Amelia Earhart Gallery: Hawaii

1935: Amelia Earhart giving a talk in Hawaii.

Well...damn

I've been spending the last couple of years, intermittently adding pages to the Women Aviators Wiki. I haven't had a chance to do anything with it in a couple of weeks. I checked it today, and it's been hacked. All of the text is gone, and my virus protection kicked in to prevent a virus to download.

So, I'm kind of annoyed about that.

And I guess it shows the dangers of contributing to other people's websites. Apparently its owners, Women Fly, have abandoned the site (I no longer see a link to it on their webpage), and so my two years are now gone, and I've got nothign to show for it.

Well, a women's aviator wiki will return, and I'll just start all over again, and this time it will belong to me.

Amelia Earhart photo gallery: Amelia 1926

Save the day: premiere of Wings on Oct 8, 2010

Wings
Written by Arthur Kopit
Directed by Sarah May
Starring Cleveland theater legend Dorothy Silver
OCTOBER 8 - NOVEMBER 7, 2010

Step inside the brain of Emily Stillson as she experiences a potentially life-shattering stroke. Experience her journey as she draws the strength and courage from her early years as a daring aviatrix and wing-walker to soar to a triumphant recovery. Thrilling, funny and imaginative...everything you would expect from a Kopit play. Three talk-backs with stroke experts from the Cleveland area's top medical institutions will take place after the following performances: October 17, October 23, November 5. Before the play, be sure to see a special exhibition in Beck's lobby about women in flight organized by the International Women's Air & Space Museum.

___________________
International Women's Air & Space Museum | 1501 North Marginal Road | Room 165, Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland | OH | 44114

New exhibit at Cleveland's International Women's Air and Space Museum

From the IWASM website:

Virginia Thomas was born in 1922 in Springfield, Ohio. In 1943, while working for Bauer Bros. Co. she, along with other employees, formed the 105 Aero Club at Springfield Municipal Airport in an effort to promote aviation. In January 1944 Virginia made her first solo flight. When Virginia was 34 she earned a commercial rating. In 1951 she won the Blanche Noyes Airmarking Trophy for getting 100 cities and towns in Ohio to paint the names of their towns on prominent buildings to help lost pilots find airports. Later in life, Virginia and her husband traveled around the country collecting historical data and books on women in aviation, a collection that is now housed at IWASM. Virginia Thomas is one of IWASM's 100 Ohio Women in Air & Space.

This special exhibit runs through January 2, 2011.

International Women's Air & Space Museum | 1501 North Marginal Road | Room 165, Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland | OH | 44114

Earhart photo gallery: Earhart at Langley Research Building

Group photo on the steps of the Langley Research Building in 1928.

Front row, left to right: E.A. Meyers, Elton Miller, Amelia Earhart, Henry Reid, and Lt. Col. Jacob W.S. Wuest.

Back row, left to right: Carlton Kemper, Raymond Sharp, Thomas Carroll, (unknown person behind A.E.), and Fred Weick.

To her left are Henry Reid and Co. Jacob Wuest, Langley base commander.

PR: Thunder Mustang Kits Available Soon!

Dean Holt Construction, L.L.C. of Mount Vernon, WA purchased assets and is soon to start kit production.

www.thundermustang.com

September 17th, 2010, Reno, NV. - The Thunder Builders Group, LLC is very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Dean Holt Construction L.L.C. of Mount Vernon, WA to buy the Thunder Mustang molds and intellectual property. Production of this incredible, high performance P51 replica kit will begin shortly.



The Thunder Builders Group was formed with the primary goal of assuring our members the delivery of all the parts necessary to complete their kits after Papa51 Ltd. ran into financial difficulties in 1999. Once we successfully accomplished this goal, our focus was then directed to preserving the assets required to someday see this authentic P-51D replica go back into production. This day is now here.



Additionally, much experience has been gained by the builders of the 17 flying Thunder Mustangs. This operating experience will significantly reduce the time required to restart operations and deliver a quality kit. The Thunder Builders Group

will continue to work with Dean to help ensure his success.



