1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: I'm to blieve a chocolate boarding and and we are 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: making good right now on our promise or threat, depending 5 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:22,919 Speaker 1: on how you like this topic. To cover some more 6 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:25,960 Speaker 1: female aviators as part of this little series that we've 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: had going in recent weeks, we've talked about Bessie Coleman 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: and Beryl Markham, both of whom were remarkable women and 9 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: accomplished aviators in their own rights. But probably what surprised 10 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: us most about these ladies and the others we researched 11 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: for today is just how little we knew about them. 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: Part of that has to do with just comparing them 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: to Amelia Earhart and how much most of us do 14 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 1: seem to know about her. In a short American heritage 15 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,160 Speaker 1: article called Aviatrix written by Richard Reinhardt Um, he attributed 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: this fact her popularity, the fact that she's still so 17 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,480 Speaker 1: well known, um to the fact that she had some 18 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: good marketing people behind her. The man who later became 19 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: her husband, publishing executive George Palmer Putnam, kept her in 20 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,839 Speaker 1: the public eye constantly. Then there's also the inescapable fact 21 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,199 Speaker 1: that she vanished at the height of her career while 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: attempting to fly around the world, something that was obviously 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: a pretty big news story. Reinhardt also sort of suggests 24 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: that the mystery surrounding this disappearance compounded her lasting fame. 25 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: Like the other stuff, the fact that she was in 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: the public eye so much might have still been forgotten 27 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 1: if it hadn't have been for the tragedy at the end, 28 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: which is still making headlines today. True, and it's not 29 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: only that it catapulted her fame, it maybe also eclipsed 30 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: the accomplishments of other female aviators. That's kind of just 31 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,960 Speaker 1: a theory that's out there and one that we've pondered 32 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: on over the last few weeks as we've looked into 33 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: these Is it because she disappeared and there was so 34 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: much news around her that we don't remember some of 35 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: the others, As we've seen with Coleman and Markham, and 36 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,600 Speaker 1: as we'll see with the ladies on this list today, 37 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: there were a lot of other women pilots who were 38 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,640 Speaker 1: also aviation pioneers and not necessarily always just compared to 39 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: others of their gender. So we're going to start by 40 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: talking about one of the first of those pioneers. Yeah, 41 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: she was born Elite Raymond Darroche on August and then 42 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: changed her name to Raymond de Laroche and started out 43 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: as a stage actress. And it was really during her 44 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: time as an actress that she decided to change her 45 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: name to that more glamorous version. She was a dark 46 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: haired beauty. She was quite stylish, and according to an 47 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: article by Deborah and Pollock in Aviation History, she'd become 48 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:46,760 Speaker 1: a fashion icon in France by her early twenties. That 49 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:50,800 Speaker 1: she already had this very definite story before she became 50 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: a pilot. So de Laroche wasn't quite as tomboyish as 51 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: say previous podcast subject Beryl Markham, but she did have 52 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: an adventurous street tour and she liked to do a 53 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: lot of different things. She claimed to be everything from 54 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: a painter and a sculptor to a balloonist and a 55 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: race car driver. But none of these things quite compared 56 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: to the rush that she felt in nineteen o eight 57 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: when the Wright brothers were in France doing aerial demonstrations 58 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: at a race track near Liment. De Laroche witnessed the 59 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 1: demonstrations and even got a chance to go up in 60 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: a plane with Wilbur Wright, and after that she was 61 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: determined to learn how to fly herself, and so she 62 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: asked French aviator Charles Lassell, who somethink was also her lover, 63 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: to teach her. So with agreed and began giving Delaroche 64 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: lessons at the Chalan Airfield. His plane was a single theater, though, 65 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: so these lessons were not how you would imagine, with 66 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: the more experienced pilot sitting right there next to you 67 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: in case anything went wrong, he would yell at instructions 68 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: at her while she was alone in the plane, and 69 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: so her first lesson, according to Pollock's article, Delaroche did 70 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: a pretty poor job of following those instructions, because Zone 71 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:02,720 Speaker 1: just wanted her to taxi around the airfield for a 72 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: little bit get the hang of things. But after just 73 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: one round of doing that, de Laroche hit the gas, 74 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,200 Speaker 1: opened up the throttle, and actually lifted off about fifteen 75 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: feet into the air, first time flying all by herself. 