CAF RISE ABOVE WASP

08/23/2026

On August 23, 1943, twenty-six year old Mabel Virginia Rawlinson lost her life at Camp Davis Army Air Field, NC when her airplane crashed and consumed in flames.

Mabel was one of 38 military women who lost their lives serving as WASP during the duration of World War II. Since WASP were technically considered volunteer civilian pilots and not Air Force pilots, no monetary compensation was available to the Rawlinson family or any of the other families who lost their wives, daughters, and sisters for their funeral expenses.

Most of the time, other female pilots would pool their resources to assist in the expense of transporting WASP caskets to their homes and families.

Can you imagine the mixture of emotions families felt as they buried their loved ones, knowing their deaths were in service to their country but with no other support than that contributed by women who knew they, too, could meet the same fate?

Learn more about Mabel Rawlinson at https://cafriseabove.org/mabel-virginia-rawlinson/

📷 Mabel Rawlinson’s August 1943 burial in Kalamazoo. Her father, mother and sister Margaret are standing in the foreground as the casket passes. Behind them is a long procession of colleagues, family and friends.

08/22/2026

In August 1932, pilots Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden and Frances Harrell Marsalis set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world endurance record by flying a Curtiss Thrush J, NR9142, for 196 hours and 5 minutes over Curtiss Airport in Valley Stream, New York. Taking off at 1:00 p.m. on 14 August and landing at 5:06 p.m. on 22 August, they remained airborne for more than eight days with the help of 78 in-flight refuelings from a Curtiss Robin C-1 flown by Stewart Reiss and John Runger.

Sponsored by I.J. Fox, a major New York furrier, the Thrush was modified for the flight with its interior stripped and a 150-gallon auxiliary fuel tank installed. The Curtiss Thrush J was a six-seat, high-wing cabin monoplane with a 48-ft wingspan, 104-mph cruise speed, 13,200-ft service ceiling, and 900-mile range. Only thirteen were ever built.

After their 1932 endurance record, Louise Thaden rose to become one of the most celebrated women in aviation, winning the 1936 Bendix Trophy Race, beating all male competitors and earning the Harmon Trophy the same year. She set multiple speed, altitude, and endurance records, was an influential member of the Ninety-Nines, authored the memoir High, Wide, and Frightened in 1938, and contributed to pilot training efforts during World War II. Frances Harrell Marsalis also continued flying in the early 1930s, participating in races and aviation events, but her public career was shorter-lived; she gradually stepped back from record attempts and high-profile competition, leaving the 1932 flight as her most enduring achievement.

08/20/2026

On August 20, 1943, General Henry “Hap” Arnold, commanding general of the U.S. Army Air Forces, ordered that one name would identify all women pilots flying for the AAF: “WASP," standing for Women Airforce Service Pilots.

The directive helped give a unified identity to women who had entered Army flying through two programs: the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, led by Nancy Harkness Love, and the Women’s Flying Training Detachment, led by Jacqueline Cochran. Earlier that month, the two organizations had been consolidated under Cochran’s leadership. Arnold’s August 20 order standardized the acronym that would come to represent their collective service.

Although they remained civilians during World War II, the WASP flew nearly every type of aircraft in the Army Air Forces inventory. They ferried airplanes, tested repaired and experimental aircraft, towed targets for live-fire training and transported personnel and equipment. Their work released male pilots for combat assignments while proving that women could successfully perform demanding military flying duties.

08/19/2026

On August 19, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the first National Aviation Day, inviting Americans to celebrate the nation’s achievements in flight and encourage continued interest in aviation.

Only three years later, American women pilots began writing a remarkable new chapter in that history. During World War II, more than 1,100 women served as Women Airforce Service Pilots. The WASP ferried aircraft, tested repaired and experimental airplanes, transported personnel and equipment, trained male pilots and towed targets for aerial and ground gunnery practice.

They flew 77 types of military aircraft and traveled more than 60 million miles in service to their country. Their work released male pilots for combat duty and demonstrated that women could successfully perform the demanding flying assignments required by the Army Air Forces. Thirty-eight women lost their lives during the program.

The WASP were not granted military status during World War II, but their service helped expand the possibilities available to generations of women who followed them into military and civilian aviation.

On National Aviation Day, we celebrate the pilots, mechanics, engineers, instructors, air traffic controllers and countless others who have advanced the world of flight. We also remember the WASP, whose courage and skill secured their place in American aviation history.

08/18/2026

Our August newsletter is out and it's got lots of great information about our tour, research on the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP, as well as what's in store!

