Before Amelia (46 page)

CHAPTER 4

Melli Beese

Melli Beese has been discovered in the last twenty years. Articles in a variety of journals have told her story, most of them based on Adalbert Norden's romantic treatment,
Flügel am Horizont
(1939). The January 22, 1982,
Zeit
magazine provided a good account, with pictures; the March 1994
Flugzeug,
the January 1986
Fliegermagazin,
and the January 1994
Luft-und Raumfahrt
were helpful. A longish article by Hans Ahner, part of a Luftpost exhibition in Dresden, was a good source, but the best was Beese's account of flying in the pioneer days at Johannisthal—“Unser Flugplatz—in Memor iam”—from the May—June 1921
Motor.
It's the source for the chapter title. Barbara Spitzer's book,
Melli Beese: Bildhauerin, Pilotin—eine ungewohnliche Frau
(1992), from the Treptow Museum, was invaluable for setting the record straight on several points. Robert Gsell's book,
25 Jahre Luftkutscher
(1936), offers a brief glimpse of Beese; Peter Supf's
Das Buch der deutschen Fluggeschichte
(1935), is an excellent history of early German aviation, with comments on the women flying at that time. Günter Schmitt's two books,
Als de Oldtimer flogen
(1980) and
Die Ladys in den fliegenden Kisten
(1993), were helpful. Werner Schwipps's three works were good sources for flying in the pioneer days:
Kleine Geschichte der deutschen Luftfahrt
(1968),
Riesenzigarren und fliegende Kisten
(1984), and
Schwerer als Luft
(1984). Hellmuth Hirth's
Meine Flugerlebnisse
(1915) was the source for his comments on women flying. Georg von Tschudi's
Aus 34 Jahren Luftfahrt
described conditions at the Johannisthal meets. Joachim Wachtel's
Die Aviatiker oder die tollkühnen Pioniere des Motorflugs
(1978) devoted a chapter to women aviators. The September 20, 1911,
Flugsport
gave a description of Beese's test flights. Berlin newspapers provided details on her competition—the
Berliner Tageblatt
was very good—and her death, which was noted in the
New York Times.

Other German Fliers

Information on Charlotte Möhring, Martha Behrbohm, and the other women who won licenses in Germany is very limited. There are a few articles with personal comments available at German museums (publications unknown), and there are brief mentions in the German press. An article by Anneliese Dieffenbach, publication unknown, was the source for Behrbohm's
Rundfiug
with Georgi, as well as Behrbohm's comments on aviation when she was an older woman. Möhring's notes to Peter Supf, from the Deutsche Museum, provide brief details of her career. Günter Schmitt's book was very helpful in identifying German women who won licenses, as was Willi Hackenberger's book
Die Alten Adler: Pioniere der deutschen Luftfahrt
(1960).

CHAPTER 5

The Russian aviators are much less documented than the other European fliers; there is room for more research on the subject of early women pilots. Alan Durkota's book,
Imperial Russian Air Service
(1995), has a helpful chapter on the first women pilots, but errors with the photographs give one pause. The officer's comment on Zvereva's flying ability is from Durkota. Christine A. White's 1991 paper, “Gossamer Wings,” was very useful, as was an article by Edgar Meos in the winter 1975
Cross & Cockade.
The Meos article is the source of the salacious information on Shakhovskaya.
Flight
printed news of Russian activities, as did
Aeronautics
and
Flying.
(The facts are often at odds.) Günter Schmitt's book,
Die Ladys in den fliegenden Kisten,
has a section on Russian women that was informative. Peter Supf 's book,
Das Buch der deutschen Fluggeschichte
(1935), establishes Shakhovskaya and Golanchikova at Johannisthal in Germany. Michel Gregor's article in the December 1939
Sportsman Pilot
described the sometimes dangerous life that some of the women experienced while flying exhibitions in Russia in the early days.