76 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: She took lessons for a few months after that, having 77 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,679 Speaker 1: her first crash along the way on January four, nineteen ten, 78 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: when her plane clips some trees as she was coming 79 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: in for a landing, but she managed to walk away 80 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: with relatively minor injuries, and she just went right back 81 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: to flying. This did not deter her at all. On 82 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: March eighth, nineteen ten, she became the first woman in 83 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: the world to earn a pilot's license when the Federal 84 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,360 Speaker 1: Cition Aeronautique Internazional granted her pilot's license number thirty six. 85 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: The French press started calling her Lafemassau, the bird Woman, 86 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: and she gave herself the title of Baroness. How appropriate. 87 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: So after that she barnstormed all over the world, something 88 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: a lot of these pilots seemed to do, doing demonstration ends, 89 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: participating in competitions in place of like St. Petersburg, Russia 90 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: and Budapest, often in not so great conditions to like 91 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: storms and unstable air currents and reduced visibility. But late 92 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 1: in the summer of nineteen ten, she was the only 93 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: woman in a flying competition at Reims when she crashed 94 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: and broke both legs and an arm, and these injuries 95 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: grounded her for two whole years. In nineteen twelve, though 96 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: she picked herself right back up again, she started flying, 97 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: but was soon seriously injured again, this time in a 98 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: car crash. She and Voissant collided with another car while 99 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 1: they were driving near Leon, and Voissant died in that wreck. 100 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: So even after all that had happened, De Laroche could 101 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: not be deterred from flying. By late nineteen thirteen, she 102 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: entered the Couda Femina flying competition for women, which offered 103 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: a prize to the woman who flew the longest distance solo. 104 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 1: By the end of the year, De la Rouche won 105 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: the competition by flying a total of two hundred miles 106 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: in four wars, after which she was forced down finally 107 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: by a gas line problem, so for the next four years. 108 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 1: World War One grounded her for a little bit. Like 109 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 1: some other women, she wanted to fly for the war effort, 110 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: but she was turned down. But it didn't seem to 111 00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: diminish her passion or her abilities, because when the war 112 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: ended in nineteen eighteen, she did go back to flying 113 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: right away. On June seventh, nineteen nineteen, she set the 114 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: women's altitude record by flying at fifteen thousand, seven hundred 115 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: forty eight feet. Her next goal, though, was to become 116 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: the first female test pilot, so on July eighteenth, nineteen nineteen, 117 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:40,719 Speaker 1: she went to Lecati Airfield to co pilot an experimental plane. 118 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,320 Speaker 1: The plane went into a spinning dive as it was landing, though, 119 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,040 Speaker 1: and both Delaroche and the pilot were killed. She's still 120 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 1: remembered though, for her first and her pioneering spirit. There's 121 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:57,120 Speaker 1: a statue honoring her at Paris's Laborger Airport, so you 122 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,520 Speaker 1: can still pay homage to her today. I guess well, 123 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: de Laroche may have had a pretty significant first, being 124 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: the first woman to earn a pilot's license, but this 125 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: next aviator, Harriet Quimby, was close on her heels. Harriet 126 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 1: Quimby was born in Michigan in May of eighteen seventy five, 127 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: and her family moved to California near San Francisco when 128 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: she was only nine. Quimby's family was very poor, so 129 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: when their farm failed and they moved to San Francisco proper, 130 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: she had to work to help make ends meet. At 131 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,200 Speaker 1: the same time, though, her mom encouraged her to go 132 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: to school and was really adamant that she pursued a 133 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: career and become independent. So Quimby chose journalism, and she 134 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: became a reporter for publications like the San Francisco Dramatic 135 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: Review and The Calibulletin and Chronicle by nineteen o one 136 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: in nineteen o two, respectively. Then in nineteen o three 137 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: she decided that she had moved to New York City 138 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: and try to make herself a journalism career there as well, 139 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: and ended up getting a good job at Leslie's Illustrated Weekly. 