Female Pioneers Who Helped Shape the Future of Helicopter Flight

Daughters of Daedalus: Female Pioneers of the Helicopter
By Alison Martin
Saturday, July 18, 2015
Culture is an important component of organizations and nations. It aids communication
and coordination through shared assumptions, values, and predetermined reactions (Martinussen
& Hunter, 2010). Unfortunately, there are often some cultural norms wherein those same
perceptions and assumptions are used as an excuse to hold back certain groups of people. Ever
since the first flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903, the progress of women in aviation has been
accomplished at a slower pace than that of men. Particularly in the field of helicopter flight, the
stories of great women pilots are scattered and become all the more notable.
Strong organizational and cultural influences that established women as homemakers,
comparatively weak, peacekeepers, and less adept at mechanics have worked throughout history
to keep women from fully participating in certain fields, including aviation. Even now, as
females make up only 3-4% of pilots, women pilots are a tiny and unusual subculture that is
sometimes viewed by male pilots as subpar in skill (Martinussen & Hunter, 2010). Despite the
extra work most had to do to prove themselves as aviators, some women continued to press on
and pursue that dream to fly vertically into the sky like a lark “hovering over the summer fields”
(Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 18, para. 10).
This is the story of a select group of these daughters of Daedalus. Those women who, in
some way, were pioneers in the field of rotorcraft and took to the sky in their helicopters proving
to others that the aviatrix was just a capable as her male counterpart. From the first female

helicopter pilot, Hanna Reitsch, to modern media darlings like Major Marie Rossi, the triumph of
women in the field of helicopters has been constantly moving forward. The following women are
examples of strength, perseverance, and triumph whose hard work laid the foundation for all the
women who come after them.
The Female Pioneers of the Helicopter
Hanna Reitsch
The first woman to fly a helicopter was Hanna Reitsch, a German test pilot (Gibson,
2013, p. 127). In an era where women were still expected to remain in the home to be wives and
mothers, and in a country where this opinion was part of the Fascist national mantra, Hanna used
her talent and ingenuity to not only break out of the feminine mold but to earn the respect of the
head of the Luftwaffe and Hitler himself (Merry, 2010, p. 188). Reitsch’s desire to be a pilot was
well known within her family. Her ultimate goal was to be a flying missionary doctor in Africa
and, under stipulation from her father that she also had to enroll in domestic sciences, she finally
got to enter the Grunau School for Glider Pilots (Van Patten, 2006). A restriction on the use of
engine aircraft in Germany following WWI led to the country becoming a leader in glider
development and, despite talk amongst the teachers to drop her from the school as soon as
possible, Hanna excelled at flight (Gibson, 2013, p.125; Merry, 2010, p. 188).
Hanna’s inherent talent for flying led to may glider records and opened the door for her to
begin using powered aircraft (Pennington, 2009). Perplexed at the disregard that many pilots
seemed to have for exactly how the all-important engines of their aircraft functioned, Reitsch
began spending copious amounts of time with maintenance crews (Merry, 2010, p. 188).
Eventually she learned enough to take apart and reassemble an engine on her own, thoroughly

impressing the grease monkeys at the flight school. She later used the same method of learning
when she decided it was time to master driving a car and she became a fixture amongst the
construction crews, helping out until they finally agreed to let her drive the tractors.
Hanna’s transition to helicopters in 1937 was, in her words, “one of those strokes of good
fortune which have so often befallen me” (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 18, para. 5). Accompanying
fellow pilot Karl Franke as he answered a summons from Professor Heinrich Focke to test his
new helicopter, the Focke-Achgelis Fa-61, Focke was assumed that Reitsch was Franke’s copilot
and allowed her into his new machine as well. While the other test pilots had used ground tethers
for safety when they flew the Fa-61, Hanna decided she couldn’t remain fastened down if she
wanted to get a real feel for this new aircraft “that demanded of its pilot the abandonment of all
those flying habits which had become second nature and the ability to make a completely fresh
start” (Reitsch, 2009, para. 6). She lifted off without impediment and, after developing a feel for
the helicopter while in a low hover, she slowly opened up the throttle and took the aircraft high
into the air. Her ability to control the craft was soon apparent and she was chosen a few weeks
later to demonstrate it for a famous visitor, Charles Lindbergh (Pennington, 2009).
Despite her spoken distaste of flying aircraft for displays of entertainment, Luftwaffe
Colonel and WWI flying ace Ernst Udet entreated upon Reitsch to perform with the helicopter at
an air show inside Berlin's Deutschlandhalle in 1938 (Van Patten, 2006). This indoor
demonstration was meant to provide proof to the many foreign visitors that the rumors of the
feats of this aircraft were not based in fiction and a fully controllable helicopter was now a
reality. Knowing that this event would also serve as an exhibit of German air skill and she was
the best helicopter pilot available, Reitsch capitulated to the “scandalizing” job of becoming a

