"Could what? you indefinite person?" parried Roy, although his eyes were dancing and he knew well enough what his vivacious sister was driving at.

"Could win that ten thousand dollars, of course, you goose."

Roy laughed.

"It's not all offered in a lump sum," he rejoined. "Lisen, there is a large first prize of five thousand dollars for the boy under eighteen who makes the longest sustained flight in a plane of his own construction--with the excception of the engine, that is; and here's another of two thousand five hundred dollars to the glider making the best and longest sustained flight, and another of one thousand five hundred to the boy flying the most carefully constructed machine and the one bearing the most ingenious devices for perfecting the art of flying and -- and--oh listen, Peggy!"

"I am--oh, I am," breathed Peggy with half assumed breathlessness.

"There's a prize offered for girls!"

"No!"

"Yes. Now don't say an more that girls are downtrodden and neglected by the bright minds of the day. Here it is, all in black and white, a prize of a whole thousand dollars to the young lady who makes a successful flight. There, what do you think of that?"

"That Mr. Higgins is a mean old thing," pouted Peggy, "five thousand dollars to the successful boy and only one thousand dollars to the successful girl. It's discrimination, that's what it is. Don't you read every day in the papers about girls and women making almost as good flights as the men? Didn't a --Mademoiselle somebody -or-other make a flight round the bell tower at Bruges the other day, and hasn't Coloel Roosevelt's daughter been up in one, and isn't there a regular school for woemn fliers at Washington, and--and--?"

"Didn't the suffragettes promise to drop 'Vote for Women' placards from the air upon the devoted heads of the British Parliament, you uo-to-date young person?" finished Roy, teasingly.

Peggy made a dash for him but the boy dodged into the shed, closely followed by his sister.

Inspirational Women Aviatior Videos at YouTube

I've been going through the aviation videos on YouTube, working on an article for my webzine You Fly Girl, also known as Winged Victory: Women in Aviation), and found the following videos which I share here.

Warning - some of them have short commercials before the actual video starts.

Girls With Wings - Reality Based Series


Major Jennifer Grieves made history by becoming the first female pilot of Marine One, the presidential helicopter


Woman pilots Apache helicopter


Captain Andrea Ourada, a Minnesota National Guard Blackhawk helicopter pilot, tells the story of her first combat action in Iraq.


Pakistani women pilots make transition to fighter planes

Writer looking for ATA girls (WWII) and their descendants

Received a request from an author who asked me to post the following:

Yona Zeldis McDonough (pmcdonough1@nyc.rr.com) (I do not hotlink the email, so as to prevent spammers from grabbing it!)

I am a New York-based writer researching an article for a magazine about the ATA Girls. I am looking for their descendants, whom I hope to interview. I would like to hear wartime accounts, stories, anecdotes, memories--anything that would make that time and the exploits of those brave women come alive for contemporary readers. I am also interested in photographs and/or any other memorabilia. The interviews could be conducted over the phone or via e-mail.

Many thanks for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Yona Zeldis McDonough (Mrs.)

Two sisters flew in the ATA

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1219834/The-sisters-fly-Spitfires-WWII-reunited-iconic-aircraft.html

They were sleek, beautifully shaped, and earned something of a racy reputation.
And that was just the Spitfires they flew.
But even away from the cockpit, the plucky young gals of the World War Two Air Transport Auxiliary turned plenty of heads as well.

In their hastily adapted uniforms (one even had her jacket tailored in Savile Row) they became the darlings of the air – and the unsung heroines of the Battle of Britain.

Joy Lofthouse, 86, and Yvonne MacDonald, 88, joined the ATA in 1943 after spotting an advert in a flying magazine.

(Take a look at the photo in the article link above. Each of these women look like their 70, max!)

Titan Aircraft Factory Tour

Went on the Titan Aircraft Factory Tour today. Pretty interesting. Of course I forgot to bring the appropriate cable for my camera, so can't download photos until I return home in a couple of days.

And while I and about 20 other people got the complete tour of the factory, I didn't get to go to the Airport to see an actual completed T-51 Mustang (3/4 size). Little bit of a mix-up there, into which I will not go. Suffice it to say that next time I have to follow someone to get to a specific location, I'll follow the bloody owner of the aircraft factory and not some schmuck who thinks they know where the airport is but doesn't really know!

WASP Janet Lee Simpson's insatiable taste for danger

Wings and Wasp Blog had a good article on Friday about

http://wings1944.blogspot.com/2009/11/famous-pilot-tells-ju-aviation-students.html

She became a media darling in the early 1930s when she and her sister, Kathryn, flew with her parents, Lt. Col. George R. Hutchinson and his wife, Blanche, to every state on the continent. Their travels and travails were plastered across newspapers nationwide, and she parlayed that fame into multiple radio and Broadway appearances.

She also had an insatiable taste for danger.

See the link above for the complete article.