140 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: But much like De la Roche, none of this could 141 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: compare to the passion that aviation ignited in her Quimby 142 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: Thawn air show on Long Island in the fall of 143 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: nineteen ten, and after that she was just determined to 144 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: learn how to fly, so she started taking lessons the 145 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: next spring. At first, Quimby disguised herself as a guy, 146 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: since it was controversial for women to fly at this time. 147 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: It was controversial because fatal accidents were a very frequent occurrence, 148 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: as we've already seen in De Librocia's story, and women 149 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: were considered weaker, less capable of handling these dangerous situations 150 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: than men, and sometimes even considered less courageous than men. Soon, 151 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: The New York Times exposed her disguise, but Quimby turned 152 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: this into an opportunity. She got Leslie's to sponsor her, 153 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,800 Speaker 1: and she started a series of articles on her aviation experiences, 154 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: which became super popular. So I guess the New York 155 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: Times wasn't expecting her to turn all journalists on them 156 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: and when they exposed her. But on August first, nineteen eleven, 157 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: b did earn her pilot license without ever having a 158 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 1: single accident in the air, something that really does seem 159 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: pretty remarkable when you start looking at a lot of 160 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: these aviators put together. She was the first woman in 161 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: the United States to earn a license and the second 162 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,719 Speaker 1: woman in the world after Delaroush. She started flying in 163 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: air meets and in September became the first woman to 164 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,560 Speaker 1: make a night flight. She kept writing about her experience 165 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: as the entire time. Two issues that had her articles 166 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: in them would completely sell out. In March of nineteen twelve, 167 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: Quinby took on her greatest challenge yet, an attempt to 168 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: become the first female to fly across the English Channel. 169 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: She planned this attempt in secret, though, so that no 170 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:41,719 Speaker 1: one could jump ahead of her and try to make 171 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,679 Speaker 1: the attempt before she did. She headed to Europe in 172 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: early March and met in France with Louis Blrio, an 173 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,480 Speaker 1: airplane designer and one of the few men to have 174 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: successfully flown across the Channel. She bought a plane from 175 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 1: him that after finding out that it wouldn't be ready 176 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: in time, she ended up borrowing his own fifty horsepower plane. 177 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,000 Speaker 1: She wanted to practice with it a bit before her 178 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: initial attempt, but the weather didn't cooperate yeah, so she 179 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: decided she was just gonna go for it and had 180 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 1: the plane shipped across the Channel to England, where she 181 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: wanted to start her flight from the weather didn't really 182 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: clear up until Sunday, April fourteenth, in conditions were just 183 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: perfect then, but she still didn't start her flight because 184 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,080 Speaker 1: she had promised her mother that she wouldn't ever fly 185 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: on Sunday, so she had to wait a little bit longer. 186 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't until the following Tuesday before Quimby could take 187 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: off from the Dover Airfield, and according to Jacqueline McLean's 188 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: book Women with Wings, Quimby later wrote, I was eager 189 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: to get into my seat and be off. My heart 190 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: was not in my mouth. I felt eager to realize 191 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: the project on which I was determined for the first time. 192 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: I was to make a journey across the water. She 193 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: took off April sixteenth, nineteen twelve, at five thirty am 194 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: and landed an hour and nine minutes later on a 195 00:10:55,640 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 1: French beach. She totally surprised some French fisherman when she 196 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: land did, but they were actually impressed by her accomplishment. 197 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: They realized, you know, what had happened, that she was 198 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: the first, and they gave her breakfast. They made breakfast 199 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: for her and there on the beach. Might be the 200 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:13,920 Speaker 1: most charming of the different flights we've talked about or 201 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: are going to talk about, maybe because it is only 202 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: an hour in nine minutes and not some horrible like 203 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: twenty four hour harrowing journey. But the breakfast really adds 204 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: to it. It's a nice touch at the end. So 205 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: with these French fishermen being so excited about her accomplishment 206 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: and other people as well, I mean London reporters were 207 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: on top of this almost right away, and she, you know, 208 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: her accomplishment was publicized there. She thought that people in 209 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: the US would be really excited about her accomplishment as well. 210 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: But only a couple of days before Quimby's flight, the 211 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: Titanic had sunk. According to McLean's book. This, perhaps rightly so, 212 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,839 Speaker 1: totally eclipse the significance of what Quimby had done. Still, 213 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,360 Speaker 1: her reputation as an aviator was established. She was billed 214 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 1: as quote America's firstly of the air at the Boston 215 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:03,800 Speaker 1: Air Meat that summer, and it was at this air 216 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:07,719 Speaker 1: meet on July one, nineteen twelve, that Quimby set out 217 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:11,360 Speaker 1: to break an overwater speed record over Boston Harbor, with 218 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: English pilot William P. Willard co piloting. During that flight, though, 219 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: of something and to this day nobody knows what exactly happened, 220 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: caused the plane's tail to pitch upward sharply and thus 221 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: make the plane perpendicular to the water. Both the pilots 222 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: ended up being thrown from the plane and both died. 223 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,439 Speaker 1: Quimby was only thirty seven years old, but she'd just 224 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: received a permit from the US Post Office at the 225 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 1: time of her death allowing her to fly the mail 226 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: which would have made her the first woman to fly 227 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: mail plane, So in a way she was kind of 228 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,040 Speaker 1: robbed of that achievement. A little bit our next Avia Tricks, 229 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: England's Amy Johnson didn't appear to be a natural in 230 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,160 Speaker 1: the air right from the start, as some of the 231 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: others on this listed. Johnson was born in the seaport 232 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 1: of Whole in England and jul Live nineteen o three 233 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,319 Speaker 1: and her father was a well off fish merchant. After 234 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: studying economics of Sheffield University for a few years, Johnson 235 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 1: took a typing course and moved to London in seven 236 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,160 Speaker 1: where she got a job as a secretary. And it 237 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: was while she was living in London that she became 238 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 1: interested in aviation. Maybe because she rented a room near 239 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,559 Speaker 1: an airfield at stag Lane. Most people would have that 240 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 1: maybe make them not like playing because you're always hearing them, 241 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 1: but not so with Amy. But since flying lessons were 242 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 1: really pretty pricey according to Explorers and Discovers of the World, 243 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: she volunteered as the secretary for the British Air League 244 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,200 Speaker 1: in order to get a little discount on her lessons, 245 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: and as we alluded to, though she wasn't exactly at 246 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: the top of her class, it took her two times 247 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 1: as long as the average student to get her license, 248 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:52,640 Speaker 1: but she finally did finish in July of ninety nine. However, 249 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: she'd also spent a little of that time while she 250 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: was trying to get her license learning a good bit 251 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: about repairing engine something we remarked, maybe I don't remember 252 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 1: if it was on a podcast about Bethie Coleman or 253 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: just between us, that that would have been a good 254 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: skill to have during these times, if you could examine 255 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: your own plane. And no, it was okay. So Johnson 256 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: became the first woman in Great Britain to qualify as 257 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: a ground engineer, which got her some publicity. While she 258 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: was getting this attention, she announced her intent to fly 259 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 1: solo from England to Australia, which would make her the 260 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: first woman to do so. Her goal was also to 261 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: beat the time of the only man who had done this, 262 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: who was Burt Hinkler. Hinkler did it in in just 263 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: fifteen days, but Johnson before she could get started. It 264 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: took a little while. She had to raise some money 265 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: to buy a second hand gipsy moth plane, which she 266 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: dubbed Jason, But by the time that she took off 267 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,720 Speaker 1: for Australia on May fifty, she still only had about 268 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: seventy five hours of flying time under her belt and 269 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: she had never flown over the water. So pretty green, 270 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: definitely green, and people were really surprised that she was 271 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: trying this. I mean some obviously scoffed at her thought 272 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: it was a crazy thing to do. Johnson herself later said, quote, 273 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: the prospect did not frighten me because I was so 274 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: appallingly ignorant that I never realized in the least what 275 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: I had taken on. She was about to about to 276 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: find it out pretty soon, though. Her troop was really 277 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,240 Speaker 1: an ordeal almost from the start, And one thing was 278 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: that she had to manually pump gas from a storage 279 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,320 Speaker 1: tank to the tank in the upper wing. Acquired fifty 280 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: gallons per hour, and each gallon took forty strokes and 281 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: the process. You know, all of that, all those gas 282 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: fumes in the enclosed space made her feel nauseated. It 283 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,440 Speaker 1: sounds like a bad task to have to do on 284 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: these long flights. By the fourth day, Johnson ran into 285 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: her first major trouble, which was a sandstorm over the 286 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:51,200 Speaker 1: Iraqi Desert that forced her to land there. She had 287 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: to cover the engine and fuel tanks with a canvas 288 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: to try to keep as much stand out as she could, 289 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,240 Speaker 1: and then she kind of perched on the wing of 290 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:02,360 Speaker 1: the plane for three hours with the revolver in case 291 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: she was attacked by wild animals, and she had to 292 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: get back in her plane and get going again, because 293 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: after that she had to stop for repairs a couple 294 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: more times than by the sixth day. She finally reached Pakistan, 295 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: two days sooner than Bert Hinkler had so it seemed 296 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,800 Speaker 1: like despite all these troubles, she was on pace. And 297 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: when news of this got out, suddenly the whole world 298 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 1: was paying attention to what she was doing. They thought 299 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:28,800 Speaker 1: she might really do this, she might really beat his time. 300 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: From there, though, she ran into a series of mishaps, 301 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: including running out of fuel over John c getting into 302 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: monsoons between Calcutta and Rangoon, and getting lost between Bangkok 303 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: and Singapore. She just kind of realized that she was 304 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: going in circles. She didn't know where she was and 305 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 1: she was just going in circles between the two for 306 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: a while. And engine trouble was another problem that she had. 307 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: She had ran into engine trouble at Surabaya. On May 308 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: nine thirty, she finally landed in the northern Australian town 309 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: of Darwin. She was sunburnt, oil stained, and very disappointed. 310 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: By this time. It had taken her nineteen and a 311 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,440 Speaker 1: half days to reach there. Four days longer than Hinkler. 312 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 1: But she was really in for another surprise because, much 313 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: like Beryl Markham, she thought she'd failed because she hadn't 314 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: reached her exact goal she was setting out to accomplish. 315 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 1: But she was nevertheless considered a heroine. She had made it, 316 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,920 Speaker 1: she had done something that was really impressive, and crowds 317 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 1: cheered her on. She got congratulatory telegrams from everyone from 318 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: the King and Queen of Great Britain to Charles Lindbergh. 319 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:38,120 Speaker 1: I mean, that would have been a pretty big deal 320 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 1: for an inspiring aviator like her. She was even called 321 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: the Queen of the Air, and there were songs written 322 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: about her, including Amy Wonderful Amy. I wish I could 323 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,199 Speaker 1: have heard what that one sounded like. We'll have to 324 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: look it up, maybe spliced it into the podcast or 325 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,240 Speaker 1: something like that. The London Daily Mail awarded her ten 326 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: thousand pounds, and an estimated million people turned out to 327 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: greet her when she find They returned to London by 328 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:05,120 Speaker 1: ship on August fifth, nineteen thirty. After that, Johnson continued 329 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,200 Speaker 1: to pursue flight records, becoming the first pilot to fly 330 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:11,159 Speaker 1: from London to Moscow in under twenty four hours. She 331 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:13,840 Speaker 1: also set two speed records for the trip from London 332 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: to Cape Town, South Africa, and a record for flying 333 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,639 Speaker 1: from London to Tokyo along the way. She had a 334 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: short lived marriage to Scottish pilot Jim Mollison, whom we 335 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: mentioned in the Barrel Markham podcast. Also, according to an 336 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: article by Lisa Allardis in The New Statesman, they were 337 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,199 Speaker 1: known as flying sweethearts and were kind of the posh 338 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: and becks of their time. I liked that comparison because 339 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: I think probably everyone now can relate to liberty couple. 