“variety artiste” (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 18, para. 29). In 1945, on a trip to the United States,
she finally learned how important this dutifully undertaken demonstration was,
“Exactly how deep an impression my flight with the helicopter had made on the world at
large I was not to realize till many years later… [when] I came across an American
soldiers' magazine.... The first thing that caught my eye was my name and then I saw that
it contained an article describing in popular terms my flight with the helicopter."
(Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 18, para. 50).
Soon thereafter, World War II increased the need for pilots for rocket and jet testing and
this type of activity filled all of Hanna’s flight hours. She continued to excel in the masculine
world of German aviation and was well-known in the higher levels of the Luftwaffe. As the war
came to a close, Reitsch was summoned to Munich by General Von Griem, the new commander
of the Luftwaffe, for a special mission into Berlin (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter28, para. 15). Hanna’s
previous training in the area and her apparent skill with helicopter operations made her the
obvious choice to pilot Von Griem to his meeting with Adolf Hitler inside the besieged and
crater-marked city. When she arrived in Munich though the only helicopter available had just
been destroyed and the decision was made to employ a jet to an airfield right outside Berlin. The
most experienced pilot for that aircraft was given the mission instead. Knowing that Von Griem
would still need someone to help him get from the airport to Hitler’s bunker, Reitsch squeezed
herself into the baggage compartment of the jet and joined the flight (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 28,
para. 22). She and Von Griem eventually made it into Berlin, but they were not unscathed. On
the last leg of the flight an armor-piercing bullet tore out the bottom of their plane and grievously
damaged Von Griem’s foot (Van Patten, 2006). Reitsch managed to land the plane near the

Brandenberg Gate and get her injured compatriot to the bunker (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 28, para.
36).
This dangerous journey culminated in Reitsch’s infamous two and a half day stay in
Hitler’s air raid bunker. Nursing Von Griem and playing with the six Goebell children, Hanna
had the opportunity to observe the happenings of the upper levels of German government during
those last hours before her beloved country fell to the Allied powers (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 28,
para. 46). She and Von Griem were ordered out of the shelter by Hitler on April 29, 1945, under
orders to send air support to cover a supposed attack by German infantry south of the city
(Reitsch, 1945). Unbeknownst to Hitler at the time, that group of soldiers had been routed days
earlier and no rescue was coming. It is quite possible that Reitsch was the last person to leave the
bunker alive as the suicide pact agreed to by all of the other occupants was carried out the next
day.
Shortly afterwards, Hanna took Von Griem to a hospital to attend to his foot and was
arrested by the Americans (Van Patten, 2006). Due to her famous aviation history, love of
country, desire to perform her duty until the very last possible moment, and presence within
Hitler’s bunker during his last living hours, she was labeled as a “High Criminal Person” and
spent 15 months in prison (Reitsch, 2009, Chapter 29, para. 3-4). In the absence of any evidence
of activity in or knowledge of war crimes, she was eventually released. When Germans were
given the right to fly again in 1952, Hanna immediately entered the glider world championships,
medaled, and reentered life as an aviator (Reitsch, 2009, Postscript, para. 3). She helped establish
gliding schools in India and Ghana and then took up flying helicopters again.
Jean Ross Howard Phelan

