Fulfilling a lifelong dream on New Shepard flight

Women in Aviation International (WAI) congratulates Wally Funk, Lifetime WAI Member #26, for getting one step closer to fulfilling a lifelong mission to become an astronaut. This week, Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos released a video on social media personally inviting Wally as an honored guest on New Shepard’s first human space flight on July 20. She will join Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, and an unnamed auction winner on the flight. 

Wally is a 1995 inductee to the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame recognized for her many firsts throughout her career. She graduated first in her flight training class at Stephens College, and went on to excel in the flying curriculum at Oklahoma State University. At age 20, Wally was the first woman ever hired to flight instruct at Fort Still, Oklahoma. In the 1960s, she was one of 25 women chosen to undergo preliminary astronaut testing for a privately funded project called the Women in Space Program which tested female pilots for astronaut fitness. Later known as the “Mercury 13” – thirteen American women successfully underwent the same physiological and psychological screening tests as the male astronauts selected by NASA for Project Mercury, but they never flew to space. Wally was the youngest graduate of this program.

All systems go for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021

For the 13th year, women attending EAA AirVenture will enjoy a show within a show as a host of WomenVenture activities take place. EAA WomenVenture is an annual celebration of women from all facets of the aviation community.

Activities are scheduled during the week of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (July 26-August 1) to provide women the opportunity to connect with other women who love aviation and build camaraderie within the EAA and WAI communities.

WAI’s Connect Breakfast, co-sponsored by Avemco and United Airlines, takes place on Wednesday, July 28, starting at 8 a.m., and is held at the Paul H. Poberezny Conference Center (PHP Tent). This event features two female members of the Orbis MD-10 Flying Eye Hospital, pilot Cyndhi Berwyn and mechanic Valerie Sudberg, who will share their stories about volunteering for the global effort to end avoidable blindness in this state-of-the-art flying teaching hospital.

WAI’s Aviation for Girls App Continues to Bring Inspirational Material and Role Models to Girls Year-Round, for Free

Women in Aviation International’s Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) will return to in-person events across the globe on September 25, 2021, and the Aviation for Girls App will also continue! WAI chapters and corporate members will be free to host in-person events for girls ages 8-17 this year, as their local health guidance allows. WAI will continue to offer additional virtual materials, activities, information and interviews via the Aviation for Girls app, for free across the globe, through 2021.

“WAI’s chapters, corporate members, and partners are excited to have the opportunity to introduce local girls to all the opportunities aviation has to offer, in person, again in 2021. The safety and health of our members and GIAD participants and volunteers is of the utmost importance, and GIAD event hosts will follow local COVID-19 health guidance related to limits on the size of gatherings, social separation, mask requirements, and more,” says WAI CEO Allison McKay. “Details for registration, activity kits, merchandise and event locations will be announced in the weeks to come. For now, save September 25, 2021 for Girls in Aviation Day!”

Women in Aviation International (WAI) is thrilled to offer 47 new scholarships in a variety of aviation career pursuits thanks to a generous $250,000 grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Details of the scholarships will be posted at WAI.org on March 1, 2021.

Scholarships include funding to further members’ interests in air traffic control, aviation maintenance, flight training, helicopter ratings, and space. New to this round of scholarships are four scholarships, each worth $3,000 for WAI Chapter members outside of the United States, to be applied towards completion of an additional flight certificate.