Visit a WASP gravesite to honor their brave service

Women in Aviation International (WAI) members and friends will honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) by visiting their graves and leaving an appropriate decoration in the form of flowers or other remembrances. In its fifth year, the #HonorTheWASP program was originally envisioned to take place over the Memorial Day weekend each year. In an effort to allow participants to observe best social-distancing practices, WAI offers that large groups can be easily avoided by visiting gravesites over the entire month of May as opposed to just on Monday, May 30 th , Memorial Day.

“WAI members around the world are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the formidable group of WASP who served so honorably during World War II. This group of impressive women were brave and dedicated, and it is our honor, as an organization, to pay tribute to their bravery and dedication. These incredible women who risked their lives to do their part for the war effort, led the way for so many of us,” says WAI CEO Allison McKay.

Patt Poinsett has joined the Women in Aviation International (WAI) staff as director, operations and finance. In this new leadership role, she will play a key role in handling the day-to-day management of all operations.

“Patt’s more than 10 years of experience managing all aspects of finance and administration for a nonprofit organization will be a welcome addition to our WAI team as we prepare for new initiatives and a new phase of evolution,” Allison McKay, WAI CEO says.

Women in Aviation International (WAI) has selected the 2022 inductees for its International Pioneer Hall of Fame. These women will be honored during the 33 rd Annual International Women in Aviation Conference, which will be held March 17-19, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee. The induction ceremony and celebration dinner will take place on Friday, March 19, 2022, from 6-8 p.m. at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Women in Aviation International (WAI) is proud to announce the awarding of a $1 million grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to strengthen the organization’s initiatives encouraging youth to pursue STEM futures through media platforms, industry partner coalitions, and cultivation of female aviation champions.

WAI Receives $12,500 Grant from The ISTAT Foundation

Seven years of support helps make Girls in Aviation Day and Aviation for Girls magazine possible

For the seventh year in a row, Women in Aviation International received a $12,500 grant from The International Society of Transport Aircraft Training (ISTAT) Foundation, which funds educational programs that advance commercial aviation.

As in past years, this grant will be used to expand the distribution of Aviation for Girls magazine with The ISTAT Foundation identified as the sponsor of this year’s issue. With this grant, the number of copies printed will be distributed in both hard copy and digitally. The 2021 issue of Aviation for Girls will be available digitally to all Women in Aviation International members and any interested individuals at WAI.org.

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.