Dean has been involved in aviation since 1968 and operates a successful FBO out of Skagit Regional Airport (BVS), Washington. Dean has extensive experience as a pilot, including corporate and airline flying. Dean’s interest in the Thunder Mustang began in 1997 when Dan Denney was looking for investors in Papa 51, Ltd. Although he did not make an investment at that time, Dean has continued to follow the development of the Thunder Mustang.

Thunder Mustangs have been regular competitors at the Reno Air Races over the past 10 years. This year, two Thunder Mustangs are competing in the Super Sport Class and are approaching speeds of 400 mph.

Email inquiries should be sent to sales@thundermustang.com, or call Dean Holt at 360-202-6271

RUTH phoo added

INITIATED INTO THE LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA BREAKFSAST CLUB, RIDING THE CLUBS STEEDS. LEFT TO RIGHT: LOUISE THADEN, PITTSBURGH, PA; MARJORIE CRAWFORD, HOLLYWOOD, CA; BOBBY TROUT, LOS ANGELES, CA AND RUTH ELDER, BEVERLY HILLS, CA. TAKEN August-1929. This would be a fantastic addition to your collection! It is a reproduction 8 x 10 inch glossy real photo with white border. It is crisp and clear and perfect focus. You will love it! --------------------ABOUT RUTH ----------------------------------------------Ruth Elder was a twenty-three year old, some-time actress when she heard of "Lucky Lindy's" flight from New York, to Paris. She made up her mind that she would be the first "Lady Lindy," the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Her stage critics and others immediately held her in ridicule when she made her announcement. Some called her proposed flight a publicity stunt, prompted by Lindbergh's success and designed to help her acting career. In part, they were probably right. The publicity generated by her announcement was good exposure for her career. However, it was more than that. Elder was out to prove that a woman was equal to a man. It was that simple. The ocean crossing that lay ahead of her was far from simple, however. Ruth Elder was a very deliberate person. In plotting her routes, she made doubly sure to avoid the worst of the Atlantic storms. However, that was not good enough. In her headlong approach to this goal, she ignored some basic advice: to avoid the North Atlantic in winter. Sure, Lindbergh succeeded, but perhaps he was lucky. Everyone before him tried and failed. Elder's backers urged her to wait until spring, but other women were preparing to attempt the flight also. She did not want to lose out to one of them; she tasted the victory. She was going to be the first. Elder chose a Stinson "Detroiter" airplane. It had been proven for its ability in long distance flying. She called it the American Girl. "Looking back," she said, "perhaps my drive to succeed clouded my judgment. The weather was awful. My choice of copilot, George Halderman, was as deliberate as my choice of airplane. He was one of the best pilots of the day." Because of the rash of accidents that occurred at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, plus the fact that Elder did not have a pilot's license, the owner of the field refused to let her take off. He only backed off after she agreed to have her copilot, Halderman, pilot the plane while she acted as copilot. Elder remembers, "On October 11, 1927 in spite of bad weather, we took off. The American Girl carried 520 gallons of fuel, enough for 48 hours of flying time." Lindbergh made the flight in 21 hours, 40 minutes, and Elder felt the American Girl would make it even if they ran into worse weather conditions. The press at first did not take her seriously. Elder, they were sure, was just an attractive actress and liberated woman looking for publicity. They downplayed it until they realized that on October 13, the American Girl was overdue. Then they splashed the front pages with headlines voicing concern and wishes for her safe arrival. The newspapers sold out when they hit the streets. The New York Times reported, "Everybody in France is eager to see this audacious girl succeed in proving that she is not a weak woman. If she does succeed, that lovely American will have a triumph as great as Lindbergh's. The daring and self-confidence of that American girl has imbued public opinion with the conviction that she will succeed. There will be no ... pessimistic predictions that sought to discourage flights since the recent scenes of transatlantic disasters." Elder was almost successful in the dangerous crossing. The American Girl flew for 28 hours through storms during most of the trip over the Atlantic. Elder and Halderman flew within 360 miles of the Azores. An oil leak forced them to land in the water. Elder anticipated the possibility of a water landing and charted her course near the active shipping lanes. A Dutch oil tanker rescued them a short time after they ditched. They found a tumultuous welcome in Paris, and again in New York. But not everyone hailed her valiant and brave attempt as heroic. Katherine Davis, a sociologist, agreed with many of the male attitudes about flying and said publicly, "There is no woman alive today equipped for such a flight. She should not have even attempted such foolishness." In a few short years, Amelia Earhart proved Davis embarrassingly wrong. Elder continued flying and in 1929, she came in fifth in the First Women's Air Derby. Elder then retired from aviation and went on to become a successful Hollywood actress. She was married 6 times. ---------------------------------------------------------I will ship in a photo mailer for safety. (Note: ONLYCLASSICS-WEB-IMAGE print-does not appear on product-only on scan)In other words-the photo you get has no writing on it. Check out my other auctions for other great special interest, auto racing and motorcycle prints, posters and photos. Thanks for looking!..p1643