The ascent of women to the ranks of helicopter pilots was a long process. It took nearly
ten years after Hanna Reitsch first flew a helicopter before an American woman, Ann Shaw
Carter, earned her license (Gray, 2007, p. 30). Following Carter, helicopter ratings for female
pilots continued to come in a trickle. When American Jean Ross Howard finally fulfilled her
dream of vertical flight in 1954, she was only the 13th
woman in the world to do so.
Like many female aviators, Ross Howard’s interest in flight was apparent at an early age.
Born in 1916 to a prominent Washington, D.C. family, Jean attended private schools, earned her
college degree, and spent summers touring Europe with her mother (Jean Ross Howard Phelan
Papers, n.d.). Despite this elite upbringing, Jean’s younger years are peppered with stories of her
defiance to authority as she endeavored to break out of the bounds in which society wanted to
place her. Beginning with sneaking into the Mayflower hotel to watch Charles Lindberg speak,
she went on to ditch school for her first airplane ride and then turned down a good-paying
government job that was as “dull as dishwater” in order to pursue her interest in aviation
(Sullivan, 2004). Howard received her fixed-wing license in 1941 and went on to work as a
reservationist and pilot/secretary. She eventually joined the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots
(WASPs) during WWII but her deep-set anti-authority streak caused her to chafe under the strict
military discipline and she was removed from training (Sullivan, 2004).
In 1945, Howard joined Aircraft Industries Association and finally found a job where she
felt well utilized (Jean Ross Howard, n.d.). She stayed at the company for 46 years, eventually
rising to the position of Director of Helicopter Activities. It was there that she earned her
helicopter certificate. Following seven years of prodding her boss, Lawrence Bell, to get him to
agree that her job at the helicopter division could be best served by learning to fly the aircraft in
which they specialized, Bell eventually agreed and sent her to flight school (Sullivan, 2004). Her

persistence culminated in 1954 with Jean becoming the 13th
woman in the world to earn her
helicopter certificate (Gray, 2007, p.30).
Within a year of earning her license Ross Howard, realizing the rarity of women
helicopter pilots and the inherent sisterhood that existed between them, organized a meeting of
six of the thirteen current helicopter aviatrix and together they laid the groundwork for the first
all-female helicopter pilot organization. They called their group the Whirly-Girls, after the
nickname Bell had given Howard following the accomplishment of earning her helicopter rating
(Gray, 2007, p. 31; Sullivan, 2004). Membership numbers in the group were assigned based on
the date each woman earned her helicopter rating and the ladies quickly designated German
Hanna Reitsch as Whirly-Girl #1. With this act, recognizing the importance of the first female
helicopter pilot despite her previous affiliation with the Third Reich, the women made a
statement that flying was important above all else, especially politics (Gray, 2007, p. 32). They
decided to focus their fledgling organization on scholarship, comradery, and helicopter rescue
and their little club now comprises a group of 1700 women from 44 countries (History, 2015).
Jane Briggs Hart
The designation of Whirly-Girl #23, went to Jane Briggs Hart, a mother of eight and wife
of a U.S. Senator (In Memorium, 2015). “Janey” earned her pilot’s license while in her teens
and was the first woman in Michigan to earn her helicopter rating (Weil, 2015). She later
enjoyed using her rotorcraft skill to ferry her husband to various political events. Despite this
close affiliation to politics, Hart was never a stereotypical politician’s wife. An outspoken
advocate of equal rights and vehemently anti-war, she backed up her beliefs with action,
sometimes with consequences, including an arrest at the Pentagon. Even when in conflict with
his wife’s choices, Senator Philip Hart always supported Janey. In reference to her decision to

forgo paying income taxes as a protest to the ongoing war in Vietnam, her husband Philip Hart
explained that he was now in the unique position of being “proud of a decision I disagree with.”
(Weil, 2015).
Despite being one of the first women in the world to fly a helicopter, many would suggest
that Hart’s most notable achievement in aviation came with her selection to the First Lady
Astronaut Trainees (FLAT) (Hall of Fame, 2013). Commonly referred to as the Mercury 13,
these women were subjected to the same rigorous physical and mental tests as the men being
considered for NASA’s Mercury program. Of the thirteen that passed the first phase, some far
surpassed the men in total score while others earned the top ranking in certain categories (Kelly,
2000). During Phase III, a telegram called a halt to all further tests and the women were
dismissed. Although the program was never officially sanctioned by NASA, questions of
gender-bias arose and Hart led the charge in petitioning the President and Vice President and
finally demanding Congressional hearings on the matter of female astronauts (Hall of Fame,
2013).
The hearings brought forth many interesting facts about the astronaut selection program.
Despite the evidence that the women could withstand the physical and mental requirements in
the strict simulated space environment that NASA had invented, none of them were actually
eligible to apply to the program. This was due to the fact a pre-qualification to apply for Mercury
was that the applicant had to be a military jet test pilot and women were still not allowed in the
military. Even though the only woman to make it through Phase III testing before the program
was terminated, Jerrie Cobb, actually had more flight experience than any of the men in the
astronaut pool she would not be granted “equivalent experience” as some of the men were
(Lyles, 1999; Lathers, 2009, para. 14). Hart spoke vehemently and eloquently in front of the