Check it out at: https://adobe.ly/4g6NBq7

08/17/2026

Jackie Cochran wasn't always the aviator the world recognizes. Originally, she was a beautician who worked for Antoine’s salons at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City and Miami. It was her time in New York that led her to take flying lessons from Lester Travis (“Husky”) Flewellin, chief instructor at the Roosevelt Flying School at Roosevelt Field on Long Island.

in 1932, Cochran would receive her private pilot's license, subsequently altering US aviation history permanently.

Can you name one fun fact about this amazing woman?

08/16/2026

Born on August 16, 1909, in York, Pennsylvania, Aline “Pat” Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks was a trailblazing aviator and artist whose contributions to aviation and art continue to inspire across the globe.

Aline earned her transport pilot license in 1931, becoming one of the first American women to do so. In 1934, she became the first woman to fly solo from New York to Mexico City. Her aviation skills led her to serve in both the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and the Air Transport Auxiliary during World War II, ferrying aircraft to support the Allied forces.

Beyond her flying achievements, Aline was a talented artist. She studied mural painting under renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Her most notable work is a 126-foot-long fresco titled “The Pre-Lindbergh Era of Aviation on Long Island,” which she painted between 1934 and 1938. The mural, featuring over 300 figures from aviation history, was relocated to Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, New York, after the original hangar was demolished.

Aline's service and achievements were honored with several prestigious awards, including the Croix de Guerre, Médaille de la Reconnaissance française, and the Ordre de la Libération. In 2010, she was inducted into the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame. Her papers are preserved at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, ensuring her legacy endures for future generations.

Aline “Pat” Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks exemplifies the spirit of adventure, resilience, and creativity. Her life reminds us that the sky is never the limit for those daring enough to dream!

Learn more about this fascinating woman at https://cafriseabove.org/aline-rhonie-hofheimer-brooks/

08/15/2026

in 1811, pioneering French aeronaut Sophie Blanchard ascended above Milan as part of celebrations marking Napoleon Bonaparte’s 42nd birthday.

Small in stature but remarkably fearless in the air, Blanchard became the world’s first professional female balloonist. She made her first ascent with her husband, ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard, in 1804 and was flying solo the following year. After her husband died in 1809, leaving substantial debts, she continued performing and built an independent career at a time when few women could do so.

Napoleon appointed her Aeronaut of the Official Festivals, making her responsible for aerial displays at important public celebrations. When Napoleon’s son was born in 1811, she flew above Paris scattering announcements over the city. Her performances combined flight with theatrical spectacle, including nighttime ascents, parachuted objects and fireworks launched from the air.

Blanchard usually flew beneath a small hydrogen-filled balloon in a basket sometimes described as little more than a chair. She endured freezing temperatures, storms, high-altitude illness and several dangerous landings. Although reportedly frightened by carriage travel and loud noises on the ground, she appeared entirely at home in the sky.

Her daring ultimately cost her life. During a nighttime exhibition over Paris in 1819, fireworks ignited her hydrogen balloon. Blanchard fell to her death, becoming the first woman known to have died in an aviation accident.

Sophie Blanchard completed more than 60 ascents and earned the patronage of both Napoleon and, after the restoration of the French monarchy, Louis XVIII. Her career helped transform ballooning from a scientific curiosity into a public profession, and secured her place among aviation’s earliest pioneers.

08/14/2026

, August 14, 1944, Women Airforce Service Pilot Mary Pauline Hartson was killed during a routine test flight near Perrin Army Airfield in Sherman, Texas.

Hartson, a graduate of WASP Class 43-W-5, had earned her civilian pilot’s license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program before entering Army Air Forces flight training at Avenger Field. During her WASP service, she worked as an engineering test pilot, instrument instructor and administrative pilot, flying aircraft that included the BT-13, PT-19 and B-26.

On that August morning, Hartson departed Perrin in a BT-13 with Staff Sergeant Orville Eitzen to test the aircraft’s recently repaired radio. About 15 miles north of the airfield, the BT-13 stalled, entered a spin and crashed. Both were killed. With no witnesses, investigators were unable to determine what caused the accident.

Hartson was one of 38 women who died while serving with the WASP during World War II. Because the WASP were classified as civilians, their families did not receive the military death benefits granted to male servicemembers.

Learn more: https://cafriseabove.org/mary-e-hartson/

08/14/2026

If you know a young woman in your life who is interested in aviation, this may just be the opportunity she's looking for!

📚Scholarship Alert! 📣

The I Hart Flying Foundation’s “Full Throttle: No Ceiling in Sight” scholarship cycle is now open, offering nearly $30,000 in flight training scholarships and industry support to women pursuing their next aviation milestone.

Scholarships can support training toward Private Pilot, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-Engine, CFI, ATP, and other professional aviation pathways.

📅 Applications are open now through September 1, 2026.

Learn more and apply at https://www.ihartflying.org/