Amelia Earhart Photo Gallery: Amelia in her Autogiro

In 1932, Amelia flew an autogyro across country. This photo was taken in Los Angeles.

Earhart Photo Gallery: Earhart in Ireland

Amelia Earhart landed at Culmore, in Northern Ireland on May 21, 1932. To her lefts are Mr. & Mrs. Laughlin, who were among the first to greet her after her flight. Amelia is holding a stack of congrulatory telegrams.

Assembling a Women Aviator's Collection Via Ebay

You can find practically anything on Ebay, even autographs and photos and other memorabilia from women aviators. Not nearly so many as you'd find for male aviators, but they're out there.

Beware - the days of getting bargains onm Ebay is pretty much exhausted. Ebay sellers find that people will pay exorbitant prices for items that are in "poor" condition, so of course they set minimums as high as they can.

But, if you want the item, you want the item.

There seems to always be a lot of stuff for Amelia Earhart. A search today reveals:

1,261 results found for Amelia Earhart

The results range from photographs cut out of vintage newspapers, to actual photos, to Amelia Earhart liggage, to books.


For WASP

13 results found for women airforce service pilots

And for "Women Pilots"

961 results found for women pilots

Of these, quite a few are "sexy adult costumes" for stewardesses and for pilots, presumably for use only at Hallowe'en, but other items that came up were pilot, watches, Soviet Women pilot postcards, advertisements featuring women pilots, and so on.

As for specific pilots (apart from the world-famous Amelia Earhart):


Katherine Stinson - there was a 1919 article about her form The American Magazine. You can't go get this one, because I've just bought it! [But it is outrageous. They're charging $18.95 for the article - you dont' even get the magazine! Talk about price gouging. But...if you want it you want it.)

Pancho Barnes

3 items - form the Valerie Bertinelli movie

Jackie Cochran

33 results found for jackie cochran
Mostly books about her, but a couple of photos

If you're interested in a particular aviator, do a search by her name, but also try "woman pilot" and "woman aviator" and other permutations, just to see if someone's offering a photo of a woman pilot, without knowing the identity of the person in the photo.

LPGA Tournaments in October

Yikes! This was supposed to go into a different blog...but as long as I posted it, I'll leave it stand.

Golf is fun to play, but boring to watch, unless you make it personal by choosing someone whom you want to win (or someone you want to lose!) and then keepign track of them throughout the day!

Oct 07 - Oct 10
Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV
Prattville, Ala. - $1,300,000

Oct 07 6:30-8:30 PM ET GC (Golf Channel)
Oct 08 6:30-8:30 PM ET GC
Oct 09 6:30-8:30 PM ET GC
Oct 10 6:30-8:30 PM ET GC

Defending chamption is Lorena Ochoa


Oct 14 - Oct 17
CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge
Danville, CA - $1,100,000

Oct 14 7:30-9:30 PM ET GC
Oct 15 7:30-9:30 PM ET GC
Oct 16 7:30-9:30 PM ET GC
Oct 17 7:30-9:30 PM ET GC

Defending champion: Sophie Gustafson

World’s only Flying “Flying Platform” Goes on Sale

September 20, 2010, Anderson, Indiana, USA: US innovator AirBuoyant is offering its refreshed and enhanced prototype flying platform, the VertiPod 2 (N6172N, formerly the PAM 100B Individual Lifting Vehicle), for sale to someone or some museum that will appreciate it.