House Space Subcommittee supporting the right of women to join the Mercury training.
Unfortunately, convincing testimony by John Glenn and Jackie Cochran regarding the societal
place of women and their tendency to leave work to raise families led to the culmination of the
hearings without action (Nolen, 2002, p.240). As Colonel Glenn, the first American to orbit the
Earth, explained at the hearings,
I think this gets back to the way our social order is organized, really. It is just a fact. The
men go off and fight the wars and fly the airplanes and come back and help design and
build and test them. The fact that women are not in this field is a fact of our social order.
(Lathers, 2009, para. 36)
Despite this setback, Janey Hart continued her crusade for equal rights, eventually
serving on the first board of the National Organization of Women (NOW) and continuing her
work with the Whirly-Girls (Lyles, 1999). In 1961, she set up a meeting of herself and eleven
other Whirly-Girls, including German Hanna Reitsch, with President John. F. Kennedy to
discuss the construction of a heliport in Washington D.C. (Gray, 2007, p. 61). While this was
only one step in the establishment of a D.C. Heliport, the importance of this meeting lay in the
fact that it showed the ladies how they could use their membership numbers and connections in
order to enact change and forward the cause of helicopter pilots, particularly women.
Wendy Lawrence
Although none of the Mercury 13 ever got to experience their goal of space travel, other
female helicopter pilots did finally get to join the astronaut corps including Capt. Wendy
Lawrence. Capt. Lawrence was among the first class of women allowed entrance to the U.S.
Naval Academy and opted to become a “rotorhead” upon graduation (High Flier, 1992).

Specializing in the UH-1, Lawrence went on to gain 1500 hours of flight experience in six
different types of helicopters during her two active duty stints with the Navy (Goolsby, 2015).
She was one of the first two women stationed on long deployment aboard a carrier group in the
Indian Ocean and performed 800 shipboard landings.
Following time spent at MIT to earn a Master’s degree and a job teaching physics at the
Naval Academy, Lawrence was one of three women chosen to join the astronaut class of 1992
(Moule, 2005, p. 243). Within three years Wendy was orbiting the Earth on the Space Shuttle
Endeavor. Relying on her science skills as a mission specialist, she went on to three more shuttle
missions, the final one being the first flight following the disintegration of Space Shuttle
Columbia. This record of four space missions places her among only twelve women in the world
who have accomplished such a feat (NASA, 2002). In addition to Lawrence, fellow female
military helicopter pilots Nancy Sherlock and Anne McClain have accomplished astronaut
training and Sherlock has also logged four space missions (Astronaut Fact Book,
2013)(Biographical Data, 2015).
Sarah Deal
Although astronauts are no longer the media darlings they once were, some female
helicopter pioneers still end up in the limelight. One of these ladies was 1st
Lt. Sarah Deal, the
first female aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps. Sarah’s selection to aviation training in 1993 was
accompanied by much fanfare and some controversy. Some male classmates claimed that she
was chosen based purely on her gender but a brief examination of 1st
Lt. Deal’s biography lays
out the story of a woman who had been achieving feats in aviation for years (Peterson, 1994).

Sarah Deal, the daughter of a Marine military policeman, graduated from high school in
1987 and immediately entered Kent State University (We the Marines, 1994). During her five
years in college, she received her degree in Aerospace Flight Technology, graduated from
Marine Officer Candidate School, and earned multiple flight licenses and ratings (Alumni
Weekend Keynote Speaker, 2015). Her aviation accomplishments during that time period
included obtaining her private and commercial pilot’s licenses, and also earning her instrument,
multi-engine, and certified flight instructor ratings. Upon graduation in 1992, Sarah went directly
to Marine Basic School.
When 1st
Lt. Deal joined the Marines, women were still not admitted to their aviation
program so she opted for posting to Air Traffic Control (Alumni Weekend Keynote Speaker,
2015). Shortly after entering the Air Traffic Control School in 1993, the Defense Department
declared that women would now be allowed to fly combat roles and the previously unobtainable
goal of becoming a Marine Corps. pilot was suddenly as possibility. Sarah immediately put in
her application and was the only woman chosen for that subsequent Marine Corps. aviation class.
This effectively positioned her as a pioneer and test case for future female pilots. Thankfully, her
already proven motivation and ability to succeed shown through during training and, despite her
many fixed-wing ratings, Deal chose to learn to fly helicopters. “In my mind, to fly a helicopter
was something only millionaires could do,” she explained (Dorr, 2005).
After graduating from flight school, Deal was assigned to fly the military’s largest
helicopter, the CH-53E Super Stallion, a 52,000 lb. machine than can haul bridges, Humvees,
supply drops, and troops (Eaken, 2011). It is reportedly the hardest helicopter to fly and 1st
Lt.
Deal persevered, enduring 10-11 hour missions in the Middle East where the cockpit would
sometimes reach temperatures of 130 degrees (Eaken, 2011)(We the Marines, 1995). A glaring