CHAPTER 6

Hilda Hewlett

The Hewlett family in England shared information on the young Hilda and her later years, her marriage to Maurice, her intense interest in aviation, and her partnership with Gustave Blondeau. Maurice's letter to Hilda stating his unorthodox view of marriage vows is from his letters (1926) in the Imperial War Museum. Hilda Hewlett's notes for a speech on aviation and the role of women were provided by the family. Information on the Farman school at Châlons came from an unidentified newspaper clipping, dated April 16, 1910. Grahame–White's comments were printed in
Flight
and the
American–Examiner.
Mrs. W. K. Clifford's sketch of the Hewletts appeared in the
Saturday Review of Literature,
May 1, 1926. Michael Goodall's article “The Graceful Bird,” printed in the Brooklands Museum magazine,
The Spirit
(autumn 1998), served as a good overview of Hewlett's career.
Flight
followed the progress of her career through 1911 and 1912; the Hewlett-Blondeau construction company is featured in the December 7, 1912, issue. “Flights of Fancy,” by Patrick Loobey, printed by the Wandsworth Borough Council, was the source for details on the partners' factory on Vardens Road, labor disputes, and the figures on the output of aircraft during World War I.
Flight
published Hewlett's letter regarding the Royal Air Force and the aviation industry on January 31, 1914. Comments on aviation and the war came from her booklet “Our Flying Men”; notes on woman in aviation came from her observations. An article in the
Bay of Plenty Times,
May 8, 1999, “A Magnificent Woman (and Her Flying Machines)”—was very useful. The
San Francisco Chronicle
(March 30, 1919) had a front-page article on Hewlett when she traveled through on her way to New Zealand. Hewlett's article “London to Batavia by Air” appeared in the January 25, 1933, issue of
Aeroplane.

Other British Fliers

Cheridah de Beauvoir Stocks's brief career was covered in news releases in
Flight.
The Hendon archives has her license certificate but little else. Both the English and American press noted her licensing (
New York Herald,
the London
Times,
and
Daily Mail
). A most attractive young lady, she was photographed regularly in the aviation journals. The May 15, 1914,
Flight
published a long account of her accident with Mr. Pickles. Follow-up articles on her recovery and work during the war appeared on July 19, 1913; November 22, 1913; September 10, 1915; October 15, 1915; and December 31, 1915.

Information on Winnie Buller comes mainly from
Flight.
A small article on March 31, 1912, explained her decision to train in France; her work at the Caudron School was noted and her war work was recognized in November 1914.
Aeronautics
featured her in the November 1912 issue, with a longish article welcoming her to the British aviation world.

Peter Lewis's article in the January 23, 1964,
Flight International
was an excellent source of information on Lilian E. Bland. J. W. Freeman, writing in
Aviation News
(“First Ladies of the Air,” March 17, 1988), gave a briefer summary of this extraordinary woman's work. Best of all were the articles in
Flight:
the construction of the
Mayfly
(July 30, 1910); she flies (September 10, 1910). Bland wrote a step-by-step guide to constructing the aeroplane, complete with diagrams.

Michael Goodall's book,
Flying Start
(1995), provided a brief history of Brooklands, the schools working there, and some of the personalities who flew. Mrs. Gavin was mentioned as flying there on a glider machine in 1910.

CHAPTER 7

Blanche Scott

The best source for information on Blanche Scott was the biographical files at NASM. Scott's file is fairly full; she was a natural PR person. There are copies of articles on her automobile trip across the United States, on her accidental first flight (the date changes from September 2 to 4 to 6), and on her subsequent career in early aviation. The September 9, 1967,
Sports Illustrated
ran an article on her, “The Lady Flew,” by William Gottlieb; the May 1954
Aero Digest
published Scott's account of the first flight;
Chirp,
the publication of the Early Birds, credited her with flying on September 2; a
Smithsonian Studies
article provided highlights of Scott's career; the May 10, 1947,
Collier's
ran a short article on Scott by Ernest Jones. Clara Studer's
The Life of Glenn Curtiss
(1937) was helpful with details of Scott's training at Hammondsport; a personal-data form provided useful information on her family and early education. Clippings from Marjorie Stinson's papers at LOC were useful, but they were not always identified. The February 24, 1912,
San Francisco Chronicle
had an account of the Third International Aviation Meet at Emeryville where Beachey flew in a dress; the
New York World Telegram
for January 28, 1937, hailed the Early Birds and credited Scott as “first woman to fly plane.” The
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
welcomed her home in July 1935. (The date on the copy in her NASM file is missing.) The September 12, 1955,
U.S. Flying News
discussed Scott's efforts to aid the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. An article by Gay Pauley in the
South Bend Tribune
for October 2, 1964, described Scott's career. Her January 13, 1970, obituary in the
Evening Star
(Washington, D.C.) contained the quote “Most of us got killed.”

