Free Women Aviators by Karen Bush Gibson Page B

fulfill that dream, but Edna persevered and opened Aero Valley Airport in Roanoke, Texas. Still active in flying and teaching well into her 80s, she taught nearly 5,000 students in her lifetime, including her daughter. At the age of 83, she said, “When I grew older, I knew I could go to an old peoples’ home, but I wanted one with a runway at the door. I already have that. Why should I move?”
    When she died in 1992 at the age of 89, Edna had more than 35,000 flight hours, 127 air race trophies, and recognition by many groups, including the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. She also received the Charles Lindbergh Lifetime Achievement Award and was the first woman to be elected an honorary member of the Order of Daedalians, an organization of military pilots.
    LEARN MORE
    American Women and Flight Since 1940
by Deborah G. Douglas, Amy E. Foster, Alan D. Meyer, and Lucy B. Young (University Press of Kentucky, 2004)
    â€œEdna Gardner Whyte” on International Women’s Air and Space Museum website, http://iwasm.org/wp-blog/museum-collections/women-in-air-space-history/edna-gardner-whyte/
    Rising Above It: An Autobiography—The Story of a Pioneering Woman Aviator
by Edna Gardner Whyte with Ann L. Cooper (Orion Books, 1991)

KATHERINE CHEUNG
The First Licensed Asian American Woman Pilot

    I N 1932, A SPIRITED YOUNG woman with a big smile on her face stood next to an airplane, her hand on the propeller. Joy radiated from her face. The 27-year-old woman was a pilot. Although female pilots were still rare in 1932, she wasn’t the only one, nor was she the youngest. This woman had soloed after 12.5 hours of flying lessons. Although that achievement is remarkable, she didn’t hold a record for that either. What made Katherine Sui Fun Cheung extraordinary was that she was the first licensed female Asian American aviator. She raced, performed aerial acrobatics, and participated in air shows.

    Born in Canton, China, in 1904, Katherine Cheung moved to the United States at age 17 to study music, first at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and later at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the University of Southern California.
    One day, she accompanied her father to Dycer Airport for a driving lesson. But instead of driving, Katherine was mesmerized by the airplanes taking off and landing. She never forgot the sight of those planes.
    Years later, when she was a wife and mother, a cousin who happened to be a pilot took her up in his airplane. The experience was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She immediately signed up for flying lessons with the Chinese Aeronautical Association for five dollars.
    Katherine earned her license in 1932 and became one of about 200 licensed women pilots in the United States. Of that group, she was the only one who was Asian. In her homeland of China, women weren’t allowed to take lessons. She began entering air shows and competitive air events, including the Chatterton Air Race. Katherine particularly enjoyed stunt flying. The snap rolls, inverted flying, and spiral diving thrilled audiences at California county fairs.
    The Chinese American community was so proud of Katherine that, with the help of famous Chinese actress Anna May Wong, they raised $2,000 to buy her a 125-horsepower Fleet biplane. In an air race from Glendale to San Diego, she came in fourth.
    Three years later, in 1935, she earned her international license to fly as a commercial pilot. She was a good pilot who could handle herself in the air. One time, when she was flying back from an aviation competition in Cleveland, her compass broke, but she was still able to find her way home.
    Hazel Ying Lee

    Hazel Ying Lee was another early Chinese American aviator. Born in Portland, Oregon, Hazel took her first flight at the age of 19 in 1932. She joined her city’s Chinese Flying Club to take lessons and earned her pilot’s license the same year. Like Katherine, Hazel also heard