Ruth Alexander

Visit www.youflygirl.com for more info on women pilots.


Ruth Blaney Alexander was born on May 18, 1905 and died on September 18, 1930.

Info about her on the web
She has an entry at Wikipedia.
On September 9, 1929, Ruth had an introductory flight at Ryan Field in San Diego, California.

She became the 65th licensed woman pilot in the U.S.

On November 18, 1929, less than 24 hours after receiving her license, she took off from Lindbergh Field in SAn Diego in a Great Lakes biplane and continued climbing to what she believed was an altitude of better than 18,000 feet. Twas later recognized as a new official altitude record for women in light planes of 15,718 feet.

On February 16, 1930, she qualified for a United States second-class glider license from the slopes of Mount Soledad, near La Jolla, California. In doing so she followed Anne Morrow Lindbergh as the second woman in the United States to achieve this distinction.

Ruth made a perfect flight using a primary glider lasting 2 minutes, 33 and 2/5 seconds.

On July 4, 1930, she flew her Barling NB-3 light aircraft (serial number 52, U.S. Department of Commerce registration number 880M) to 21,000 feet, however this was an unofficial record. In the spring of 1930, she became a glider instructor -- the first woman in the United States to hold this position.

On July 11, 1930, Ruth took off at 1:34 p.m. in the Barling from Lindbergh Field. After briefly losing consciousness at extreme altitudes, she established a new world record in light planes (both men and women) of 26,600 feet at the apex of the flight. The American record held prior to her flight was set by D. S. Zimmerly (male) at an altitude of 24,074 feet over St. Louis, Missouri on February 16, 1930.

Ruth died on September 18, 1930 when her NB-3 Barling struck a hillside shortly after takeoff on from Lindbergh Field, San Diego. She had been on a scheduled cross-country flight to New York City via Wichita, Kansas.

She had been married for just a few months, to Robert A Elliott, a Naval reserve pilot (and apparently had been married twice before).

Times printed a brief obituary:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,740428-4,00.html



Media that references Alexander:
Carlson, D (1978) "Women in San Diego...a History in Photographs" The Journal of San Diego History, Vo. XXIV, No. 3.
Fogel, Gary (2001) "Wind and Wings: The History of Soaring in San Diego" RockReef Press, San Diego
Fogel, Gary and Lindemer, Grant (2007) "Ruth Blaney Alexander: A Dream of Wings" Quiet Flyer, Vol. No. 8, pp. 22-27.
"Girl Flies Up 20,000 Feet," The Irving Leader, July 11, 1930.
"Ruth Blaney Alexander Will be in Irving Soon," The Irving Leader, September 12, 1930.
"Cracked Up," The Irving Leader, September 19, 1930.
"Ruth Blaney Alexander," Advocate Democrat, September 25, 1930.
"Left Pathos When Crashed to Death," Marshall Co. News, September 26, 1930.
"Hall of Fame Beckoned to Ruth," Marshall Co. News, September 26, 1930.
"Struggles Led the Way to Her Success," Marshall Co. News, September 26, 1930.

Sue Parish

Sue Parish is one of the women pilots whose photos appear in the new IWASM Museum playing cards.

According to the ID on the card, she is "one of 1st women warbird pilots on airshow circuit, and co-founder of the Air Zoo." www.airzoo.org/

Read up on her in this article at the Wings Across America website: http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/resources/parish.pdf

Visit this website to see a photo of her today:

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/231218/M/

N777SU (cn G-18) Sue Parish taking shots of the crowd after her performance at the Kalamazoo Air Show. She's flying a Beech T-34A Mentor (A45)

If you play Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator II, you can put in her Pink P-40 (which is currently on display at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo.)
http://www.wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/free/pinkp40.htm

Other info:
EAA WARBIRDS OF AMERICA HALL OF FAME
(established 1995)
1995: Paul Poberezny, Walt Ohlrich, John Baugh, Bill Harrison, Jerry Walbrun
1996: Dick Dieter, Charlie Nogle
1997: Sue Parish, Rudy Frasca, Jeff Ethell
1998: John Ellis, Randy Sohn
1999: William Dodds, Richard Ervin
2000: Dave Schlingman
2001: Lincoln Dexter, Edward Maloney
2002: Frank C. Sanders
2003: Chuck Doyle, Lloyd Parker Nolen
2004: Howard Pardue

International Women's Air & Space Museum playing Cards

Got my playing cards today, the second edition.