340 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: During World War Two, Johnson needed cash and took a 341 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,160 Speaker 1: flying job for the Air Transport Artillery of the Royal 342 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: Air Force, and on January five, n one, while delivering 343 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:54,359 Speaker 1: an aircraft from Scotland to London, her plane went down 344 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 1: in the Thames and she was never seen again. There 345 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: is a little bit of mystery and controversy so rounding 346 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: her death though, and what exactly happened. So she was 347 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: supposedly still alive when she was in the water, and 348 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:09,879 Speaker 1: according to a New Statesman article, she called out to 349 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: rescuers aboard the h MS Hasslemere, but then vanished and 350 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: over the years, according to an article by LaRue Scott 351 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: and British Heritage, people have suspected that she may have 352 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 1: staged her own death, or maybe that she was even 353 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,679 Speaker 1: a spy on some sort of mission and needed to disappear, 354 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: But according to an h MS hassle Mere report that 355 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: came to light about a decade ago, there's actually a 356 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 1: good chance that the real reason was more horrific than mysterious. 357 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: She may have got caught in the propeller of the 358 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: ship and was killed that way, but the information was 359 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: kept from the public. The public was grieving so much 360 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: they didn't want to put it out there. The last 361 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: woman on our list, Jacqueline Cochrane, has so many aviation 362 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 1: accomplishments to her name it's nearly impossible to condense them 363 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: to a list entry size. So we're to focus on 364 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: a couple of major ones and leave open the possibility 365 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:05,679 Speaker 1: that we may talk about her some other time in 366 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 1: the future, if we ever get to talking about aviators again, 367 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 1: if if you guys aren't sick of them by now already. 368 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: Cochran had kind of a sad childhood. She was born 369 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: sometime in the early nineteen hundreds, but it's interesting no 370 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: one really knows the exact date of birth, because she 371 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: was either orphaned or abandoned by her birth parents, according 372 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,920 Speaker 1: to McLean's book Woman with Wigne. Some say that she 373 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: picked the name Cochrane for herself out of a phone book. 374 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:33,359 Speaker 1: So her foster family was very poor, and Cochrane worked 375 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 1: in a cotton mill at a young age. Eventually, though, 376 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,200 Speaker 1: she got the opportunity to train as a beautician, and 377 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: by the time she was about twenty years old, she 378 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: made her way to New York City and got a 379 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,600 Speaker 1: job at a very fancy salon and Twins of sax 380 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: Smith Avenue, and she managed to impress and Twine enough 381 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,920 Speaker 1: that he sent her on to run his salon sort 382 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 1: of offshoot Miami location, and she finally started making pretty 383 00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: decent money. I think it's interesting too, we've had two 384 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: beautician female aviators such I don't know, professions that you 385 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: wouldn't necessarily link. Yeah, well, I guess you wouldn't suspect 386 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: it of a secretary either or an actress. But Cochrane, 387 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: even though she was finally making money, as you said, 388 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: she was doing well for herself, maybe because of her past, 389 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: maybe because she had been poor growing up. She wanted 390 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: more than that. She got the idea to start her 391 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: own cosmetics business, so taking this mutician career to the 392 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,639 Speaker 1: next level. And she wanted to learn to fly so 393 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: that she could travel around the country to promote her company. 394 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 1: So she started taking flying lessons at Roosevelt Flying School 395 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: on Long Island in two and she earned her license 396 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,120 Speaker 1: in just two and a half weeks. Like the other 397 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,199 Speaker 1: women we've discussed, she just fell in love with flying. 398 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:49,159 Speaker 1: I mean, that's just the common theme throughout this podcast, 399 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: this inexplicable passion for getting in a plane and taking flight. 