Marjorie Stinson

Marjorie Stinson, "only woman to whom a pilot's license has been granted by Army & Navy Committee of Aeronautics", in WWI

Marjorie Claire Stinson (July 5, 1895 – April 15, 1975) was an American aviator.

She trained at the Wright Flying School, and earned her Fédération Aéronautique Internationale license in 1914, becoming the ninth person to do so. Stinson became an exhibition pilot, and later was the first female airmail pilot in the United States, flying from Seguin to San Antonio, Texas in 1915. Along with her sister Katherine, she taught at the Stinson School of Flying established by her mother. After it closed, Marjorie returned to exhibition flying and worked at the Department of the Navy, retiring in 1945. She died at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. in 1975. Stinson was a charter member of the Ninety-Nines.[1][2]

Career

Early career

Following in the footsteps of her sister, Katherine, Marjorie Stinson learned to fly in June 1914 at the Wright School in Dayton. After being unsuccessful in starting an airmail route in Texas, she joined the family flight school, where she was an instructor like her sister. In 1915 she was the only woman admitted into the US Aviation Reserve Corps. In 1916 the Royal Canadian Flying Corps began sending their cadets to the Stinson School for their training, where she was referred to as "The Flying Schoolmarm" and her students as "The Texas Escadrille"[3]

Stunt Show Pilot

From 1917 to 1928 Marjorie was a very successful stunt show pilot performing at events like:

Legacy

Death

When Marjorie died in 1976 on July 26 she was cremated and her ashes spread across the Stinson Airfield.

Stinson Airfield

After being established 1915 by the Stinson Family, the Stinson Municipal Airport is the second oldest general aviation airport. It holds the home of the Texas Flight Museum and was used as a training base for the United States Army Air Forces during World War 2.

References

  1. ↑ Crane, Pamela (July 9, 1975). "Marjorie Stinson comes home" (PDF). The 99 News. 2 (9): 7.
  2. ↑ "Marjorie Stinson Is Dead at 79". New York Times. April 16, 1975. (subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ "Women in Aviation and Space History - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
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