Women in Aviation: The Pioneer Days

Women who took up flying in the early 1900's had to handle prejudice as well as their aircraft. Common public sentiment in the early days of flying stated that when a man died in an aircraft, it was a shame, he knew what he was getting into and he was a hero for breaking new ground. When a woman died in a plane accident, it was proof positive she shouldn't have been flying in the first place.

Storyteller Nancy Marie Payne brings this exciting time alive through the voice of Pancho Barnes, one of the colorful and innovative female pilots of the 1920's.

Nancy, as Pancho, relates the story of first flight from a woman's perspective. "Pancho" tells her own colorful story as well as the exploits of early balloonists and aviators, including Ruth Law, Harriet Quimby, Bessie Colman, Bobbi Trout, Amelia Earhart and others.





Suitable for all ages and flexible in length.