Visit their site at: http://iwasm.org/
Visit their shop at: http://womensairandspacemuseum.com/eshop/

This pack includes photos of:

Sue Parish - co-founder, Air Zoo
Ruth Alexander (1905-1930)
Mary R. Creason - Michigan aviator
Judith Resnik (1949-1986) astronaut
Amy Laboda - aviation journalist
Mary Regalbuto Jones (1922-2004)
Willa Brown (1906-1992) 1st black woman licensed in US. (Bessie Coleman was licensed in France)
Blanche Noyes (1900-1981)
Evelyn Bryan Johnson - instructor
Capt Jammie Jamieson - first female F-22 Raptor pilot
Galina Korchuganova (1935-2004) Founder Aviatrissa-Russian women's aviation organization
Valentina Tereshkova - first woman in Space
Wilma Fritschy (no photo)
Doris Scott (1918-1998) IWASM president, 1976-1985
Hanna Reitsch (1912-1979) Glider pilot, Whirly Girl #1
Florence Boswell (1894-1968)- 1st woman flight instructor,Ohio
Fran Bera - 7 time Powder Puff Derby winner
Patricia Hange - co-owner Lenox Flight School
Harriet Hamilton - co-owner, Lenox
Sarah Ratley - one of Mercury 13
WAFS: Evelyn Sharp, Barbara Towne, Nancy Love, B.J. Erickson
Pamela Ann Melroy - 2nd woman commander, space shuttle
125th Guards - Soviet women's WWII Dive Bomber Regiment - flew 1,134 combat missions
Pat Brady - airborne traffic controller.
Zoe Dell Lantis - official hostess, 1939-40 SFO World's fair
Patty Wagstaff - 1st US Nstl Aerobatic champion
Libby Mele (1917-2000) one of the first female air traffic controllers in the US
Louise G. Vamos (1907-2001), Clebelabds first female commercial pilot
Elizabeth Schwenkler - 1st woman US National soaring champion - 2006
Edna Gardner Whyte - champion air racer
Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout (1906-2003) record setter, 1929
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001), 1st US licensed glidr pilot
Mercury 13 (7 standing in a group)
Ruth Shafer Fleischer - WASP
Edith Dizon - first female Filipina pilot
Phoebe Omlie (1902-1975), 1st female transcontinental air racer
Peggy Whitson - 1st female commander of the Space Station
IWASM Founders (5 standing)
Marjorie N. Gorman - commercial and helicopter pilot
Kay Brick (1910-1995) WASP
Helen MacCloskey (1909-1977) World speed record holder 1935
Mary Fecser (1912-1986) - air racer
Sally Ride - 1st American woman in space
Helen Sammon - IWASM trustee
Virginia M. Schweizer - 1947 World Women's Altitude Record - Soaring Hall of Fame
Nicole Malachowski - 1st female US Air Force Thunderbird pilot
Wally Funk - Mercury 13
2 of the Night Witches
Nancy Batson Crews (1920-2001) one of the original WAFS
Jerrie Cobb - one of the Mercury 13
Elizabeth McQueen (1876-1958) - founder of WIAA
Barbara Donahue Ross (b. 1920) WAFS #16
Marion P. Jayne (1926-1996) FAI Gold Medalist WOrld Air Race, First Century of Flight Aviation Hero

Support the International Women's Air and Space Museum

If you're on the internet, I'd say there's a good probability that you use yahoo.com to search for various websites.

Well, from now on, why not bookmark and use goodsearch.com instead. It's the Yahoo search engine, but by using it, you can earn money for a charity or cause - depending on which one you put in the appropriate box.

http://www.goodsearch.com/Default.aspx

For myself, I put in International Women's Air & Space Museum.

(Despite the instructions on the IWASM website, just inputting "iwasm" didn't work. You need to put in the full name of the Museum.)