How To Fly a Tiger Moth

and another video about a Tiger Moth

Soundtrack to the movie Amelia [Earhart]

Don't know how good the movie is (I confess I haven't seen it...I would have if it had focused more on her flying and less on the love triangle between Putnam and Vidal) but according to collectors of sound tracks (www.filmscoremonthly.com) it's a beautiful score. Composer Gabriel Yared.

Betty Skelton at YouTube

An excerpt from Betty Skelton, a video that is supposed to be at: http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/video/ but which appears to have moved.

Here's the info from the YouTube entry:

This is an excerpt of footage from a ceremony honoring Betty Skelton, the U.S. Feminine Aerobatic Stunt Flying Champion, held at the Tampa, Florida Airport. The U.S. Army Air Corps Band plays as Betty Skelton appears and waves to the camera. A number of planes are shown performing aerial stunts and trick flying. A biplane tows a banner that reads "Its here Fort Pitt Beer!!" For the finale, Betty Skelton climbs inside a modified North American P-51 Mustang and zips around showing off her flight technique. When she lands she is presented with a bundle of flowers as she speaks to a crowd of spectators. Produced by Tampa Home Movie.

Women pilots represented at the Smithsonian

Of the 100 planes, space craft and so in the book Best of the National Air and Space Musseum, four of them represent women and their achievements in the air.

Most famous, of ocurse, is Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega, in which she became the first woman, and only the second person, to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, and the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the United States.

This Vega 5B is one of 131 Vegas manufactured, with a spruce veneer monocoque fuselage and a spruce cantilever wing.

The Vega is displayed in the Pioneers of Flight gallery.


Geraldine Mock flew her Cessna 180 Spirit of Columbus around the world. And she did this only two years after learning to fly. For her flight, the Cessna was outditted with additional fuel tanks, fitted inside the cabin.

Mock set out on March 19, 1964 at 9:31 am from Columbus, Ohio and headed southeast toward Burma. From there she flew to Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Then India, Thailand, the Phillipines, Guam, Wake Island and Hawai. She then flew from Hawaii to Oakland - the longest leg of the flight, which took 18 hours.

She then flew to Tucson, El Paso, Bowling Green, and then back to Clumbus, arriving on April 17, 1964. The flight took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes.

Patty Wagstaff flew the Extra 260, in which she became the first woman to win the US National Aerobatic Championship in September 1991. The Extra 260 is a one of a kind aircraft created by Walter Extra, a former German aerobatic competitor and one of the world's premier aerobatic aircraft designers and builders.



Betty Skelton flew her aerobatic plane "Little Stinker." It was (and is) a Pitts Special S-1C had a slightly longer wing and fuselage than did the S-1, a smaller aerobatic plane that could climb, roll and change attitude more quickly than other planes of the day. It also had a Continental C-85-F5 engine. Betty Skelton bught it in August 1948, for $3,000. She made several modifications to it, such as changing the propeller to a fixed-pitch McCauley. She won the 1949 Feminine International Aerobatic Championship in this craft. She retired from aerobatic competiiton in 1951.

Best of the National Air and Space Museum

Reading this book today. 100 of the aircraft/space craft at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Not to pleased with the way it's set up - in alphabetical order. I'd have preferred it to be chronological.

Here are the aircraft photos/write-ups, in alphabetical order, and of course, availble for view at the museum.

Aichi M6A1 Seiran
Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, and space suits
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz
Arlington Sisu 1A Sailplane
Beech C17L Staggerwing --- NC15835, a Model C17R (not in the museum) was piloted by Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes, won the 1936 Bendix Trophy Race, first time a woman had won it. (The one in the Museum was owned by E.E. Aldrin, father of Buzz Aldrin, among others)
Bell UH-1H Iroquois
Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis
Bell XP-59A Airacomet
Bleriot XI
Boeing 247-D
Boeing 307 Stratoliner
Boeing 367-80
Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay
Boeing F4B-4
Boeing P-26A (Peashooter)
Breitling Orbiter 3
Caudron G.4
Cessna 180 Spirit of Columbus - Geraldine Mock flew around the world in this plane
Concorde
Curtiss D Headless Pusher
Curtiss JN-4D Jenny
Curtiss P-40E Warhawk
Curtiss R3C-2
Dassault Falcon 20C
de Haviland DHC-1A Chipmunk Pennzoil Special
Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket
Douglas SC-3
Douglas SBD-6 Dauntless
Douglas World Cruiser DWC-2 Chicago
Explorer I1
Explorer II2
Extra 260 - this plane was flown by Patty Wagstaff
Focke-Wulfe FW 190F-8
Fokker D.VII
Fokker T2
Ford 5-AT-B Tri-Motor
Gemini 4
Goddard 1941 Rocket
Grumman F4F (FM-1) Wildcat
Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat
Grumman G-22 Gulfhawk II
Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIC
Hubble Space Telescope Structural Dynamic Test Vehicle
Hughes 1B Racer (H-1)
Junkers Ju 52/3m (CASA 352L)
Jupiter C
Kawanishi N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai "George"
Langley Aerodrome A
Lear Jet 23
Lilienthal 1894 glider
Lockheed 5B Vega (Amelia Earhart) - the plane Earhart flew nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean
Lockheed 5C Vega Winnie Mae
Lockheed 8 Sirius Tingmissartoq
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
Lockheed U-2C
Lunar module 2
Lunar roving Vehicle
Macready Gossamer Condor
Mariner 2
Mars Pathfinder
Martin B-26B Marauder Flak Bait
McDonnell F-4S Phantom II
Mercury Friendship 7
Messrschmidt Bf 109G-6
Messerschmidght Me 262A-1A Schwalbe
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Ji-2)
Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen "Zeke"
Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF)
Nieuport 28C1
North American F-86A Sabre
North American P-51C Mustang Excalibur III
North American X-15
Northrop Gamma Polar Star
Northrop N-1M
Pioneer 10
Piper J-3 Cub
Pitts Special S-1C Little Stinker (Betty Skelton's plane, in which she won the Feminine International Aerobatic Championship three times)
Ranger 7
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt
Rutan VariEze
Rutan Voyager
Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis
Saturn F-1 engine
Sharp Nemesis
Skylab backup space station
Spce Shuttle Enterprise
SpaceShipOne
Spad XIII Smith IV
Supermarine Spitfire Mk VII
Surveyor Engineering model
V-2 Missile
Viking Mars lander (perforamce tester and simulations)
Vought F4U-1D Corsair
Voyage spaceraft developmental test model
WAC Corporal
Wright 1903 Flyer
Wright 1909 Military Flyer
Wright Ex Vin Fiz

Songs honoring Amelia Earhart

Jonie Mitchell - Amelia (1976)

Red River Dave McEnery wrote this song on July 2, 1939, the day Amelia disappeared. He just needed something new for his band to perform so he wrote this song in the afternoon and performed it that night.

AMELIA EARHART'S LAST FLIGHT (1939)
(Red River Dave McEnery)

Lyrics:
A ship out on the ocean, just a speck against the sky,
Amelia Earhart flying that sad day;
With her partner, Captain Noonan, on the second of July
Her plane fell in the ocean, far away.

Chorus:
There's a beautiful, beautiful field
Far away in a land that is fair.
Happy landings to you, Amelia Earhart
Farewell, first lady of the air.

She radioed position and she said that all was well,
Although the fuel within the tanks was low.
But they'd land on Howland Island to refuel her monoplane,
Then on their trip around the world they'd go. (This part is missing in this song)

Well, a half an hour later an SOS was heard,
The signal weak, but still her voice was brave.
In shark-infested waters her plane went down that night
In the blue Pacific, to a watery grave.

There's a beautiful, beautiful field
Far away in a land that is fair.
Happy landings to you, Amelia Earhart
Farewell, first lady of the air.

Well, now you have heard my story of that awful tragedy,
We pray that she might fly home safe again.
Oh, in years to come though others blaze a trail across the sea,
We'll ne'er forget Amelia and her plane.

There's a beautiful, beautiful field
Far away in a land that is fair.
Happy landings to you, Amelia Earhart
Farewell, first lady of the air.

Kirsty Moore joins Red Arrows video

Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore, 32 yrs.,has joined the team, based at RAF Scampton- Lincs., home of the famous 617 squadron-The Dam Busters.

Flt Lt Moore is a local Lincolnshire girl, from Stamford, last station was RAF Marham in Norfolk,near Kings Lynn.,joining the Royal Air Force in 1998. Raf Scampton is situated just north of Lincoln on the A15.It is believed she will take up position RED THREE.

Her father Robbie is a retired Tornado navigator,she has been married for 4 years to husband Nicky who works as a flying instructor at Raf Valley,anglesey, Wales.

The squadron motto is Eclat-meaning Excellence. Red Arrows was formed in late 1964. The name is an amalgation of 2 aerobatic teams-the Black Arrows and the Red Pelicans. The RAFAT has 13 aircraft., 9 pilots,and a Support team of 91 called The Blues(they wear blue flying suits).

RAF Scampton: http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafscampton/
Red Arrows website: http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/

Amelia: Why We Still Care

Picked up the January 2010 issue of Aviation History. Amelia Earhart is on the cover.

There's an excellent article about her within, featuring 2 full size photos and several smaller photos, and 5 pages of text. There's also a one-page article on the making of the aircraft replicas in Amelia, starring hilary Swank.

Here's the table of contents of the issue:

1. Amelia: Still a star in the media firmament 72 years after she disappeared, Earhart remains a woman of mystery. By Stephen Wilkinson

2. Duel in the Rising Sun: A young mechanic found himself behind a PBY's machine gun--and in the sights of a Zero pilot--on the date that would live in infamy. By L. E. Rogers

3. The Adventures of Flying Fitz: Irishman James Fitzmaurice copiloted the Junkers W33 Bremen, first to cross the Atlantic from east to west. By Derek O'Connor.

