Gone West: WASP Dora Dougherty Strother McKeown | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.20.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.28.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-05.29.24 Airborne-Unlimited-05.30.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.24.24

Thu, Dec 12, 2013

Gone West: WASP Dora Dougherty Strother McKeown

Praised By Col. Paul Tibbets As 'One Of The Best Multi-Engine Pilots' With Whom He'd Flown

Dora Dougherty Strother McKeown, PhD., Lt. Col, Res, Retired passed away November 19.

She had made a career of aviation, being accepted into the WASP program during WWII. During the war, she conducted ferry flights and towed targets until she was asked by Col. Paul Tibbets to learn to fly the B-29 bomber along with fellow WASP Didi Moorman. The goal was to prove that the airplane with a reputation for being cranky was actually "so easy to fly that even a woman could do it."

Col. Tibbets said that she was "one of the best multi-engine pilots" with whom he had flown.

After her time with the WASPs, she worked her way through school, eventually obtaining a PhD from New York University.

According to an obituary appearing in the Orange, CT online news site Orange Live, she later worked for Bell Helicopter from 1962 until 1986, setting two world flight records for rotorcraft in altitude and distance. She was the 27th woman in the world to earn a helicopter rating, and the 6th U.S. woman to earn an Airline Transport Certificate.

After 20 years in the Air Force Reserve, she retired with the rank of Lt. Col from 9823rd Air Reserve Squadron, Ft. Worth, TX.

A celebration of her life was held in Tampa, FL December 7. Final internment is tentatively planned at Arlington National Cemetery, in the spring of 2014.

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots

Advertisement

More News

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.29.24)

Aero Linx: International Association of Professional Gyroplane Training (IAPGT) We are an Association of people who fly, build or regulate Gyroplanes, who have a dream of a single >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.29.24): NORDO (No Radio)

NORDO (No Radio) Aircraft that cannot or do not communicate by radio when radio communication is required are referred to as “NORDO.”>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.30.24): Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS)

Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) The operation of a UAS beyond the visual capability of the flight crew members (i.e., remote pilot in command [RPIC], the person manipulating th>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.30.24)

Aero Linx: Malibu M-Class Owners and Pilots Association (MMOPA) The Piper M-Class Owners & Pilots Association (PMOPA) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the interest>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC