First Female Certificated As Pilot To Be Inducted Into National Aviation Hall Of Fame

Folks in Coldwater (MI) take anything having to do with Harriet Quimby very seriously.

That's why they're thrilled at the idea that the local aviation pioneer -- the first woman ever to win a pilot's certificate -- has been inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton (OH).

"This will put Harriet into the rarefied company of flying greats, such as the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, John Glenn and Amelia Earhart," said Branch County (MI) historian Larry Hoffman. "This honor and belated recognition finally comes to the pioneer lady of aviation." Hoffman was quoted in the Coldwater Daily Reporter.

Harriet Quimby got her ticket on August 1st, 1911 -- a decade before Amelia Earhart got hers. In March, 1912, the remarkably beautiful Quimby became the first woman to fly the English Channel.

Later that year, she was thrown from her aircraft and killed at the Third Annual Boston Aviation Meet in Massachusetts. The cause of that accident has been debated for almost a century.

A group of Harriet Quimby re-enactors plans to make the trip from Coldwater to Dayton next Saturday. They need help raising money for the trip. If you're interested in making a donation, call (517) 278-2871 or (517) 279-1413.

FMI: www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/quimby.htm