Monday book: Girls Cant Be Pilots, by Margaret J. Ringenberg

Girls Can't Be Pilots, by Margaret J. Ringenberg with Jane L. Roth
Daedalus Press, 1998
299 pages, plus Appendix and Index. A few b&w photos scattered throughout the book.

Description:
From the day that she recieved the call to serve her country as a Woman's Air Force Pilot, Maggie Ray was off and flying and she hasn't stopped yet!

Margaret J. Rosenberg's dream took flight in the Women's Flying Training Detachment in 1943. More than fifty years later she is still living her dream. Readers will relate to her down-to-earth style as she shares her unique perspective on life as a female aviator. As a World War II ferry pilot, flight instructor, corporate pilot, and air racer, Mrs. Ringenberg has not only made history, set records, and won trophies; she has changed lives. All while doing what she loves-flying.

Margaret Ringenberg is an active pilot iwth more than 40,000 hours flying time. She holds both single-engine and multi-engine ratings. She began air racing in 1957, flying the last twenty Powder Puff Derbies and every Air Race Classic since 1977. In 1999 she fulfilled her dream of flying around the world. She is a native born Hoosier who is proud of the fact that except for her time in the military, she has never lived outside of Allen County, Indiana.

Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Part 1: Learning to Fly
1. Girld can't be pilots. CAn they?
2. What if the pilot has a heart attack?
3. I just want to fly
4. Things I never told my mother
5. Impossible Dream
Part II: Flying for my country
6. The WASP
7. Silver Wings, Silver Screen
8. A Near Washout
9. Wilmington
10. I fell off the roof
11. I'll not be home for Christmas
12. I'm coming straight in
13. Women need not apply
Part III. Mixing Flying and Family
14. After the WASP, what?
15. WASP stings timberwolf
17. What does your mommy do?
18. Let me tell you about the time
Part IV: Flying for the fun of it
19. Racing 101
20. Why aren't you flying
21. Get to the finish line first
22. Race with the sun
23. The Yellow-tired Champ
24. Winning isn't everything
25. But neither is losing
26. Number two is number one
27. North to Alaska
Part V: Flying for Hire
28. Adventure in Old Mexico
29. The Honky-tonk Blues
30. All work and no play? Hardly!
Part VI: Flying around the World
31. Opportunity Knocks
32. The Land down under
33. Weeds in the Garden of life
34. On our way...at last
35. And so on...

Appendix A - List of abbreviations
Appendix B - list of races
Appendix C - list of planes
Sources
Index

Sunday book: West to the Sunrise, by Grace Harris

West to the Sunrise, by Grace Harris
Iowa State University Press, 1980
209 pages, no index. A few b&w photos scattered throughout the book

Description
Grace Harris is one of those rare people who made her dreams become a reality. Ever since her first exposure to airplanes - a ride with a barnstorming pilot in a World WAr I "Jenny"-the thrill of flight has never left her. That initial flight was only the start of an adventurous life and illustrious career not only in aviation, but also ballooning, motor racing, and business. Her experiences, as told in West to the Sunrise, provides fascinating reading and present a first-hand story of aviation from Pear Harbor to the present.

Harris recalls all the tension and drama of airplane racing. She describes her feelings after winning the Kendall trophy at the 1948 National Air Races for women in Cleveland and then repeating her victory in 1949. She also introduces the reader to such aviation notables as Jimmy Doolittle, Jacqurline Cochran and Arlene Davis.

Joining the Sports Car Club in 1955, Harris drove an English Elva MKII and an Italian Maserati 200 S to the championship of the women's division Midwest Region in 1958, 1959 and 1960. Another part of her life was spent amidst the smoke and noise of competitive auto racing in such places as England, the French Riviera, and Monte Carlo.

Also, Harris was the first F.A.A.-licensed balloonist in the United States. Anyone who has ever risen in a hot-air balloon or wished they could will enjoy her vivid portrayal.

West to The Sunrise is a true-to-life adventure story as told by a champion woman pilot and racing car driver. Aviation and auto racing buffs of all ages will enjoy her captivating tales that span an era of rapid development of our flying and driving machines.

Table of Contents
Foreword by Major Brooke E. Allen, retired
Preface
1. Takeoff
2. The War Years
3. Wet WAter - Dry Desert
4. Pylon Polishing
5. Wreaths of Victory and Sorrow
6. The Glamourous World of Motor Racing
7. Federation Aeronautique Internbationale
8. Water, Water Everywhere
9. The Silent World
10. Spaghetti and Swiss Chocolate
11. Mexico City and Tel Aviv
12. Oktoberfest in Munich
13. Behind the Iron Curtain
14. Holding Pattern

PR: New Book about Pre-WWII Aircraft Mechanics

Pioneer Mechanics in Aviation, by Giacinta Bradley Koontz

Aurora, Colorado: On March 1, we’ll finally have a book devoted exclusively to the heretofore anonymous American mechanics of early aviation. That’s when Giacinta Bradley Koontz releases her latest book, Pioneer Mechanics in Aviation, which chronicles the exploits of airplane mechanics up to the start of World War II.

Each of the book’s 24 chapters tells of the fascinating stories of the men and women (yes, women!) who kept Wright Flyers, Blériots, Curtiss Pushers, and other wood-and-fabric aircraft flying. Beginning with the Wright brothers’ mechanic, Charles Taylor, Koontz reveals the life stories and contributions of these unsung heroes of aviation.

“This book captured my interest because it includes women pilots, like Katherine Stinson and Willa Brown, who were also good mechanics,” says Sue Hughes, owner of Powder Puff Pilot, a Denver-based web retailer that specializes in gear and accessories for women pilots. “Men have always outnumbered women pilots, but before World War II, a woman who knew how to use a wrench was especially rare.” Powder Puff Pilot retails the new release, along with many other books and DVDs by and about women pilots.

Koontz has written aviation history columns for several aviation magazines since 2006. (In 1995, Giacinta became Director of the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation and Museum in North Hollywood, California, where the Wright Brother’s mechanic, Charles Taylor, and other aviation pioneers are buried. Although the small Portal museum officially closed in 2001, Giacinta assisted in writing the first state resolution honoring Taylor with Aviation Maintenance Technician Day in California in 2002.

In 2006, Giacinta started a column featuring the untold stories of aviation mechanics for Aircraft Maintenance Technology Magazine. This column laid the foundation for her book, Pioneer Mechanics in Aviation, published in 2011.)

Although neither a pilot nor a mechanic, one of her editors wrote, “Her passion is aviation history and her gift is writing.” Koontz’s scholarly contributions to preserving aviation history have been recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution and professional maintenance technician associations, among others. Her first book was a biography of America’s first female licensed pilot, Harriet Quimby.

Pioneer Mechanics in Aviation: Softcover, 150pp. Dozens of vintage photographs and illustrations; references; an index of aircraft, engines, and people. Foreword by former NTSB Board Member, Hon. John Goglia. Price: $34.95. Now available for purchase at www.PowderPuffPilot.com.