After that, just search as you normally do, and a little bit of money will go to the IWASM. (So little, in fact, that it only helps if lots and lots of people use this particular search engine, but hopefully all my readers here will start to do so. ; )) Heck, every little bit helps.

OT: Women's Marathon Winner Loses!

This doesn't make any sense, but this is what happened.

At Women's Marathon, fastest time didn't win
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL
There were over 20,000 competitors in Sunday's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. And 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women.

But she didn't win.

No one seemed exactly sure what to do. The trophies had already been handed out and the official results announced. Now organizers seem to be hoping it will all go away.

"At this point," Nike media relations manager Tanya Lopez said Monday, "we've declared our winner."

O'Connell said some race officials actually implied she'd messed up the seeding by not declaring herself an "elite" runner.

"If you're feeling like you're going to be a leader," race producer Dan Hirsch said Monday, "you should be in the elite pack."

So this is her fault? O'Connell was just being modest.

"I'm a good, solid runner," she said. "I never considered myself elite."

Jim Estes, associate director of the long-distance running program for USA Track and Field, did his best to explain the ruling. He's had some practice with the issue. The Sunday before last, at the Chicago Marathon, a Kenyan named Wesley Korir pulled off a similar surprise, finishing fourth even though he wasn't in the elite group and started five minutes after the top runners.

Read the whole article to see exactly what happpened.

Comments are allowed on this article, and many people are saying that Arien O'Connell should sign with some shoe company other than Nike and make a bundle.

I don't know that I'd buy a shoe with her name on it just because of this...but I have to say I'm not too impressed with the people Nike hires to run their marathons...

And one wouldn've thought the three women who were called the winners would have handed back their prize money, regardless...

OT: Popular Mechanics magazine, October 2008

My dad gets this magazine, and when he's done with it, he gives it to me.

I haven't got a mechanical bent, but I enjoy reading about all the types of stuff they cover (and for that matter, my sister does have a mechanical bent.)

Anyway, so on the cover of this particular issue, the "Special DIY Mega Issue" the blurb is of course:

100 Skills Every Man Should Know

and the list they have on the cover:

Fix a leak
Pilot a boat
Weld steel
Fell a tree
Shoot straight
Mix concrete
Drive off-road
Work with wood
Escape a sinking car

And I'm thinking... is there a reason why women shouldn't know these things?

I mean, women are supposed to be such bad drivers compared to men, shouldn't they know how to get out of a sinking car should they be silly enough to drive into a lake or something? Or do the editors of Popular Mechanics think only men are stupid enough to do that?

Well, at least among the 100 things they include inside the issue are How to iron a shirt, How to change a diaper, Teaching your Kids to Ride a Bike and Fish, Sew a button, and use a sewing machine ("on camping gear, light tarps, kites and myriad other manly stuff.")

OT: The Curious Boy's Book of Adventure

OT: The Curious Boy's Book of Adventure: 100 Hi-jinks and Escapades

I was browsing through my local library's book shelves a few days ago when I came across this little gem.

It was published in 2007.

And yet the author, Sam Martin, blithely targets this book of "Hi-jinks and Escapades," of "Adventure" for boys only, as if we still live in a time when boys got to have all the fun and girls sat at home with their knitting, waiting for a boy to call.

Well... we *do* live in that age still, unfortunately, for many girls who are brought up to believe the media hype that that is all they exist for, and so a book like this is needed much more for girls than for boys. But, of course, it's got the word "Boy's" in the title, so god forbid any girl should look at it and think, "Hey, why can't I do this stuff?"

But of course, there's the same old "stigma." She'd never be greeted by, "Oh, you want to be an adventurous girl?" No, it'd be, "Oh, you want to be a boy!"


Anyway, the book contains such things as:

Exploring - making a tent, rowing a boat, finding north without a compass

Hunting - making a bow and arro, fishing, bug hunting

Experiemting - cooking up slime, sending a secret message, making a telephome

Building - paper airplanes, model boats, a kite

Playing - spinning tops, playing marbles, climbing, training your dog

And you, Mr. Sam Martin, are telling me that curious girls can't enjoy this stuff just as well?