Women Aviators (22 page)

Ingrid was born in 1933 in Stockholm, Sweden. Being a pilot was not something she dreamed of while growing up. Instead, she wanted to see wild animals and have adventures in Africa.
But then she met Einar Pedersen, whom she called “the Polar Professor.” He was a polar navigator who studied polar ice. His apartment walls were decorated with photographs of wild animals, such as polar bears and seals. In spite of herself, Ingrid found herself drawn to the polar region.

Einar dared Ingrid to learn to fly. Unable to resist the challenge, she began taking flight lessons in February 1957. Her husband called her a natural-born pilot. After soloing in May, she earned her license in June. She was the 13th woman in Sweden to receive a pilot's license.

After the two married, Einar was transferred to Anchorage for an 18-month rotation by Scandinavian Airlines. Ingrid obtained commercial, instrument, and airline-transport ratings. In 1959 they began talking about making the polar flight. Finally, as 1963 approached, they decided it was now or never.

After the historic flight, they returned to Europe for a while. Ingrid flew commercially through the Arctic as a bush pilot, taking researchers, miners, and supplies to remote locations. During this time, she was frequently the first woman pilot to complete many of the routes she flew. Ingrid is credited with ten first flights, mainly in the polar region.

During the mid-1970s, the Norwegian Polar Institute hired the Pedersens to place meteorological buoys on the drift ice to collect data. The institute studies the Arctic region and manages the environmental needs in the region. Ingrid taught herself to land a Cessna on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean. Not many pilots can successfully land on moving, icy runways. The Pedersens landed in seven different polar ice locations to set up the buoys that would measure ice drift. On one landing, one of the plane's skis got stuck, but they were able eventually to break free.

The Pedersens returned to Alaska in 1979. Ingrid continued piloting commercial flights from Skagway and also became a
flight instructor in Anchorage. She became a US citizen in 1985 and volunteered at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. Ten years later, she published a book about flying in the Arctic. The title translates to “perfume and motor oil.”

Today, airliners fly over the North Pole; doing so cuts significant time off routes to Scandinavian countries, Russia, and parts of Asia. But for small planes, this can still be a hazardous trip. Since Ingrid made her flight, other women have made the trip and experienced both the joys and problems. Polly Vacher is one of those women. With a goal of starting a scholarship for disabled pilots, she set out to fly around the globe over both the North and South Poles. When she was flying over the North Pole, her engine stalled. Although she was able to get it started again, the dangers of a crash and small chances of survival made this experienced pilot more than a little nervous.

Flying over the North Pole was almost unheard of, for male or female pilots, when Ingrid Pedersen made her historic journey. She continued flying in the harsh polar region for many years. For Ingrid, life as a polar aviator meant never a dull moment.

W
omen pilots have made their mark in all types of flying: competitive, military, and commercial. Some female pilots quit flying when they were denied the flying careers they were best suited to. Others used their skills and interest in flying to make a difference in the lives of others.

World War II was a frightening time; people worried about their security. It was also a time when people began to see how aviation could benefit others. One week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was created as an aviation group that would do just that. More than 150,000 volunteers logged more than 500,000 flying hours. CAP volunteers delivered cargo and mail to air bases, monitored the country's borders and provided civil defense. CAP pilots spent 46,725 hours towing targets to provide training for gunners and searchlight operators. They even sank two enemy submarines.

Women were allowed to fly in noncombat zones, often as couriers for the CAP. At a time when women had a difficult time getting accepted in the CAP, Willa Brown became the first African American to serve as an officer in the Civil Air Patrol. She was the Chicago coordinator and leader of the first integrated
unit. Ruth Nichols also served in the CAP as a lieutenant colonel. By the end of World War II, reportedly 20 percent of the Civil Air Patrol was female.

People donate their time and skills to make the world a better place. Organizations such as the Peace Corps and UNICEF provide education, training, and support throughout the world. Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, and Medical Missions, Inc. provide health care. All of these groups need pilots, as do environmental and religious groups that serve others.

Twenty-three-year-old Patricia Mawuli is not only one of Ghana's youngest pilots; she is also the country's first female
pilot. She teaches at Ghana's Aviation and Technology Academy. In her free time, she volunteers with Medicine on the Move, an organization that delivers medical services to Ghana's rural population. Patricia delivers supplies and doctors across her country. She also flies over villages and drops educational pamphlets about health issues such as malaria.

Flying charities, such as Flight Charities, Inc., transport people and supplies to medical facilities and provide assistance after natural disasters occur. Air Charity Network, which has more than 7,500 volunteer pilots, also provides flights for medical emergencies, disaster response, and travel for military personnel. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) oversees and regulates many charitable flights.

Other flying charities, such as Angel Flight, work under the Air Care Alliance. These organizations provide free air transportation for charitable or nonemergency medical needs. They also transport blood for the Red Cross and the Oklahoma Blood Institute in emergencies. Each pilot must have both a private pilot's license and a medical certificate as well. The costs of these flights are primarily covered by the pilots themselves, who use their own airplanes and pay for their own operating expenses. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Angel Flight primarily serves the central United States but coordinates with other similar services when longer flights are needed—for example, to specialty hospitals.

Other flying charities and pilots provide service in other countries, which can be challenging, with hostile terrain and a lack of runways. Pilots carry food, medicine, and immunizations—all of which can save lives. Sometimes a pilot might be the difference between people living or dying.

Yet this aspect of the job is where the reward comes from, knowing one's flying skills are making a difference in the lives of others. Women pilots make a difference whether they volunteer to teach Girl Scouts how to fly, work on one of the Ninety-Nine's many projects, or volunteer for some other organization. Aviation makes a difference in everyone's life.

Ninety-Nines members have a long history of giving back. Carole Cary-Hopson has mentored at-risk girls in the Eagle
Flight Squadron in New Jersey. Eagle Flight Squadron is a nonprofit youth organization that encourages aviation skills. Cary-Hopson worked with one girl who wanted to fly so much that she would take two buses and a train to get to the meetings. That's dedication—and proof of the many ways that aviation changes lives.

R
UTH
N
ICHOLS, A PIONEER AVIATOR
with dozens of records to her name, saw her world turned upside down by World War II. She began to look at aviation differently. Instead of seeing aviation as a competition to fly faster, higher, and farther than anyone else, Ruth realized that planes could used to help others. With their machines, pilots could give people in needy communities a better chance at surviving by bringing them the goods they lacked or transporting them quickly to medical facilities.

She joined the Civil Air Patrol and served as a lieutenant colonel. She saw how the organization accomplished many good things for the war effort, but she believed more could be done.

In 1940, Ruth established Relief Wings as a flying ambulance to help during disasters. When presenting her plan to
government officials and the public, Ruth explained how planes could be used for mercy missions. Airplanes could go where ambulances couldn't. And if the nearest medical facility was far away, a plane could get there faster.

She recommended twin-motor planes capable of flying through any type of weather. The planes had to be large enough to carry patients on stretchers if needed, plus medical personnel, including a doctor and nurse. Relief Wings later became a service of the Civil Air Patrol, and Ruth continued as an advisor to the air ambulance missions.