4. Kamikaze Killer: Britain's Seafire took the reputation of its land-based forebear, the Spitfire, to sea as an interceptor par excellence. By Donald Nijboer

5. Made in America: Although still technically neutral, the US was the world's biggest exporter of fighters early in World war II. By ER Johnson.

And since Amazon doesn't have a subscription for Aviation History on offer, get this one instead - perfect for the aviation enthusiast for Christmas.

Fort Hood and news sloooooooooow as Molasses

Last week, I gave a shout out to Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer who was being credited with having shot down Hasan.

The very next day, or it might have been the day after - no longer than that - on my Yahoo News feed, there was an article saying that a different officer was claiming credit for bringing down Hasan - Officer Mark Todd.

And I posted that here.

And then, as I just watched the news headlines on Yahoo news for the next seven or eight days, it kept saying Kimberly Munley was the hero...nothing about this other guy.

Until today, seven days later.

Why did it take so long for this to be "re-disseminated"?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts980

I haven't actually been keeping up with this story - I read the headlines, nothing more, and don't watch news broadcasts, but I'm assuming that every single news broadcast continued to cover Munley as the hero for seven days even though there was another cop saying he'd been the one to bring down Hasan.

It just doesn't make any sense, and seems to be on a par with letting this psycho Hasan continue to serve in the military despite the fact that red flags had been raised about him for at least a year if not longer!

Anyway, regardless of whether or not Kimberly Munley or Mark Todd finally brought down that psycho, they are both heroes. Perhaps in the confusion Munley thought she'd got him - saw him go down, perhaps, before Todd added his bullets...

But for Todd's story to have come out seven days ago, and for it to just be talked about now as if it were a brand new piece of news... seems kind of odd....

The Ninety-Nines: Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow

First off, let me give a shout out to Turgid Tomes, owned by Gwil Owen, at 3409 Marlborough Ave, Nashville, TN 37212, a used-book emporium. I had ordered a copy of The Ninety-Nines, Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow from them, and it arrived yesterday. Unfortunately, yesterday was the second day of straight solid rain with freight train winds and solid rain, and I wasn't going out to check my mailbox, much as I love getting mail. (Kudos to my mail person for even delivering in that weather!)

So I went out today, and I live in townhouse type setup with a central mail box area, and a separate box for big parcels, and there was my book, in a box, with one whole corner of it wet. And I thought, damn. There goes $20 down the drain.

But, not so. Turgid Tomes had placed it in a quality-plastic wrapping within the soaked-through box, and this very expensively produced book, which I got for a song, is in pristine condition.

Turner Publishing Company. 1996.Oversized book on heavy duty glossy paper, like the Time-Life books have. It's a pleasure just to hold it, and of course the info inside is invaluable. Bios and photos of hundreds of 99 pilots from the organization's inception to 1996.

The Women Aviatior's Wiki is about to take a great leap forward in terms of entries!

Pilots entered today:
Doris Abbate
Mary Ann Abbott
Della Abernathy

November Events featuring WWII re-enactors

http://wingedcommandos.org/ is the URL of their website.

The Winged Commandos™ WWII Living History Group, Inc. was started in 2007 as a living tribute to the Allied glider pilots of the Second World War.

The name Winged Commandos was used in WWII as a general nickname for glider pilots in the U.S. at South Plains Army Air Field, Lubbock, Texas and other U.S. Army Air Forces training facilities.

Events in November
November 14 Saturday
EVENT: Silver Wings Ball, Hangar 25 Air Museum, Big Spring, Texas. Fundraising event to benefit the Museum. Tickets, $25 per person. Event location is the Big Spring Country Club. Cocktail Hour 6:00pm-7:00pm. Silent auction, appetizers, cash bar, dancing, live music. For ticket info call the Museum 432-264-1999. [MAP]

November 15 Sunday
MEETING: Winged Commandos™ training meeting, 2-4 PM, Silent Wings Museum, conference room, Lubbock, Texas. New recruits and new members encouraged to attend.

November 21 Saturday
DANCE LESSON: East Coast Swing and other WWII-era dances. 7-8 PM, Just Dancing! Professional Dance Studio, Memphis Place Mall, 3801 50th Street, Lubbock, Texas, 806-795-1511. W.C. Group lessons, $10 per couple. [MAP]

November 28 Saturday
40'S THEME DANCE: 8PM -11PM, Just Dancing! Professional Dance Studio, Memphis Place Mall, 3801 50th Street, Lubbock, Texas, 806-368-3754. Come dressed in period civilian and military clothes if you like! $10.00 per couple at the door. [MAP]

WASP Deanie Parrish to be on The Story

According to the Wings Across America website, WASP Deanie Parrish will be on NPR's The Story tomorrow, November 11.

You can listen to it here. http://thestory.org/.