With its contra-rotating rotors below the pilot and a new protective pilot’s “cage” installed, the twin-engine VP2 is ready for flight or further development. With some 200 Hirth-supplied horsepower available through a modified Volvo marine transmission, the VP2 is ready to go to the next step of development. Recent improvements include that pilot’s cage, simplified controls, new rotor blades, and a new, improved main frame.

The VP2’s throttle is directly controlled by the pilot, who also directs trajectory with his weight-shifting. The VP2 can skim over flat or rutted ground, grass, sand, or water, at speeds of 20mph or more; and its useful load allows full fuel plus 400 pounds, making it possible to add instrumentation or equipment in further development.

AirBuoyant President and founder Pete Bitar says, “This platform has shown us what we need to know, to proceed with a commercial version. While it’s obviously not a cross-country machine, it is clearly a unique aircraft, the only flying platform with a proven flight record, that is not ‘missing or in a museum.’ I hope that someone will continue to enjoy, or even develop this machine; or that an appropriate museum can be interested in it.”

The VP2 is being offered either as a one-off aircraft, or in an enhanced package that includes design and documentation, for someone who is interested in the full history and possible commercial application.

Bitar is not getting out of the flying platform business, but he is concentrating on his new models, including a possible ultralight (Part 103-conforming) platform. Bitar also concedes that he is open to an “interesting” trade, possibly of a GA aircraft for business use.


Qualified Parties Contact
Pete Bitar (pete@airbuoyant.com)
AirBuoyant, LLC
282 Airport Road
Anderson, IN 46017
USA

More: www.airbuoyant.com

Video: http://airbuoyant.com/VP2/

Late Billings aviator to be honored at Billings Logan

Billings Gazette: The widower of a WASP pilot will receive a medal on Tuesday in recognition of her service during World War II.

Ken Rolle of Billings will receive a bronze replica of the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of his late wife, Marjorie, who flew 22 months with the Women’s Airforce Service Pilot’s program.

The medal is the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. Congress. The original gold medal was presented to the WASPs as a unit in March in Washington, D.C., and has been donated to the Smithsonian Institution.

The ceremony will be at Billings Logan International Airport, a fitting location because the airport was named after Marjorie’s father, Dick Logan, who sold land to the city for the facility.

Logan also managed the airport for 33 years until his death in 1957.

Marjorie Logan Rolle, the oldest of four Logan daughters, grew up in Billings at a ranch on top of the Rimrocks near the airport.

Dick Logan introduced Marjorie to every famous aviator, including Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, who flew through Billings.

“He’d call me at school, and I’d come up to the airport” when celebrities arrived, Marjorie said in a 1988 interview with The Billings Gazette.

When Marjorie wasn’t in school, she helped her mother, who ran the airport’s restaurant, bummed airplane rides and “worshiped pilots as all girls do,” she said.

After graduating from high school, she took flying lessons and earned her pilot’s license in 1940.

After working in Seattle for the Civil Aeronautics Administration, which later became the Federal Aeronautics Administration, she joined the WASPs in 1943.

Gen. H.H. “Hap” Arnold, commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces, founded the group. More than 1,000 women flew 60 million noncombat miles during the war.

Although trained by the Army, the women remained civilians and weren’t recognized as veterans until the late 1970s.

During her service, Marjorie was a pilot and co-pilot on planes that ranged from single-engine Piper Cubs to B-24 “liberator” bombers, testing the planes and ferrying them from factories to U.S. airbases.

The day the WASPs were disbanded on Dec. 20, 1944, “was the saddest day of my life,” Marjorie told The Gazette. “I really wanted to stay in.”

After the war, Marjorie continued her interest in aviation.

She joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves, retiring as a major. She was active in the Civil Air Patrol and became one of the charter members of the Montana Chapter of the “Ninety-Nines” the first organization of female pilots founded by Earhart.

Marjorie also worked for the Federal Aviation Administration.

