It’s Women’s History Month: time to celebrate the triumphs of the high and the mighty, as well as lesser-known lights.
Aviation has always been a beacon for women, an arena where they could soar above the pride and prejudice down below and carve their own arcs across the heavens. Amelia Earhart remains the realm’s enduring superstar, some 75 years after she disappeared over the far reaches of the Pacific on a round-the-world journey. This lady captured the imagination of a generation yearning for heroes. Our fascination with her exploits endures today – not just because she and her navigator mysteriously vanished, but because of the sheer audacity of their exploit.
Explore the legacy of Earhart and her sister aviators at Cleveland’s International Women’s Air & Space Museum (IWASM). It’s easy to find, just seconds away from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Here, see how women such as Ruth Nichols, Bessie Coleman, Harriet Quimby, Katherine Wright and the legendary Jackie Cochran rocked the clubby world of early 20th century aviation, paving the runway for generations to come.
There’s ample evidence they succeeded. When Earhart flew, the ranks of commercial airline pilots were populated virtually solely by men. This past weekend, as this reporter boarded a US Airways Express flight from Cleveland to Charlotte, I peeked around the cockpit door. In the right-hand seat of the CRJ-900, wearing a stylish leather jacket and aviator sunglasses sat the female first officer, our co-pilot. The point? Simply this: not terribly long ago, passengers would have commented on the fact, maybe asked a question or two about why she was there. Not now. Not anymore. Her acceptance on the flight deck, and that of her sisters, is a fait acompli, one that’s rooted in the accomplishments of those who flew before.
Story by Jerry Chandler
