This week is National Women in Aviation week to honor the anniversary of the first female pilot’s license (March 8, 1910). The week comes just in time for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (yesterday) + will last until Sun., March 14, 2021.
To celebrate, here are six women representing the Sunshine State, who made waves in the aviation world:
Jacqueline Cochran
Jacqueline Cochran | Photo via Florida Memory
State Archives of Florida/State Archives of Florida
DeFuniak Springs native Jacqueline Cochran was a record-breaking female force + the first to fly quicker than the speed of sound in May of 1953. But that’s not all, this aviatrix held the record for the most speed, distance, and altitude out of any other female or male pilots at the time. During her record-breaking-streak, Jacqueline had “eight world speed, altitude, and distance records she set in 1961 in the Northrop T-38 Talon.”
Betty Skelton Frankman
Betty Skelton Frankman | Photo via Florida Memory
Betty Skelton Frankman was a Pensacola-born record-setter with a love for aviation and automotives. In fact, Betty established more conjoined records (in aviation + automotive), than any other record-setter in history — including performing an inverted aerial ribbon-cutting from 10 ft off the ground. She even ventured into aerospace, when she completed both the physical and psychological testing that NASA’s astronauts endured at the time.
Ruth Law
Ruth Law (right) in model “B” Wright airplane, Daytona Beach | Photo via Florida Memory
While Ruth Law did not hail from Florida originally, she did make waves as the first female pilot to fly a plane in the Sunshine State. Ruth flew from Daytona Beach up to Jacksonville’s Pablo Beach (now Jax Beach). Just a couple of years later, in her mid-twenties, this aviatrix became the first female pilot to perform the “loop-the-loop” and did so in Daytona.
Bessie Coleman
Bessie Coleman circa 1922 | Photo via National Archives
Bessie Coleman or “Queen Bess” found Florida to be her final resting place when she crashed in 1926 over Jacksonville’s Westside. Bessie was the first Black female pilot + the first Black female to hold an international pilot’s license. To commemorate her death, talks of a memorialized plaque at the Jacksonville International Airport were had, but at this time, it’s uncertain whether the memorial will come to fruition or not.
Patrice Clark-Washington
Patrice Clark-Washington Ebony Magazine feature | Screenshot via Ebony Magazine, Google Books
Patrice Clark-Washington may not hail from Florida originally, but the aviatrix was an alumna of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach — the first Black female graduate, that is. In addition to making history at Embry-Riddle, Patrice made history in the sky as the first Black female Captain for UPS’ airline. Go Eagles.
Shaesta Waiz
Shaesta Waiz, Fly Like a Girl film | Image via Indie Atlantic Films
Shaesta Waiz is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and later became the first certified civilian female pilot from Afghanistan. During her time at Embry-Riddle, Shaesta started the Women’s Ambassador Program and later founded her own organization, Dreams Soar Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating new generations of STEM + aviation experts. She now sits on the Wall of Honor at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