example of her unique status is displayed in the fact that during her 16 years of flying (1995-
2011) 1st
Lt. Deal only met three other female Marine pilots (Eaken, 2011).
Marie Rossi
1st
Lt. Sarah Deal survived multiple deployments and missions throughout her 16 years in
the Marines, but not all female military aviators were so lucky. Major Marie Rossi, a Chinook
pilot flying in support of ground troops during Operation Desert Storm, was killed after colliding
with a microwave tower one day after the ceasefire in the Persian Gulf (Douglas, 2015, p. 230).
Maj. Rossi was the fourth woman to die in a war that brought the massive numbers of female
troops to the forefront of the American consciousness (Marie Therese Rossi”, 2007; “Army Maj.
Marie Rossi). The commander of a group of 50 Chinook helicopters, she was one of the first
soldiers to enter the combat zone at the opening of the Persian Gulf War and, although
technically not a combat pilot as women were still not allowed to fly combat aircraft at that
point, she ventured far into Iraqi territory at much risk (“Army Maj. Marie Rossi”, 1991).
During the short ground war, Rossi proved the ability of women to lead troops into hostile
territory and laid the groundwork for the rescinding of the prohibition on female combat pilots
from which Sarah Deal benefited (“Marie Therese Rossi”, 2007).
For a nation that had not participated in a large-scale active ground war since 1973, Maj.
Marie Rossi served as the face of the new active-duty military woman (American History
Timeline, 2015). She was a tough yet feminine woman who capably flew a large helicopter in
support of her countrymen and bravely and eloquently faced the very real possibility of dying in
combat (“Marie Rossi”, 1991). An interview with CNN prior to the invasion of Iraq created a
respect for her abilities and made her name and face recognizable amongst the American public.
She was also well respected amidst other military personnel and Warrant Officer Ken Copley, a

veteran of Vietnam, vividly remembers his encounter with Marie at Hunter Army Airfield in
Georgia.
I once overheard her being tested by a tough flight examiner. I was taking a written test
on the other side of the room and tried not to listen. But her answers were so good that I
stopped what I was doing and started taking notes. That's the way she was—you paid
attention. Very professional but very human. (“Marie Rossi”, 1991)
Conclusion
Even today, the female helicopter pilot is a unique sight. Women in the field must wade
through an overwhelmingly masculine environment and fight past the negative stereotypes that
some men still hold about female aviators and their ability to lead, make decisions, take
affirmative action, and safely operate the controls (Kristovics, Mitchell, & Vermeulen, 2006).
Becoming a pilot can have a positive impact on women’s lives though. In her phenomenological
study of women on the path to earning their helicopter private license, Nancy Fessenden (2002)
noted three benefits that the women experienced: “enhanced sense of self, opportunities to
connect with children and family, and the awareness of the need to stay healthy.” All three of
these elements can actually enhance a woman’s ability to care for her family despite the fact that
the field of aviation is historically not a very family-friendly career choice.
Reitsch, Ross Howard Phelan, Hart, Lawrence, Deal, and Rossi all had their own special
talents, fears, hurdles, and triumphs that they experienced on their way to becoming a successful
helicopter pilot. One theme links them all though, their recognition that they were innovators;
that they were adventurous women devoted to a path that may not have been open to their
mothers or grandmothers but would certainly be available to their daughters. There is still far to

go before the numbers of female rotorcraft pilots will begin to approach those of males but the
changing of the national and organizational cultures to an environment that includes and
recognizes the abilities of women points to a bright future.

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