Stunt flying and world records Īviatrix Katherine Stinson racing the 1916 Indy 500 champion Dario RestaĪfter she received her certificate, Stinson returned to the family farm in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She was the fourth woman in the United States to obtain a pilot's certificate, which she earned on July 24, 1912, at the age of 21. However, Stinson was able to solo the Wright B, after only four hours of instruction, on July 13, 1912, at Cicero Field. She then took flying lessons from the well-known aviator Max Lillie, a pilot for the Wright Brothers, who initially refused to teach her because she was female. Louis to take flight lessons from Tony Jannus, who allowed her to fly only as a passenger. Smitten by the flying bug, Stinson sold her piano to help pay for flying lessons. In 1911, she took her first flight aloft in a hot-air balloon in Kansas City.

Stinson learned to drive the family flivver at the age of 14. After she graduated from high school, the family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She excelled at music and dreamed of being a concert pianist. Emma moved the family to Jackson, Mississippi, where Stinson attended high school. left the family, leaving Emma alone to raise Stinson and her younger siblings Edward Jr., Marjorie, and John (Jack). Stinson was born on February 14, 1891, at Fort Payne, Alabama to Edward Sr. She was also one of the first pilots to ever fly at night and the first female pilot to fly in Canada and Japan. Postal Service and the first civilian pilot to fly the mail in Canada. She was the first female pilot employed by the U.S. She set flying records for aerobatic maneuvers, distance, and endurance. Katherine Stinson (Febru– July 8, 1977) was an American aviation pioneer who, in 1912, became the fourth woman in the United States to earn the FAI pilot certificate. Katherine Stinson and her Curtiss airplane.

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