Bessica Raiche

Bessica Raiche's story relied heavily on the account of Catherine Stull (Bessica's daughter) filed in the Raiche biographical file at NASM. Stull's information cor rected repeated errors in accounts of this remarkable woman's flying and medical careers. Other sources were an article, “America's First Flying Sportswoman,” in the June 1931
Sportsman Pilot,
and clippings, most of them undated, from the Marjorie Stinson Collection, LOC, detailing Raiche's first flights (the
Globe
), her appearance in pants (the
Washington Post
), minor accidents, her presentation with a medal by the Aeronautical Society of New York, and the Dr. Johnson quote on a woman flying, from the April 22, 1932,
Washington Times.

CHAPTER 8

Harriet Quimby has been the subject of many articles and at least two books; in addition, a study center named for her does research on women in aviation. Sources of information are many and varied. On her early years, Henry M. Holden's book,
Her Mentor Was an Albatross
(1993), was helpful, as was an undated article by Jean Hubbard from an unidentified newspaper in Arroyo Grande, California. Quimby's writing for
Leslie's Illustrated Weekly
was very useful, with weekly articles on a variety of subjects during 1910 and 1911, including “Women as Automobile Enthusiasts.” On flying, there were articles on the International Air Meet at Belmont Park (October 1910), “How a Woman Learns to Fly” (May 25, 1911; August 17, 1911), “How I Won My Aviator's License” (August 24, 1911), “An American Girl's Daring Exploit” (May 16, 1912), “New Things in the Aviation World” (June 6, 1912), “Exploring the Airlanes” (June 22, 1912), and “Flyers and Flying” (June 27, 1912). The
World Magazine
published a Quimby article on August 27, 1911, in which she admitted wanting to be “the first American woman to fly” and her delight in reading about herself “for once.”
Fly Magazine
published Quimby's Channel-crossing account in June 1912. “American Bird Women” was Quimby's last contribution (
Good Housekeeping,
September 1912); Elizabeth Hiatt Gregory's “Woman's Record in Aviation” appeared in the same issue. The New York and Boston newspapers were full of Quimby, from her first mysterious appearance on the field at Nassau Boulevard in 1911 until her death on July 1, 1912. The April 1912
Aeronautics
and Earle Ovington's letter in the August 10, 1912,
Scientific American
discuss faults in the Blériot aeroplane design. A. Leo Stevens's article “On the Death of Miss Quimby” appeared in the August 1912
Aeronautics.
Lygia Ionnitiu's “What Harriet Quimby Saw at the Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome,” for the
Harriet Quimby Research Conference Journal,
1996, provided conjecture based on newspaper reporting. “Who Knew She Flew?” which appeared in
Stamps and Coins
(April 19, 1991), announced a stamp for Quimby. Other useful sources included “Miss Harriet Quimby,” by Samuel S. Whitt, in the spring 1973
National Aeronautics;
“Wild about Harriet,” by Terry Gwynn-Jones, in the January 1984
Smithsonian
magazine; “Beauty and the Blériot,” by Weston George, in
Aviation Quarterly,
vol. 6, no. 1, 1980; “Harriet Quimby, America's First Woman Pilot,” by Hugh Powell, in
American Aviation Historical Society Journal,
winter 1982.

CHAPTER 9

For the early years of Matilde Moisant, Doris Rich's book,
The Magnificent Moisants
(1998), was a good source. As with Quimby, the New York newspapers covered Moisant's progress as an aviator, her licensing, and her participation at the Nassau meet. The Moisant scrapbooks at the Garber Facility of NASM are a rich treasure. Her interview at the Oral History Research Office, Columbia University, was helpful. The Marjorie Stinson Collection at LOC provided numerous clippings, good for describing the period and Moisant. When Moisant began exhibition flights, there were press reports at the stops on her schedule—Mexico City and Guadalajara (the
Mexican Herald
and
El Imparcial,
November 16—22, and December 5—6, 1911), New Orleans (New Orleans
TimesPicayune,
March 11—12, 1912), Shreveport (
Shreveport Times,
March 15, 18—19, 1912), and Dallas (
Dallas Morning News,
March 25—27, 1912)—until the crash at Wichita Falls, Texas, when she walked away from flying.