American Aviatrixes: Women with Wings

Katherine Stinson

Blanche Stuart Scott at the controls of her plane

In 1911, Harriet Quimby, a drama critic and editor for the Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly, became the first woman to get her pilot’s license in the US, from the Aero Club of America. Although Quimby only flew for eleven months after receiving her license, she accomplished a lot during her time in the pilot’s seat. In addition to being the first woman to fly a plane at night, she also flew across the English Channel, and at the inauguration festivities for Mexico’s president-elect in 1911. She did it all wearing a custom-made purple satin flight suit—a visible symbol of her femininity in the male-dominated aviation world. Quimby planned to be the first woman to fly mail from Boston to New York, but died in a tragic accident while taking her plane for a test flight in July of 1912.
Shortly after Quimby received her pilot’s license, her friend Matilde Moisant became the second woman to obtain the certification from the Aero Club. Like Quimby, she learned to fly at the Moisant Aviation School, which was run by her brother. She quickly became a skilled pilot. By September 1911, she had won the Rodman-Wanamaker altitude trophy. Shortly thereafter, Moisant stopped flying at the request of her family (and possibly because of Quimby’s untimely death) after her aircraft burst into flames and she herself was set afire. Though not seriously injured in the accident, she retired from flying in 1912.

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National Air and Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution 

First Aviatrixes

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Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs)

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Though Ruth Bancroft Law accomplished many things during her career as an aviatrix, one of her greatest achievements was setting the cross-country distance record for an American non-stop flight. In November 1916, she flew from Chicago to Hornell, New York. The feat was a dangerous one. She had to modify her plane, by removing the lights and other parts, in order to carry extra fuel.  While seated in her plane, Law was exposed to the elements on three sides, requiring her to wear four woolen and leather suits for protection.
Law had initially tried to purchase a larger plane for the trip, but was denied by the manufacturer (and Blanche Stuart Scott’s flight instructor), Glenn Curtiss. He said a bigger plane was “too much for a girl to handle.” She subsequently proved him, and all other doubters, wrong.
Ruth Bancroft Law went on to achieve many aviation accomplishments and challenge misconceptions along the way. She became the first woman to carry official air mail to the Philippine Islands. She worked as a flight instructor, and organized a barnstorming group called the “Ruth Law Flying Circus.” On another flight, she flew around the Statue of Liberty, spelling “Liberty” in the air with her plane.