400 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,359 Speaker 1: She later said, quote when I paid for my first lesson, 401 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,399 Speaker 1: a beauty operator ceased to exist and an aviator was born. 402 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,880 Speaker 1: But as we discussed in the Bessie Coleman episode, there 403 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,240 Speaker 1: weren't really a lot of opportunities in the nineteen thirties 404 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,800 Speaker 1: for women who wanted to pursue a flying career. So 405 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:13,160 Speaker 1: for a career woman like her, she needed something else. 406 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 1: So in the meantime, she went ahead and launched Jacqueline 407 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:21,360 Speaker 1: Cochrane Cosmetics in ninety five, and the company did become successful. 408 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: After that, she started putting her profits toward flying, so 409 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: she kept a day job, and at first she entered 410 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:32,879 Speaker 1: races and pursued records to advance her flying career. In 411 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight, she entered the Bendix Cross Country Air 412 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: Race for the third time and placed first in it. 413 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: It had formerly been a male dominated race, and around 414 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: this time to Cochrane managed to break the women's national 415 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 1: speed record, the women's world speed record, the New York 416 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: to Miami speed record, and an international speed record, all 417 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: between the years of nineteen thirty seven and nineteen forties, 418 00:22:56,040 --> 00:23:00,440 Speaker 1: so just one after another for her. McLean relates an 419 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 1: interesting account of when Cochrane set a women's national altitude 420 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,480 Speaker 1: record in nine. She writes that Cochrane flew a small 421 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 1: fabric covered biplane up to thirty thousand fifty two ft 422 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: and the air so thin and cold up there that 423 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,520 Speaker 1: Cochrane quote ruptured as sinus flood vessel, got frostbite and 424 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: almost froze to death. She also got really disoriented up there, 425 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: so much so that she had to fly around a 426 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: little lower at a lower altitude for about an hour 427 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,880 Speaker 1: after that until she could just focus enough to land 428 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:34,320 Speaker 1: the plane. During the war, like others, Cochrane had to 429 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,520 Speaker 1: take a break from setting records for a little while, 430 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,560 Speaker 1: but she didn't take a break from flying completely. She 431 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: actually helped to train women for the U. S. Air 432 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 1: Force in a program called the Women's Air Force Service 433 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:49,160 Speaker 1: Pilots WASP. And that's really quite the story in itself, 434 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,200 Speaker 1: so we're gonna sort of skim over the WAFF section 435 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 1: and maybe consider covering that at some later date. But 436 00:23:56,920 --> 00:24:00,240 Speaker 1: after the war a new set of record possibile. These 437 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,280 Speaker 1: really opened up to aviators thanks to a new kind 438 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,719 Speaker 1: of plane, and that was, of course, the jet. The 439 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:07,639 Speaker 1: only problem though, was that you had to be in 440 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 1: the Air Force to fly a jet in the United States, 441 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:12,960 Speaker 1: and women weren't officially allowed to fly for the Air Force. 442 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: The WASP program that Cochrane had set up wasn't yet 443 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,440 Speaker 1: recognized as a part of the military, so Krane found 444 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:22,480 Speaker 1: a way her hound this though, as a lot of 445 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: these folks have. She learned to fly on a Canadian 446 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:30,119 Speaker 1: owned jet and started pursuing speed records that way, and 447 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 1: then she started breaking into a new kind of territory. 448 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,239 Speaker 1: She got her friend General Chuck Yeager to teach her 449 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 1: how to make a supersonic flight, so basically traveling at 450 00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: such a rate that she would exceed the speed of sound. 451 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 1: It essentially involved climbing way high in her jet to 452 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: about forty five thousand feet and then heading straight down 453 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: towards the ground. On May nineteen fifty three, she did this, 454 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: and when she was diving towards the ground, she mentioned 455 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 1: heading for the airport as her target and watching the 456 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,879 Speaker 1: reading on her mock meter as she went. When she 457 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: passed mock one the speed of sound, she became the 458 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:09,160 Speaker 1: first woman to break the sound barrier, which is probably 459 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: the accomplishment she's best known for. She continued to pursue 460 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: records into her fifties and sixties, even though her health 461 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,919 Speaker 1: started failing towards the end. In nineteen sixty two, she 462 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:23,119 Speaker 1: became the first woman to fly a jet across the Atlantic. Ultimately, 463 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 1: according to Encyclopedia Britannica, she held more speed, distance, and 464 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 1: altitude records than any other pilot, male or female. During 465 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:35,159 Speaker 1: her career. Cochrane was also honored for a lot of 466 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,280 Speaker 1: those achievements and those records she had said. She became 467 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,399 