Katherine
Stinson: Pioneering Aviatrix

 
   
Dressed in boyish clothing, the 22-year-old aviator Katherine Stinson
wore a bulky, red sweater and a brown choke collar around her neck. On her
head she donned her trademark blue-and-white checkered tweed cap with an
inverted brim worn backwards. Dark knickerbockers fastened with buckled
beige leather and a leather waist jacket completed her outfit for
protection against the cold. Spectators watched as she meticulously
inspected her Wright B airplane, climbed onto the hard seat, strapped
herself in, revved the motor and pulled back on the stick. Raising her
right hand above her curls, the mechanics understood the gesture and
released their hold. The plane moved over the earth on thin bicycle wheels
for 100 yards, before she pulled it into the sky and circled the field.
Waving to the spectators, she looped the loop and climbed to 1,000 feet.
Suddenly, she slowed her engine to half speed, performed a flawless spiral
and sailed to the ground for a perfect landing. The people shouted and
stomped their approval. They waved as she jumped from her plane, removed
her cap with a sweeping bow, shook her curls, and smiled gleefully.
     Katherine Stinson had wowed the crowds again.
This particular flight occurred in 1913, but it might as well have been
anytime during 1912 to 1919, the span of Katherine Stinson’s influential
aviation career. It was during this era that Katherine Stinson became a
household name. Anyone could tell you about "The Flying School
girl." She set new horizons for women at a time when they were barely
driving cars, let alone flying airplanes. 
     Katherine Stinson was a pioneer in aviation,
unafraid to fly to fulfill her dreams. A daring aviator, she achieved
recognition as the "first" to accomplish many aviation feats.
She was the first woman to fly at night, to loop the loop, and the first
person to sky write. Additionally, she set endurance and distance records
and brought the spectacle of air travel to both Japan and China.
Furthermore, she was the first woman in the United States, as well as the
first person in Western Canada, to officially deliver airmail. Stinson
proved by example that flying was not limited by gender. She represented
the feminist position by her daring actions rather than her words. At a
time when women were not allowed to vote, Stinson
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