Katherine Stinson (February 14, 1891 – July 8, 1977) was an aviation pioneer who in 1912 became the fourth woman in the United States to earn the
FAI pilot certificate. She set flying records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, and endurance. She was the first female pilot employed by the
US Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
, and the first civilian pilot to fly the mail in Canada. She was also one of the first pilots to ever fly at night and the first female pilot to fly in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Japan.
Early life and flight training
Stinson was born on February 14, 1891, at
Fort Payne, Alabama
Fort Payne is a city in and county seat of DeKalb County, in northeastern Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 14,877.
European-American settlers gradually developed the settlement around the former fort. It grew rap ...
to Edward Sr. and Emma Stinson.
Edward Sr. left the family, leaving Emma alone to raise Stinson and her younger siblings
Edward Jr.,
Marjorie, and John (Jack). Emma moved the family to
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
where Stinson attended high school.
[ She excelled at music and dreamed of being a concert pianist. After she graduated from high school, the family moved to ]Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combin ...
.
Stinson learned to drive the family flivver
Flivver is early twentieth-century American slang for an automobile, frequently used for a poor quality or poorly maintained car.
It may also refer to:
* Flivver, nickname for the Ford Model T, the first mass-produced automobile
* Flivver, n ...
at the age of 14. In 1911, she took her first flight aloft in a hot-air balloon
A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
in Kansas City.[ Smitten by the flying bug, Stinson sold her piano to help pay for flying lessons. Stinson went to ]St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
to take flight lessons from Tony Jannus, who allowed her to fly only as a passenger. She then took flying lessons from the well-known aviator Max Lillie, a pilot for the Wright Brothers, who initially refused to teach her because she was female. However, Stinson was able to solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
the Wright B, after only four hours of instruction, on 13 July 1912 at Cicero Field.
She was the fourth woman in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
to obtain a pilot's certificate, which she earned on July 24, 1912, at the age of 21.
Stunt flying and world records
After she received her certificate, Stinson returned to the family farm in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...
. Stinson and her mother Emma incorporated the Stinson Aviation Company in April 1913 to "manufacture, sell, rent, and otherwise engage in the aircraft trade." In May, Stinson bought a Wright B from Lillie. In July, she flew at Cincinnati's Coney Island Park, and then Columbus, Indiana in August. She then carried the first air mail at the Helena State Fair, flew at the Illinois State Fair, then El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
, Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena–West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. It was founded in 1833 by Nicholas Rightor and is named after the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips, an early settler of Phillips County and the n ...
, , and Beaumont, Texas. Stinson then received permission to use the aeroplane sheds at Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.
"Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview),
US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
. She believed the San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
area to have an ideal climate for flying.[
In 1915, the Stinson family established the ]Stinson Municipal Airport
Stinson Municipal Airport is seven miles south of downtown San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''reliever airport''.
History
Stinson Municipal Airport is the s ...
, and the Stinson School of Flying. Emma managed the school, Katherine financed it, Eddie worked as a mechanic, and Marjorie flight instructed.[
In March 1915, the famous ]Lincoln Beachey
Lincoln Beachey (March 3, 1887 – March 14, 1915) was a pioneer American aviator and barnstormer. He became famous and wealthy from flying exhibitions, staging aerial stunts, helping invent aerobatics, and setting aviation records.
He was k ...
died in a crash at San Francisco and Stinson acquired the rotary engine from his wrecked plane, rebuilt it and used it in her plane.[
Stinson began exhibition flying and became known as the "Flying Schoolgirl" and "America's Sweetheart of the Air."][ On July 18, 1915, at Cicero Field in ]Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Stinson performed a loop (a year after Lydia Zvereva became the first woman aviator to do so), and went on to perform this feat some 500 times without a single accident. She also became one of the first pilots to ever fly at night.[ Adding to her night flying experience, she flew over ]Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
with flares attached to the plane and spelt out "CAL", becoming the first nighttime sky-writer.[ In another publicity stunt on May 6, 1916, Stinson flew her plane in a race with Dario Resta, the 1916 ]Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
champion.
In 1917, Stinson made a six-month tour of China and Japan, becoming one of the first females to fly in Asia.[ The Japanese gave her the name "Air Queen".][ On December 11, 1917, Stinson flew 610 miles from ]San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
to San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, setting a new American non-stop distance record.[
During exhibition flights in ]Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, Stinson became the first civilian to fly the mail in Canada on a flight from Calgary to Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta in 1918.
