Authors Raquel Ramsey and Tricia Aurand present their book, “Taking Flight: The Nadine Ramsey Story,” in a virtual event on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 5 to 6 p.m. hosted by the Pasadena Public Library.
Nadine Ramsey, the aviator, went from barnstorming and speed-racing aloft to penetrating a glass ceiling as one of 303 women pilots allowed to fly military aircraft. They crisscrossed the country, delivering planes from factories to embarkation points for shipment to overseas units in World War II.
The pilots were members of the Women Aircraft Service Pilots (WASP) program, created over objections from many in the military, and only when the shortage of male pilots in wartime convinced the U.S. to briefly lift the ban on women pilots were they allowed to fly military planes.
“Taking Flight” marks Nadine Ramsey’s milestones: the first Kansas woman to earn a commercial pilot license; among the earliest women to fly the U.S. Air Mail; one of only 26 WASPs who flew the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, a fighter aircraft – and the first woman to own one; the only woman in the country to instruct male pilots to fly fighter planes after the war.
Disbanded in late 1944 to make way for male pilots and barred from piloting for commercial airlines, the WASPs spent the next three decades fighting to win veteran status.
To sign up for the free virtual discussion, visit https://pasadena.evanced.info/signup/EventDetails?eventid=7327. Log-in instructions will be sent to your email after you sign up.
For more information, call (626) 744-4066.
