Women in Aviation & Aerospace

Women in Aviation & Aerospace Day The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward. Amelia Earhart Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission 110 N. Robinson, Suite 200 Oklahoma City OK 73102 (405) 604-6900 E-mail: [email protected] CONGREGATE | CELEBRATE | COMMEMORATE oac.ok.gov Women first beganBraids pilot training in the military in 1976, and Battles navigator training in 1977, and fighter pilot training in July of 1993. It was during Desert Storm that the first female pilot, Maria T. Rossi, age 32, gave her life while flying a helicopter in a combat zone. As of 2017, the Air Force employs 713 female pilots, 300 navigators, and 228 air battle managers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women make up 50.8 percent of the nation’s population. Currently women make up 19 percent of the Air Force, the highest of any service. Women have struggled to gain a foothold in military aviation, however their role in Oklahoma is well recognized both in economic and community impact. In Oklahoma there are five military installations all supported by the workforce of female pilots, ground crew, and engineers. The military is actually the largest of the three segments that comprise the aviation and aerospace industry in Oklahoma with a $19.3 billion annual impact. PHOTO CREDIT: Scot Meek Patterns of Possibility AviationFighterJetGeek Photography Statistical data reports that in 1960, only one in 21,417 women held an “other-than-student” pilot certificate. By 1980, the ratio had become one in 4,224, the best representation of female pilots within the general population ever. In the US in 2017, just 7 percent of 609,000 pilots were women, according to data from the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration. Today, to have a chance to randomly meet a female pilot in the United States, you would have to meet 5,623 women. The Aeronautics Commission hopes to significantly improve those numbers. In Oklahoma, and nationally, there have been strong organizations supporting women in aviation and aerospace including the Ninety-Nines (“99s”) International Organization of Women Pilots, headquartered in Oklahoma City. The Commission was proud to partner with the 99’s by leading a round-table discussion at their 2018 Internation- al Conference in Philadelphia. Commission staff demonstrated how 99s chapter officials in the United States and abroad could duplicate Oklahoma’s efforts recognizing the contributions of female pilots and aerospace workers. PHOTO: Valerie Westedt, Tenkiller Airpark Experimental Aircraft Owner and Pilot OKLAHOMA WOMEN IN AVIATION DAY - DECEMBER 9 ANNUALLY 6 From the Director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission As the director of the Aeronautics These businesses are many of our largest Commission, over the past employers. Our airports and airways are being used Braids and Battles fifteen years, I have had the priv- by our major employers to conduct their business. Plane Spoken Women ilege to observe the Oklahoma The heritage of aviation in our state is, indeed, a rich In 1930, there were 200 licensed female pilots and by 1935 there was an estimated 800 licensed female aviation and aerospace industry one. Aviation has really been with us since statehood pilots. With eighty years now passed, the United States is facing a pilot shortage like never seen in the flourish in the State of Oklahoma. as Clyde Cessna did test flights of his early aircraft in western Oklahoma just a few years after statehood. aviation industry.The Federal Aviation Administration reported on December 31, 2016, that there were In 2017, the Commission unveiled the most comprehensive study Business aviation began right here, in Oklahoma, 39,187 licensed female pilots. That is 6.71% of all pilots in the United States. Over 10,000 of those female of the economic impact of our when Frank Phillips, W.G. “Bill” Skelly, and other oilmen pilots were classified as private, while just over 6,000 were serving commercial aviation. Promising a new aviation and aerospace industry ever done in our state. found that the fastest most efficient way to get to their generation of female pilots, there are almost 16,000 students making up 12% of the total pilot population. Today, airports, off-airport aviation and aerospace oilfields was with an airplane. One of Phillips’ pilots was PHOTO: Oklahoma Airport Managers businesses, and military aviation produce almost $44 Wiley Post. But, men were not the only aviation pioneers Billion in annual economic activity in Oklahoma. That in Oklahoma. Bessie Coleman, who attended Langston makes aviation and aerospace the second largest eco- University, was the first African American female pilot. nomic engine in our state. Altogether, these segments Shannon Lucid grew up in Bethany and attend- support 206,000 jobs and an $11.7 billion payroll. The ed the University of Oklahoma where she obtained average salary in aviation and aerospace is $73,000. her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1973. Lucid was se- Oklahoma is well served by the 105 general avia- lected by NASA for the first class of female astro- PHOTO CREDIT: Scot Meek tion airports and 4 commercial airports in the Oklaho- nauts. She was the only mother in this first class. AviationFighterJetGeek Photography ma Airport System; 45 of these airports are jet-capa- Geraldyn Cobb from Norman was part of the “Mercury ble, meaning they have at least a 5,000 foot runway. 