Women Take Flight at New England Air Museum
The New EnglandAirMuseumwill host its eighth annual Women Take Flight event on Sunday, November 4, 2012. The program features extraordinary women who have pioneered new careers for women in aviation and aerospace engineering and they will share their experiences with Museum visitors. Discover the opportunities women now have working in the aviation and aerospace industries while seeing examples of their work in the Museum’s collection. Re-enactors will portray famous women aviators from bygone eras. This exciting, educational and inspirational program is sponsored by the Petit Family Foundation and presented in cooperation with the New England Chapter of the Ninety-Nines (International Organization of Women Pilots).
More than 20 guests are expected, including women whose experiences broke the barriers for those currently working in aerospace and aviation careers, as well as historical interpretations of Amelia Earhart, Bessie Coleman and Harriet Quimby. Amongst the twenty women expected are: Bee Haydu, Woman Airforce Service Pilot from World War II awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Obama; Linda Myer, Amelia Earhart historical interpreter, Captain Elisa Raney, Navy Helicopter Pilot; Veronica Bradley, one of the first women with the U.S. Marine Corps; Mary Feik, World War II mechanic and test pilot; Patricia Lohan Margarido, Chief Flight Respiratory Therapist and Paramedic with LIFE STAR; Linda Maloney, Naval Aviator Retired and author of Military Fly Moms; Patricia Beckman, commander US Navy (retired) and flight test navigator for Boeing; Lucy Young, Commercial and Navy Pilot (retired); Terry vandenDolder, American Airlines and Air Force pilot (retired); Marilyn Pearson, FAA Operations Inspector and aerobatic pilot; Connie Tobias, commercial, test pilot and Harriet Quimby impersonator; Stacy Sheard, Production Test Pilot featured in Spotlight on women in Helicopter Aviation; Katherine Knapp Carney, head engineer on Pratt & Whitney’s new Pure Power Engine 1000G; Susan McSpadden, C5 Cargo Pilot at Westover Air Base, Chicopee, MA; and Anne Baddour, experimental research pilot for MIT Lincoln Laboratory Flight Test Facility 1977-1997.
The Museum will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $11.00 for ages 12 and up, $10.00 for seniors and $6.50 for ages 4 to 11. Children under 4 are admitted free. Group rates are available with pre-registration. The New EnglandAirMuseumis conveniently located adjacent to BradleyInternationalAirportin Windsor Locks (exit 40 off I-91 north or south and follow the signs). Additional and updated information may be obtained by calling the Museum at 860-623-3305 extension 313 or visiting the web site www.neam.org.
The New England Air Museum inspires visitors of all ages through quality exhibits and innovative programs which familiarize them with the science, history and technology involved in aviation and aerospace. The New England Air Museum is the largest air museum in New England and is owned and operated by the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, a private, non-profit educational institution organized in 1959. The Museum is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and run by six (6) full-time employees, (15) part-time employees, and over 175 volunteers.
