The Whirly-Girls, officially known as Whirly-Girls International, are a non-profit, charitable and educational organization that aims to advance women in

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

aviation. They are an affiliate member of the

Helicopter Association International The Helicopter Association International (HAI) is a not-for-profit professional trade association of over member organizations in more than 68 nations. Since 1948, HAI has provided its membership with services that directly benefit their operat ...

. The Whirly-Girls and the

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

have many members in common.

History

The Whirly-Girls were founded by Jean Ross Howard Phelan, an American helicopter pilot, in 1955. At the time there were so few women with helicopter ratings that the group started with only 13 charter members representing the United States, Germany, and France. The Whirly-Girls provided a community for female helicopter pilots to share interests, remove feelings of isolation, and to come together in annual "Hoverings" beginning in April 1955. Today the organization has over 1,700 members from 44 different countries. An early member ("Whirly-Girl #1") was

Hanna Reitsch Hanna Reitsch (29 March 1912 – 24 August 1979) was a German aviator and test pilot. Along with Melitta von Stauffenberg, she flight tested many of Germany's new aircraft during World War II and received many honors. Reitsch was amon ...

, who flew her helicopter inside Berlin's

Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 2011. History Buil ...

in 1938. Member #2 was

Ann Shaw Carter Ann Shaw Carter (December 5, 1922 – September 26, 2005) was an American pilot who was the first female commercial helicopter pilot and the second woman to fly a helicopter, after the German pilot, Hanna Reitsch. Carter was born in Brooklyn, N. ...

, the first female commercial helicopter pilot. Charter member #10 was aviator Edna Gardner Whyte.Buffington, H. Glenn
"Edna Gardner Whyte"
''The Vintage Airplane''. October 1973, pp. 12–14, 16. The organization's logo was inspired by a recruiting show put on by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in the early 1950s. Four helicopters performed a

square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...

, with a caller on the microphone and a band playing "

Turkey in the Straw "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people c ...

". Two of the helicopters were decorated to represent the boys, and the other two represented the girls. The "girl" helicopters were topped with blonde wigs fashioned from dyed floor mops, and faces were painted on them in the style of Betty Boop. The scholarship program was started in 1968 in memory of Doris Mullen, a former member. It was incorporated in 1974, and became an international program in 1978. The program provides flight training scholarships to eligible women. Phelan received the

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

's Elder Statesman of Aviation Award in 1994.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.whirlygirls.org/ Aviation organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1955 Helicopter organizations 1955 establishments in the United States Women's occupational organizations Pinellas County, Florida Organizations based in Florida

History

References

Further reading

External links