I take the liberty of presenting her bio from the Wings Across America page:

WASP DEANIE PARRISH, CLASS 44-W-4 Waco, Texas. Associate Director Wings Across America.. Deanie is an expert in the history of the WASP, having personally interviewed over 100 WASP in 19 states and has volunteered her time over the last 9years to ensure that the WASP history is not forgotten. She is also a sought after motivational speaker.

Deanie grew up believing that ‘nothing is impossible’. 64 years ago, she asked a primary cadet instructor why, just because she was a girl, she couldn’t learn to fly like the aviation cadets? He taught her to fly! When she heard about a program at Avenger Field to teach qualified young women pilots to fly military aircraft, she applied and was accepted. She boarded a train in Florida and traveled to Sweetwater, where she trained for 7 months. When she graduated and became a WASP, she was assigned to Greenville AFB, Miss as an engineering test pilot in BT-13s and UC-78s. She was transferred to Tyndall AFB, Fla., completed B-26 school and was retained as an air-to-air B-26 tow target pilot to train gunners for combat (using live ammunition).

After the WASP were disbanded, Deanie married a career AAF B-29 pilot, raised 2 daughters and spent 5,000 hours as a hospital volunteer. In 1979, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston. Other credits include: Community Houston Memorial Hospital Volunteer President, Historic Waco Foundation, Charter Member Waco Welcome Corps, Big 12 Task Force, Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, "2005 Sprit of Women Award"-- Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas; International Forest of Friendship, Baylor Alumni by Choice, Daedalian. In 2005, the Silver Wings Detachment of Arnold Air Society at Texas Christian University was named in her honor.

Over five years ago, she and her daughter, Nancy, convinced the Sweetwater City Commissioners that the WASP deserved a museum at Avenger Field. Impossible? She was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the National WASP WWII Museum and served as the first Facilities Chairman.

Deanie is featured in the "FLYGIRLS OF WWII" traveling exhibit. She is also responsible for all the text panels in the exhibit. The FLYGIRLS opening photo of a WASP strapping on a parachute is of Deanie, taken in 1944.

Aviation News Today video

Aviation News Today is produced at YouTube.

The Aviation News Today show is your #1 source for industry news! Each week, find out the latest developments from airports, airlines, and key decision makers around the world to Capitol Hill in Washington DC.

You Fly Girl is not affiliated with them, but we are going to start sharing their videos on our Front Page: YouFlyGirl.

Our archives of this show are here: http://thethunderchild.com/YouFlyGirl/AviationNewsWeeklyArchive.html

Re-post - Tomorrow is the Fly-in Music Fest!

First-Ever Fly-In Musicfest

National Event Brings “Stimulus” Home to Spinks Airport, Fort Worth / Burleson

Fort Worth, Texas: The Flying Musicians Association's first major event, the Fort Worth Spinks Fly-In Musicfest on November 7, 2009, is shaping up to be a fun and spirited economic stimulus for the Fort Worth / Burleson area.

Flying Musicians from around the country will showcase live music on two stages. National names as well as local talent (from pros to talented schoolkids) will provide nonstop entertainment. The Fort Worth Songwriters Association will be running two jamming tents where impromptu jams will take place throughout the day, so bring your instrument or your voice! And plan on watching -- or even participating in -- a Native American Flute and Drum Circle.

It’s an aviation theme – how could it be otherwise? – so there will also be excitement in the skies, as well: Aircraft flying, aircraft to look at, photograph, and sometimes climb into, and aircraft rides will be available. The John L. Terry Heritage Foundation will have their WWII-era B-25 Mitchell bomber, Pacific Prowler, and the C47 Dakota (known to civilians as a DC-3) Southern Cross, on the ramp for tours and flights all weekend.

The local Experimental Aviation Association Chapters will be giving free rides to kids (ages 8 through 17) on a first-come basis as part of their Young Eagles program, which has already introduced well over a million kids to flight. There will be vendors, food, aviation seminars, and music for the whole family.

A special guest, Ravi the Aviator (who is also a flying musician) will give his presentation “Making General Aviation Sexy” which he presented at the big Sun ‘n Fun and AirVenture airshows (and which he will be presenting in Florida at the AOPA Summit convention in October). Ravi might even play a few tunes for us as well!

Spellbinding Florida-based author Denis Murphy, who wrote the true thriller, PAN, PAN, PAN: A Survival Story, will be talking with us and signing copies of this book.

If you’re already hooked on aviation, Judy Tarver with FltOps will tell how to land an airline job.


And don't leave early! Fireworks will erupt as the final act performs.

Fort Worth is a destination all in herself: Fly or drive in on Friday and visit the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, the Texas Motor Speedway, the Bass Performance Hall, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the fabulous museums, and resplendent downtown area. Visit www.fortworth.com for more information. Stay at one of the three hotels within walking distance of the airport and dine at the numerous restaurants. Enjoy the event on Saturday, relax with music and fireworks on Saturday night, then have a relaxing trip home on Sunday.

