| The Women in Aviation section of the Museum honors this unique group of aviation pioneers for their continuing contribution to aviation and the exploration of space.
Women have been participants in the progress of aviation from the very beginning. For example, Katherine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur, assisted her brothers in the construction of their history making aircraft and, in 1911, Harriet Quimby was the first woman in America to become a licensed pilot. More recently, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman to orbit the Earth, and in the United States space program, astronaut Sally K. Ride was the first American female to crew a Space Shuttle.
Women are now active in virtually every field of aviation. There are increasing numbers who have earned their licenses as airline pilots. Female military pilots can be found flying both fixed wing and helicopter aircraft in all branches of the armed services. America's space program now has an increasing number of women flying missions on the Space Shuttle.
With the realization that our country had overlooked an extremely talented group in the past, American industry and the U.S. Government are now bringing women, more than ever before, into highly responsible command and executive positions in the aerospace field.
The Aerospace Museum's Women in Aviation Exhibit is a tribute to the courage and ability of America's air-minded women -- past and present. |
