Buzz
After exploring the autobiography of Chuck Yeager, I found myself not only captivated by his adventures but also by those of a lifelong friend and female pilot. Featured on this list, she emerged as a true pioneer and adventurer during an era when women faced considerable challenges in a male-dominated industry. Over nearly a century, these women should be honored for their resilience and their remarkable skills as aviators.
10. Svetlana Savitskaya
As the first woman to walk in space, Svetlana Savitskaya was born on August 8, 1948, in Moscow. She began her journey in aviation with parachuting at a young age, completing 450 jumps and achieving a record for a 14 km free fall before turning 18. She attended the Moscow Aviation Institute and became licensed to fly 20 different aircraft. Savitskaya set a women’s speed record of 2,683 km/h in a MiG-21. Joining the Soviet space program, she became a cosmonaut in 1980. She made history as the second woman in space, aboard Soyuz T-7, and later spent time on the Salyut 7 space station. While on the Salyut 7, she participated in the first spacewalk by a woman, which lasted just over three and a half hours. She retired from the Russian space program in 1993, having been honored twice with the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
9. WASPs/WAAFs
The United States Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAFs) were established to provide women pilots with opportunities in roles traditionally dominated by men. The WASPs trained 1,074 pilots to transport planes between factories and airbases, thus allowing male pilots to focus on combat and other military duties. They also flew cargo planes and towed target planes for training exercises. Although civilians, these women were trained to operate nearly all the military aircraft used during WWII. Sadly, 38 WASP pilots lost their lives in training or active service accidents, but they were not afforded military funerals. The WAAFs, at their peak, numbered over 180,000 women. Members of the WAAF took on roles in the Air Transport Auxiliary, and also performed crucial non-flying tasks such as packing parachutes, working with radar and communications, and directing planes during the defensive Battle of Britain.
8. Amy Johnson
A British aviator, Amy Johnson earned both her pilot and ground engineer’s licenses in 1929. Soon after, she embarked on long-distance, record-setting flights. She became the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia, the first (along with Jack Humphries as co-pilot) to fly from London to Moscow, and set speed records for flights to Japan and Cape Town, South Africa. During WWII, Johnson joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), piloting military aircraft between air bases, factories, and Maintenance Units. On January 5, 1941, while flying from RAF Prestwick in Ayrshire to RAF Kidlington in Oxfordshire, she was forced to ditch her plane in the Thames Estuary after running out of fuel and veering off course. There has been speculation about the circumstances of her death, including the possibility of friendly fire or the theory that she was on a secret mission when her plane crashed. She was the first ATA casualty in the war, but her body was never recovered.
7. Sabiha Gokcen
Sabiha Gokcen made history as the first Turkish woman to earn a pilot's license and the first woman globally to fly a plane in combat. She learned to fly at Turk Kusu, a Turkish Civilian Aviation School, before receiving further training in Russia. Gokcen piloted bombers for the Eskisehir First Aircraft Regiment, taking part in combat missions during the Dersim Rebellion of 1937. In 1938, she became the Senior Instructor at Turk Kusu School of Aviation, a role she held until 1955. Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport is named in her honor.
6. Harriet Quimby
In August 1911, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to obtain a pilot's license in the United States. As a journalist and screenwriter, she rose to minor celebrity status and had a significant impact on women in the early aviation scene. Although her flying career was short, it featured her historic crossing of the English Channel, making her the first woman to achieve this feat. On April 16, 1912, she piloted a 50 HP monoplane from Dover, England, to Hardelot-Plage in Pas-de-Calais. Unfortunately, her accomplishment was overshadowed by the tragic news of the RMS Titanic sinking just a day earlier. On July 1, 1912, Quimby lost her life during an airshow in Massachusetts when her plane went into a steep dive, resulting in both her and her passenger falling to their deaths.
5. Raymonde de Laroche
Raymonde de Laroche was the first woman globally to receive a pilot's license, being awarded license number 36 by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on March 8, 1910. She competed in the Coupe Femina, winning the 1913 competition with a flight that lasted over 4 hours. In 1919, she set two world records for women: the longest flight distance of 201 miles and the highest altitude reached at 15,700 feet. Tragically, on July 18, 1919, she died in an accident while flying an experimental aircraft, which crashed during a landing attempt.
4. Helene Dutrieu
Helene Dutrieu was a fearless adventurer from a young age, known for her daring pursuits in bicycle, motorcycle, and car racing. Her first flying experience did not go as planned, as she crashed her plane during takeoff. However, she later achieved solo flight and earned her pilot’s license from the Aero Club of Belgium on November 25, 1910, becoming the fourth woman in the world and the first Belgian woman to do so. She quickly began breaking records for both altitude and distance. Dutrieu became the first woman to fly for more than an hour and the first woman to fly with a passenger. In 1910, she won the Coupe Femina with a flight lasting 2 hours and 35 minutes, securing a 2000 franc prize for the longest flight time that year. For her outstanding contributions to aviation, she was awarded the prestigious Légion d'Honneur (French Legion of Honor).
3. Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran, the inspiration for this list, earned her pilot's license in 1932. A natural-born aviator, she initially used her passion for flying to promote her own cosmetics brand, “Wings.” In 1934, she entered the world of racing and became the first woman to compete in the Bendix Race, which she won in 1937. The race, a point-to-point contest from Los Angeles, CA to Cleveland, OH, earned her a $9000 prize. Before the US entered WWII, she proposed a program to have women pilots serve in non-combat roles, similar to the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA). This initiative led her to become the director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Cochran received the Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for her efforts. A lifelong friend of Chuck Yeager, she was the first woman to break the sound barrier, with Yeager in the chase plane. Throughout her career, she set more speed, altitude, and distance records than any other pilot, male or female, holding them until her death in 1980. Few, if any, had as great an influence on the era of modern aviation as Jacqueline Cochran.
2. Amelia Earhart
No list of women pioneers in aviation would be complete without Amelia Earhart, one of the most iconic aviators in history. Earhart was only the 16th woman to earn her pilot’s license, which she achieved on May 15, 1923. She became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger, a feat that turned her into a public figure. Earhart then became the first woman to fly across North America and the first to fly solo, non-stop, across the Atlantic. Her fame grew as she set more aviation records, and she set her sights on circumnavigating the globe. Although she was not the first to attempt it, her goal was to fly the longest route. Her first attempt was cut short after a crash on takeoff, with some attributing the incident to pilot error. Her second attempt ended in one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. During the final leg of her journey, from Oakland, CA to Miami, FL, her plane disappeared while approaching Howland Island in the central Pacific. Many theories and controversies have emerged regarding her disappearance.
1. Bessie Coleman
Elizabeth 'Bessie' Coleman, an African American trailblazer, overcame numerous obstacles to become the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license. Faced with discrimination and being unable to attend flight schools in the United States, she learned French and traveled to Paris to pursue her aviation dreams. On June 15, 1921, she earned her pilot’s license and returned to the US, where she performed daring stunts and demonstrations at air shows. A fierce advocate for equality, she pushed to desegregate air shows in the South, demanding equal facilities for all. Although her life was tragically cut short by a plane crash in 1926, Bessie Coleman is remembered as a key figure in breaking both racial and gender barriers in the early days of aviation.