The Flying Musicians Association, Inc. was formed in 2009 by blending two passions, flying and music. Founded by two pilot/musicians, John Zapp and Aileen Hummel who have made it their quest to encourage, promote, educate and support these two passions, and especially to encourage adventure, awe, and experience through flying and music, generating and fostering the yearning for both amongst young people.
To join please visit http://FlyingMusicians.org.

Free Titan Aircraft Factory Tour on Nov 21

The Women's International Air And Space Museum is sponsoring a tour of the Titan Aircraft Factory, located in Northeast Ohio.

Titan make aircraft kits: T-51 Mustang (High performance 3/4 scale P-51 replica with 2 seats, dual controls, retractable landing gear, and aluminum construction), Tornado I (A single seat hign wing pusher with full cantilevered wing and aluminum construction.), Tornado II (A two seat high wing pusher with full cantilevered wing and aluminum construction), Tornado S (A two seat high wing pusher with stretched fuselage, full cantilevered wing, and aluminum construction) and Tornado SS (Titan Tornado Super Stretch: 1200 lbs gross weight, 560 lbs useful load).

WHERE: Titan Aircraft Factory, 1419 State Rt. 45 S. Austinburg Oh. 44010
WHEN: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 10:00 am
COST: FREE!
HOW TO GET THERE: Everybody just drive to the factory and be there at 10:00.

John Williams, President of Titan and IWASM member, will take people through the factory.

You must make a reservation with the museum to participate in this event!

Email Heather at halexander@iwasm.org to make a reservation.

A Shout Out for Sgt. Kimberly Munley - hero of Ft Hood

New info added 11/7/09

Where does misinformation come from? A few days ago we were told definitely that Kimberly Munley had been the one who shot Hasan. Now it turns out it wasn't her but rather a male officer. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iWR3iVSmwTu1W4GFlFUN7krKo5BgD9BQUE200. Hey - he's a hero, no question. And Munley is still a hero, though not quite as much as one as before. But what I want to know is, why is this info just coming out now??? Did someone decide to "make" Munley the hero, and invented some facts and hoped the real despatcher of Hasan wouldn't come forward, or what?

Below is my original post as written.

(from her Twitter page)

She was only doing her job, but that doesn't make her any less heroic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/ap_on_re_us/us_fort_hood_shooting_officer

FORT HOOD, Texas – The top commander at Fort Hood is crediting a civilian police officer for stopping the shooting rampage that killed 13 people at the Texas post.

Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday that Fort Hood police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon. Cone said Munley shot the gunman four times despite being shot herself.

Officials said Munley was in stable condition.

Cone said, "It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer."

Cone also said he was inspired by a woman who helped carry a wounded victim and used her blouse as a tourniquet, then later realized she'd been shot in the hip.

The suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is hospitalized on a ventilator.

Not a lot of details. I'm sure they will come out, and of course severals writers probably already have five-figure book deals to write about this terrible incident. But for now, just another hero (I dislike the term heroine!) to add to the pantheon of women role models.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6906278.ece

A police officer who intervened to stop a shooting spree at America's biggest military base was hailed today as a heroine as she received treatment for the wounds received in a shoot-out with the gunman.

Major Nidal Hasan, an army psychiatrist due to be posted to Afghanistan, shot dead 13 people and wounded 30 others after opening fire with two handguns at Fort Hood yesterday afternoon.

But the death toll from the rampage could have been far worse had it not been for the actions of Sergeant Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer stationed at the base who was the first on the scene as Major Hasan picked off his victims.

Sergeant Munley managed to hit Major Hasan four times but was herself hit by a bullet that passed through both her legs, according to witnesses.

Colonel John Rossi, briefing reporters at Fort Hood this morning, said that Major Hasan's victims, who were killed in a part of the base used to process soldiers for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, had all been unarmed. Sergeant Munley had been the first armed person on the scene and had immediately taken him on.

"Her efforts were superb," he said.

Colonel Steven Braverman, commander of the base hospital and Major Hasan's supervisor, said that Sergeant Munley was in a stable condition in a nearby community hospital.

She is likely to return home to a hero's welcome, although her Twitter page – which features a picture of her with the country music star Dierks Bentley at the Fort Hood "Freedom Fest" on July 4 – suggests she is not the type to have her head turned.

Her Twitter biography reads: "I live a good life ... a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life."

It emerged today that Major Hasan, a Muslim who had argued with his comrades against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and had been trying to get out of the Army, shouted "Allah akbar" – Arabic for "God is great" – as he launched the attack.

Lieutenant-General Robert Cone, the base commander at Fort Hood, said that soldiers who witnessed the rampage heard him shout out the invocation as he opened fire.

General Cone told NBC's Today programme that Major Hasan was not known to be a threat or risk at the base. Colonel Braverman said the same.

See link above for complete article

Christmas presents for the female aviation enthusiast

Every pilot deserves to get pilot-related gear for Christmas of course (or whatever holiday observance one celeberates in late December), but since this blog is dedicated to women in aviation, they're the ones I'm concentrating on!