13,” a group of women selected to undergo physiological We have more jet-capable airports per capita than screening tests at the same time as the original Mercury any other state. 95% of our state’s population is with- Seven astronauts, as part of a private, non-NASA program. in 30 minutes drive time of a jet-capable airport. From Pearl Carter Scott to Amelia Earhart, women Businesses that use a plane in their business are have made an invaluable contribution to aviation. We three fold more efficient than a business that doesn’t. are proud to be the FIRST in the nation to commemorate Devon, Quik Trip, Grondyke Transport, Oklahoma the achievements of women in aviation and aerospace. State University, Oklahoma University, Walmart, Miche- Victor Bird, Director lin, and the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, are just Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission Aerospace with Grace a few of the businesses that use our aviation system. Oklahoma’s aviation and aerospace industry is the state’s second largest economic engine providing more than OklahomaFirst Women in Aviation andin Aerospace the Day Nation! 206,000 jobs and an $11.7 billion payroll. was placed into state statute through the signature of Measured in 2017, the footprint of aviation and Governor Mary Fallin during the 2017 aerospace in Oklahoma has grown meeting of the Oklahoma State Legislature. The dramatically in the past 20 years as one of date marks the birth of the famous Chickasaw the fastest growing sectors of the state’s aviator, Pearl Carter Scott, of Marlow, Oklahoma. economy, increasing by 250%, generating Senator Paul Scott, of Duncan, agreed to carry economic activity of $43.7 billion annually. the measure and filed the request bill on behalf of the More than 1,200 aerospace compa- Aeronautics Commission via Senate Bill 230. “Pearl nies are located throughout the state. The Carter Scott was an inspiration to all women in and average annual salary for an Oklahoman outside of aviation. There are many women who have working in the aerospace industry is nearly made great strides in aviation and aerospace in our state, $73,000. Aerospace is the state’s top export and I believe all female aviators and aerospace personnel and there is no doubt the female workforce should be recognized for their contributions,” said Scott. Oklahoma Women in Aviation & Aerospace Day went is a significant contributor to that success. Representative Scott Biggs of Marlow carried into effect carrying the weight of law November 1, 2017 PHOTO: Spirit AeroSystems, Inc. the measure in the House of Representatives. and was the first day of its kind across the United States. OKLAHOMA WOMEN IN AVIATION DAY - DECEMBER 9 ANNUALLY 6 OKLAHOMA WOMEN IN AVIATION DAY - DECEMBER 9 ANNUALLY 5 OKLAHOMA WOMEN IN AVIATION DAY - DECEMBER 9 ANNUALLY 2 EULA PEARL CARTER SCOTT The Pearl of Oklahoma December 9, 1915 - March 25, 2005 earl Carter Scott was memorialized on Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at the Oklahoma State Capitol through a portrait that is displayed Pprominently in the House of Representatives lounge. The well attended dedication brought Pearl’s remaining brother and sister from across the country to celebrate Pearl’s achievements. The portrait was a project of the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc. curated by retired Senator Charles Ford of Tulsa. The logo used on the cover of this program was used with permission by the artist Christopher Nick. Nick was commissioned by Senator Ford, Representative Ray McCarter, and Governor Bill Anoat- bubby with the Chickasaw Nation, to capture the tapestry of Pearl’s amazing life. Christopher Nick was born and raised in rural Oklahoma and received his formal art training at the Atelier LeSueuer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Atelier school system is based on the curriculum of training the artist in the tradition of the old masters. Christopher then continued his training by appren- ticing in the studio of the national illustrator Mike Wimmer and branched out on his own as a full time professional artist. His images have been published on book covers, children’s books, figurines, textiles, puzzles, ceramics, calendars, greeting cards and magazines.

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