All of her stunt flying was done in aircraft using the Wright control system, which uses two side-mounted levers for pitch and roll, with top mounted controls for throttle and yaw.[
]
US Air Mail Service
After the US entered WWI in 1917, the government prohibited civilian flying in order to direct all aviation resources to the Army and Navy for the war effort. This caused the closure of the Stinson School in 1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
. Stinson was allowed to fly a Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" and a Curtiss Stinson-Special (a single seat version of the JN aircraft built to her specifications) for fundraising for the American Red Cross. The fledgling US Postal Air Service was the only non-military flying operation allowed by the government and the only other venue for Stinson to fly. In 1918, Stinson approached Benjamin Lipsner, superintendent of the Post Office Department airmail operations, about a publicity stunt for long a distance mail service flight from Chicago to New York City.[ She encountered strong headwinds on the flight and flew non-stop from ]Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
to Binghamton, New York, where she had to stop for fuel. The airplane flipped over on landing in a field, and took several days to repair. Stinson then flew from Binghamton to New York City completing the mail route.[ Unable to find stable aviation work, she applied to Lipsner once again, but this time as a regular mail service pilot. She was hired and assigned to the New York City-Philadelphia route. On her first trip, she followed her instructor, veteran air mail pilot Maurice Newton, down to Philadelphia where he showed her the landmarks, emergency landing fields, and other pertinent tips for the route. The following day he followed her back to New York City to make sure she had the route mastered. The press mistakenly reported this as she had beat her instructor back to New York City in a race. This reporting caused animosity at work, and she quit the mail service after the one round-trip.][ Stinson then left for ]Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
to be an ambulance driver for the Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
during WWI
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, ending her aviation career.[
]
Later life
The weather and wartime conditions in Europe affected her health and she came down with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
. Returning from the war, she went to the New York Sanitarium and then to the dry climate of New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
in 1920 to help combat the disease. Stinson's tuberculosis diminished after four years.[ In 1927, Stinson married ex-army aviator Miguel Antonio Otero, Jr., a district judge and son of the former territorial governor of New Mexico.][ They raised four adopted children.] Stinson worked as an award winning architect[ and Pueblo style home designer for many years in Santa Fe, New Mexico.] One of the houses she designed belonged to anthropologist Sallie Wagner in the 1970s.
Death and honors
After a long period as an invalid, she died in 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
at the age of 86. She is buried in Santa Fe National Cemetery.[
* Stinson's flying inspired her brothers to form the ]Stinson Aircraft Company
The Stinson Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturing company in the United States between the 1920s and the 1950s.
History
The Stinson Aircraft Company was founded in Dayton, Ohio, in 1920 by aviator Edward “Eddie” Stinson, the b ...
.[
* An early Laird biplane looped by Stinson is on display at the ]Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contains ...
.
* A replica of her 1918 Curtiss Stinson-Special is on display at the Alberta Aviation Museum
The Alberta Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The museum is located on-site at the former Edmonton City Centre (Blatchford Field) Airport on the southwest corner of the field (11410 Kingsway Avenue).
...
in Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
.
* The second oldest general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Stinson Municipal Airport
Stinson Municipal Airport is seven miles south of downtown San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''reliever airport''.
History
Stinson Municipal Airport is the s ...
(KSSF) in San Antonio, Texas, was named in the Stinson family's honor.
* A middle school in northwest San Antonio, TX
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, Katherine Stinson Middle School, was named in her honor.
* In 2000, Stinson was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame
The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Si ...
at the San Diego Air & Space Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
.
* Katherine Stinson's biography is featured in CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
TV series '' The Henry Ford's Innovation Nation'', episode 54 in the series.
* In 2019, Stinson was selected to the National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...
.
Works featuring Katherine Stinson
* ''Katherine Stinson: The Flying Schoolgirl'' by Debra L. Winegarten (Eakin Press, August 2000)
* ''Flying High: Pioneer Women in American Aviation'' by Charles R. Mitchell (photographer) and Kirk W. House (Arcadia Publishing, June 2, 2002)
* ''Before Amelia: Women Pilots in the Early Days of Aviation'' by Eileen F. Lebow (Potomac Books Inc., August 1, 2002)
* ''The Stinsons'' by John Underwood (Heritage Press, 1976)
References
External links
San Diego Air & Space Museum Hall of Fame
Texas State Historical Association
The National Aviation Hall of Fame
Katherine Stinson Pictorial Collection, University of New Mexico
Photo of who is believed to be Katherine Stinson walking with Wilbur Wright
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stinson, Katherine
1891 births
1977 deaths
Members of the Early Birds of Aviation
People from Santa Fe, New Mexico
American women in World War I
People from Fort Payne, Alabama
American women aviators
People from San Antonio
Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery
Aviators from Alabama
Aviators from Texas
20th-century American people
People from Hot Springs, Arkansas