Whether your daughter, girlfriend or wife, or even sister, is an armchair pilot or a dedicated flyer, she'll probably enjoy some of the items below. And get your daughter started on a life that soars with some good role model material, too!

Got the very first newsletter from PowderPuff Pilot yesterday, announcing some of their new items. Everything's in pink.

Pink-tinted sunglasses from Scheyden Precision Eyewear :
Palisades - Radically Cool - Size: 48 x 17

Avalon - Grace, Power, and Speed - Size: 48 x 17

Avalon Wrap - Grace, Power, and Speed - Size: 53 x 17

No one will ever pick up your sunglasses by mistake again, and vice versa!

Watches
The Abingdon E68 watch styles are Jackie and Amelia


Clothing
T-shirts, scarfts, fleece jackets with the PowederPuff logo

Pilot Stuff
Logbook with a pink cover, pink headseats

Books
Fiction and non-fiction books for adults, dedicated to aviation, and Sue Hughes' own children books with Claire Bear.

Calendar
The Woman in Aviation desk top calendar - get ready for next year!

Miscellaneous for kids
Patches and stickers

Yankee Lady Flies Again

and other videos from the Women's International Air and Space Museum



History for People With Short Attention Spans

Harriet Quimby



Ruth Nichols



Clara Livingston



and related videos of pioneer women fliers

Jean Garbo - Garbo of the Skies

OT: Misrepresenting the goods

I have always watched TV commercials with a sensitive eye...some might say over-sensitive... is this commercial giving a good or bad impression of women, is my grading criteria. Of course, 99% of commercials these days give bad portrayals of the adults - the husband's a doofus, the wife's a bossy know-it-all, and the kids, no matter how young they might be, are 100% smarter and sassier than their parents and I just want to slap them all.

Anyway, about 4 pm today I was watching Law and Order: SVU on the USA channel, and there came an advertisement for a push up bra from Victoria Secret. It would increase the appearance of women's breasts by two cup sizes. The commercial itself showed these tall, long-legged, skinny models prancing up and down a catwalk, all with not very large breasts. I can't remember the verbiage, but it was something about, "Now you can be a bombshell and make your breasts look up to two times larger."

Now, I've got to admit I've never understood the reason for wanting to look more endowed than you are. Because it's all about getting a guy into your bedroom, isn't it. (Or these days, into a quiet area under a bush or in a car...) In any event, he's sexually attracted to you because he think you're a C-cup, you take off your pushup bra and it turns out you're only an A, isn't he going to be a wee bit disappointed that you don't measure up? Of course he'll stay for the sex anyway - guys are guys, after all. (Here's a tip, ladies. Guys are guys. If you make it clear you want sex, he'll give it to you, A cup or C cup. No need to pretend.)

Calling all Clevelandites to the International Women's Air and Space Musuem

Clevelandites and anyone who wants to head on over to Cleveland this Saturday, November 7, can take part in their first Aviation Book & Memorabilia Sale.

We will be selling donated aviation and military books, vintage models and toys and other aviation memorabilia at the sale. Admission is free and all proceeds benefit the museum.

Here's the address:
Burke Lakefront Airport
1501 North Marginal Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
(216) 623-1111

In addition, the Amelia Earhart exhibit has been extended, so check that out as well.

And also mark your calendars for November 27.

http://iwasm.com/iwasm_news.htm

Do you know that there is an aircraft factory right here in Northeast Ohio? Come tour the Titan Aircraft Factory with us on November 21 and see a 3/4 scale mustang, T-51 that is currently being built. John Williams, President of Titan and IWASM member, will take us through the factory. You must make a reservation with the museum to participate in this event!

PR: Best Ever Tire Gauge Kit

Received this press release today:


Tool Testing Lab, a leading metrology and certification lab in the USA, has added to its line of tools for professional mechanics and technicians, with a customizable wide-range tire pressure gauge set.

In all applications, tire pressure is important for optimum performance and tread life. This is especially true in aviation, where tires are often critically stressed and where underinflation can cause total failure of the tire or even of the wheel.

Industry standards permit aircraft tires to lose as much as 1% of their pressure each day, and even mild underinflation can allow temperatures to rise exponentially, sometimes resulting in heat-induced failure even while taxiing. Low tire pressure lengthens the takeoff roll, degrades ground handling, and reduces the brakes’ predictability and effectiveness.

Tool Testing Labs’ versatile kit includes three heavy-duty brass-body analog gauges, each further protected by a heavy rubber boot. Angled and straight chucks with flexible hose handles allow positive readings of virtually all pneumatic wheels and tubes filled with air or other inert gases such as nitrogen, making this kit useful also in auto and truck applications. Quick-disconnect couplings allow instant interchange of chucks and gauges.

Gauge ranges

· 0-15 psi
· 0-30 psi
· 0-60 psi
· 0-100 psi
· 0-160 psi
· 0-200 psi
· 0-300 psi
(one set of choices – for illustration)

Customers have total flexibility in their choices. Any three ranges can be included – or all three gauges can be the same. Gauges are available dry or liquid-filled, in any combination.

