"All those who see me, and all who believe in me, share in the freedom I feel when I fly."
Sourcebook: Women Aviators in Documentaries
These documentaries - either complete, in the works, or looking for funds, are listed in alphabetical order by pilot. If it is a "generic" documentary (ie. on all the WASP, or on all the members of an all-woman air race such as the Powder Puff Derby, or on women pilots in general) it will be placed at the bottonm of the list.
I'll also attempt to provide a list of film festivals where the documentaries are to be shown, if such info is available, or contact details for acquiring the doc from its producers, or contact details for donating money for those doc producers who are in need of funds.
(There are so many documentaries on Amelia Earhart that we will not cover them in this sourcebook, but in a future article specific to Earhart.)
PRODUCING A DOCUMENTARY FOCUSING ON WOMEN IN AVIATION?
Please email us so we can list it here: Cathy Gale.
From the site:
"A charismatic figure immortalized in Tom Wolfe's book The Right Stuff, Florence "Pancho" Barnes was one of the most important women in 20th Century aviation. A tough and fearless pilot, Pancho flew on Amelia Earhart's wingtip, performed as a barnstormer throughout California, and made a name for herself as Hollywood's first female stunt pilot in the 1920's and 30's. Just before WWII she opened a ranch near Edwards Air Force Base that became a famous -- some would say notorious -- hangout for test pilots and movie stars. Known as the "Happy Bottom Riding Club", it became the epicenter of the aviation world during the early jet age."
Lindie McNaughton is the author of Lady Icarus: The Life of Irish Aviator Mary Heath, a biography of Lady Mary Heath. (Read our interview with author Lindie McNaughton.
'Lady Icarus - the Movie", is a documentary that McNaughton wished to put together to tell the story of Irish aviator Lady Mary Heath, who flew from Cape Town to London solo in 1928.
Unfortunately, it looks like the project is on hold indefinitely - doubtless from lack of funds.
Wings of Their Own, produced over a three year period from 2003-2006, "interviewed over 150 women pilots, most of whom are Ninety-Nines, the renowned organization of women pilots founded by Faye Gillis Wells & Amelia Earhart in 1929, at Curtiss Field, Long Island, as well as pilots who participated in Air Race Classic, Women in Aviation International, and Women Military Aviators."
While the stories told by the interviewees are fascinating, the documentary is flawed. None of the women on screen are identified. One needs to go to a page of the website Pilot's Photos if one wants to be able to put a name to a face.
Heather Taylor, owner of Archetypal Images, has been researching the Powder Puff Derby for several years, and is now putting together a doucmentary, which she is calling "The Rag Wing Derby" because some people feel (and even felt at the time) that the "Powder Puff Derby" was a pejorative name. Nevertheless, it is the name that everyone knows that race by, so it seems folly, to this writer, to invent a new name for it....
Visit the official website for the trailer (which has some live footage of the derby and its pilots) to read about the pilots involved, to read about the project, or to donate funds to help bring the project to fruition.
"As America geared up to fight in World War II there was a pressing need for military pilots, and women answered the call. This documentary about the Women's Airforce Service Pilots, an installment of the American Experience series on PBS, tells their oft overlooked story. The WASPs were founded by a famous female aviator, Jacqueline Cochran, and after rigorous flight training at an all-female airbase in Texas, more than 1,000 of them ferried new aircraft to military installations around the United States. The women proved themselves capable, and they eventually wound up teaching men to fly the new B-29 bombers that were being rushed into service. Some of the archival footage shown, such as clips of women putting on makeup in the cockpit, may seem ridiculous or demeaning today. But the women appearing in interviews tell some amazing stories about their wartime service, such as one female pilot who left on what was supposed to be a one-day mission, and thanks to frantic assignments that kept coming, didn't return to her home base for a month. The WASPs faced real danger while flying, had to battle discrimination and even sabotage, and their unit was disbanded while it was still very useful. But they paved the way for other women in the military, and their story is fascinating and this film tells it beautifully"
Women of Courage
A documentary on the WASP, by Ken Magid.
Magid's website, and the website for the documentary (http://womenofcourage.com), are no longer on line.