She married Ken, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, after the war. He managed airports in Montana and California before the couple retired to Montana.

Marjorie died in 2002 at the age of 86.

PR: New special exhibition commemorating Texas aviation

On exhibit September 12, 2010 through January 9, 2011, Tango Alpha Charlie: Texas Aviation Celebration will tell the story of Texas aviation—past, present, and future—in a new, special exhibition that will brag on the dynamic achievements of Texas aviators, designers, manufacturers, and services.

Here's the PR:

tory to be Told at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum September 2010

AUSTIN, TX, August 2010–The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is embarking on a mission to tell a truly uplifting story with a dramatic and unprecedented special exhibition commemorating Texas aviation history titled, Tango Alpha Charlie: Texas viation Celebration.

The history of aviation in Texas is the story of industry innovation, record-setting achievements, gravity-defying feats, and the soaring human spirit. Texas has been, and continues to be, a leader in manufacturing, hospitality, science exploration, and scholarship, pushing the global economy year after year with new research and billions of dollars in revenue.

The year 2010 marks the centennial of flight in Texas. Since Frenchman Louis Paulhan’s first flight in Texas on February 18, 1910, Texas has been on the leading edge of aviation. The first U.S. military flight was in March 1910 from Fort Sam Houston, beginning Texas’s long tradition of military aviation. The first person to build and fly a plane in Texas was L.L. Walker Jr. in Houston, exemplifying the spirit that has driven the aviation industry in Texas ever since.

On exhibit September 12, 2010 through January 9, 2011, Tango Alpha Charlie: Texas Aviation Celebration will tell the story of Texas aviation—past, present, and future—in a special exhibition that will brag on the dynamic achievements of Texas aviators, designers, manufacturers, and services. The exhibition is organized by guest curator Barbara Ganson Ph.D., a professor of aviation history.

Included in the exhibit are 5 large scale models of aircraft including an AT-6 Texan, B-24 Liberator, Southwest Airlines Lone Star One, Mooney Acclaim Type S, a Bell V-22 Osprey, and a 1/2 scale Vought F-4U-4 Corsair.

Visitors can try their hand at flying a Curtiss Jenny, an AT-6 Texan, and a Bell XV-3 tiltrotor helicopter through interactive video simulators.

There are over 120 objects in the exhibit spanning everything from Benjamin Foulois's logbook detailing his first military flights in 1910, flight suits worn by Howard Hughes and Katharine Hepburn in the 1930s, astronaut Ed White's helmet from Gemini 4, and Jeana Yeager's ponytail from when she cut her hair to reduce weight on the non-stop round-the-world flight of Voyager in 1986, to uniforms from various Texas based commercial airlines, and a non-ablative rocket engine that will change the future of space travel.

With multimedia interactivity, artifacts, original research, and hands-on experiences for all ages, this exhibition will serve as the next great chapter in the already rich story of Texas aviation.

Support for this exhibit is provided by: The Boeing Company; Hillwood, A Perot Company; Lockheed Martin Corporation; NASA Texas Space Grant Consortium; Triumph Aerostructures-Vought Aircraft Division; American Eurocopter; Aviation and Space Foundation of Texas; Bell Helicopter; Continental Airlines; Powerhouse Animation; and Southwest Airlines.

Admission to the Museum’s exhibits, including Tango Alpha Charlie: Texas Aviation Celebration:
$7.00 for adults,
$6.00 for seniors/military/college students (with valid ID),
$4 for youth ages 5-18,
free
for ages 4 and under.

For more information, visit TheStoryofTexas.com.

ABOUT THE BOB BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM

The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in downtown Austin, Texas, tells the Story of Texas with three floors of interactive exhibits, the special effects show “The Star of Destiny” in the Texas Spirit Theater, and Austin’s only IMAX® Theatre featuring the signature large-format film “Texas: The Big Picture.” The
Education Department brings the Museum to life through engaging, fun, and educational programming for a wide variety of audiences. The Museum also has a Cafe with indoor and outdoor seating and a Museum Store with something for the Texan in everyone. The driving force behind the creation of the Texas State History Museum was former Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock. The Museum is a division of the State Preservation Board.