Choose from three separate styles of tire chucks: straight (with or without a hose), or dual-foot chucks. Again, any combination is available.

Because tires can look different to different people or under different conditions (dusty, clean, wet), Tool Testing Lab has also included a tire tread depth gage.

The rugged high-impact black case and fitted foam inner liner protect everything and give an instant inventory of the kit’s contents while ensuring the long life and continued high reliability of the gauges.

A one-year long-form National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable certification and a one-year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship assure accuracy of +-1%.

The psi-calibrated gauge set is available immediately. Price for the complete 3-gauge kit, in any range or choice of ranges, is set at $275.00.

For more information or to place an order, contact:

Tool Testing Lab
11180 N. Dixie Drive
Vandalia, Ohio 45377
USA
+937-898-5696
www.ttlcal.com

Contact:
Bob Beck
Sales Manager
bob.beck@ttlcal.com

Interview with Angela Masson - President of ISA+21

You Fly Girl is very proud to present an interview with Angela Masson, current President of ISA+21 -- the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (which in addition to being an advocate for current women pilots, offers scholarships to women who want to become airline pilots!). We don't talk much about that, admittedly, but rather go in-depth into her life and career up until her retirement from American Airlines in 2007.

A pilot from a young age, Angela Masson also spent a few years in Italy as an artist, and a dancer. She also released an album, Jet Lady, that has attained cult status. She participated in the 1972 Powder Puff Derby. She earned two masters degrees and a PhD. She was the first woman to be type-rated on the Boeing 747 on June 30, 1984, and eventually became American Airlines first female Chief Pilot.

Oh, she's done a lot of stuff. Read about it at:

http://thethunderchild.com/YouFlyGirl/Interviews/AngelaMassonInterview.html

Hilary Swank learns to fly

Whenever a movie opens, the stars of the movie travel to various key locations around the country giving press junkets.

Hilary Swank learned to fly for her role as Amelia - something that impressed me. She said:

“You can’t play Amelia Earhart and not learn how to fly, that would be wrong in every way,”

Now that the movie is complete, she hopes to continue her flying lessons.

Read the full article here: http://www.eaa.org/news/2009/2009-10-18_Ameilia-Presser.asp

Amelia: The Movie that Should Have Been

I'm an admirer of Amelia Earhart, but truth be told I never was really planning to go see this movie, as it seemed rather obvious from the previews that they were going to focus on the love triangle between Putnam (her husband, played by Richard Gere) and Gene Vidal (played by Ewen McGregor). And I wanted it to concentrate on her flying.

You want to know the movie that should have been made? The movie that I will make, should I ever get the funds. (We're talking lottery winner here. Well...one day...)

The Powder Puff Derby.

The very first Powder Puff Derby, in 1929.

Now that would make a great movie...or maybe a mini-series. Focus on the top five pilots....including Marvel Crosson, the only woman who died during the race - and the reason she did so - faulty design of her plane. Their love of flying and their perseverance in the face of obstacles put in their way by both men and women, as in 1929 women just were not supposed to be independent. (Supposedly, only 6% of pilots were women back then. 80 years later, the percentage is still the same.)

Hmmm... I see that Marvel Crosson doesn't even rate an entry at Wikipedia!

Check her out at http://www.womenaviators.org/wiki/index.php?title=Marvel_Crosson

Twenty women entered the Derby. The course took eight days to fly and navigate using only dead reckoning and road maps. "Undaunted by route changes, sabotage, and death, 14 women completed the Derby with Louise Thaden finishing first".

Other participants:

Gladys O’Donnell
Amelia Earhart
Blanche Noyes
Ruth Elder
Neva Paris
Mary Haizlip
Opal Kunz
Mary von March
Vera Dawn Walker
Phoebe Omlie
Edith Foltz
Jessie Keith-Miller
Thea Rasche
Bobbi Trout

What happens if the movie Amelia fails at the box office? I've read reviews that say that the script sucks - it is poorly written and directed. Does that matter to the powers that be that fund movies...or will they just look at the fact that a movie starring a woman in the title role failed, and not bankroll any others?

It's similar to what goes on in TV. Criminal Minds, the new remake of It Takes a Thief, White Collar...all that crap...they all have male leads. You're telling me they couldn't have a woman conman and a woman minder in White Collar?

And of course the sitcoms. Always male headliners. They've got wives, of course, sensible wives who put up with klutzy husband...

There's no shows today like Designing Women or Golden Girls..

I've seen Rita Rocks and Sherri... well, haven't seen them but I've seen the ads for them...but those are exceptions to the rule. Oh - and Girlfriends...although that's kind of an old show...I emjoy watching that...

I'd so love to see a sitcom with a woman pilot, perhaps, or a woman basketball player..maybe a woman inventor!

Well...once I get the funds (one must think positive) I'll institute a revolution in programming for women. Get rid of all that relationship crap advice shows and get 'em outward bound!