Speaker 1: president of the Federation aer Nautique Internaciale, and she became 468 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,399 Speaker 1: the first woman inducted into the Aviation Hall of fame, 469 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: and I think that all of us are probably relieved 470 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: to know that she didn't die until nineteen eighties, So 471 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,200 Speaker 1: one of these ladies lived to an older age and 472 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:57,640 Speaker 1: didn't fall out of a plane or something like that. 473 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,399 Speaker 1: It's it's just nice to see that why got to 474 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: continue her pilot's career and see different eras of flight. Yeah, 475 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: and we could get to end on a more positive 476 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,760 Speaker 1: note in addition to that well. In describing her career 477 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: at one point, Cochrane said, quote, adventure is a state 478 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,879 Speaker 1: of mind and spirit. It comes with faith, for with 479 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,560 Speaker 1: complete faith there is no fear of what faces you 480 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 1: in life or death. In truth, I ended up living 481 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: a life of continuous adventure. And I think that's a 482 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,040 Speaker 1: really good note to end on, since I think that's 483 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:34,200 Speaker 1: probably what has fascinated us the most about these aviatricies 484 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,119 Speaker 1: from the beginning, and that's their adventurous spirits and also 485 00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: just their bravery and sheer determination to do what they 486 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,480 Speaker 1: wanted to do despite the challenges and despite the dangers 487 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:47,879 Speaker 1: in a lot of cases. So we'll leave this topic 488 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:49,760 Speaker 1: behind for now, but there are plenty more that we 489 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,960 Speaker 1: can cover in the future. We got tons of suggestions 490 00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:58,719 Speaker 1: from people, uh, Nancy Bird Walton and Maral Lindbergh, Pauline Gower, Um. 491 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: The list kind of goes on and maybe someday, probably 492 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,399 Speaker 1: not anytime soon, since we've done a lot a lot 493 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,200 Speaker 1: of time on aviators lately, but down the road will 494 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,439 Speaker 1: I'm sure cover these well. I was thinking we have 495 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,119 Speaker 1: quite a catalog now because we've of course done episodes 496 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:17,640 Speaker 1: on Charles Lindberg already, We've done one on Antointa Santa Zuberi, 497 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,359 Speaker 1: the more famous as the writer of The Little Prince, 498 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: and um a long time ago, we did one on 499 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,240 Speaker 1: Bungled Flight Attempts, which is, oh, yeah, that's right. It 500 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: was a pretty fun podcast and I think there's an 501 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: article on it too. Yes. Then we have a very 502 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: old episode on Amelia Earhart too, which who knows, we 503 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:36,879 Speaker 1: might have to update that someday because I think that 504 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,359 Speaker 1: was from the Factor Fiction days when the podcast was 505 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:44,200 Speaker 1: really short. So although we uh, we didn't exactly diss her, 506 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: but we we did say that you know, you probably 507 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 1: know a lot about her, So we didn't include her 508 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 1: in any of these um podcasts that we've that we've 509 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,400 Speaker 1: done recently. But that's not to say that we won't. 510 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: If you're a big Amelia are heart fan to why 511 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: not branch out? Yeah, exactly, broaden your horizons. Find out 512 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,400 Speaker 1: about some other cool aviators, other cool ladies to uh 513 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,720 Speaker 1: to look up to if you're an aspiring pilot or 514 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,400 Speaker 1: just an adventurer or just someone who you know has 515 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: goals and wants to wants to work toward him, and 516 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:16,879 Speaker 1: to send us any suggestions that you may have for 517 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 1: future aviation related podcasts or other podcasts of any subject 518 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: in the whole world. We're at the grounded for a while. 519 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: We can be grounded for a while and do different things, 520 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,120 Speaker 1: and I think we will in fact, and either way, 521 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 1: you can reach us at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. 522 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: We're also on Facebook and we're on Twitter at myston History. 523 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 1: And if you want to learn a little bit more 524 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: about these guys who are just dropping some wings on 525 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: lucking feathers and trying to fly that way, we do 526 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:50,120 Speaker 1: have that great article on terribly bungled flight attempts if 527 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,200 Speaker 1: you can search for it on our homepage at www 528 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:59,320 Speaker 1: dot how stepworks dot com. Be sure to check out 529 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future. Join House 530 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:05,080 Speaker 1: to Work staff as we explore the most promising and 531 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The House of Works iPhone app 532 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 1: has a rise. Download it today on iTunes,