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The
Spartan News, published during the War years,
documented the contributions of women pilots during
that time, and the openness with which Spartan accepted
them as equal partners in the war effort.
Tulsa Women Organize Air Corps
Unit Now Training at Spartan
taken from The Spartan News
March, 1941
The local branch of the Women's National Aeronautics
Association has recently completed arrangements
with Spartan School of Aeronautics for the use of
its planes and instructors for teaching its members
to fly.
Known as the Tulsa Women's Air Corps, the group
of 25 women pilots are training to fill vacancies
as ferry pilot, flight instructors, and airplane
co-pilots in time of national emergency.
Captain Maxwell W. Balfour, director, has assigned
Harry Keen, flight instructor, to be in charge of
the training program.
Also, concerning women in aviation, the following
is an excerpt from --The Spartan Story AVIATION
NEEDS MEN, AND WOMEN, IMMEDIATELY
"After announcing their plans for a new aircraft
factory and extensive line of airplanes, the Skelly
directors looked to a second strategy for exploiting
the expected aviation "boom." Realizing
that schools would be needed to train pilots and
mechanics in the support of this new industry, they
announced the establishment of Spartan School of
Aeronautics in October of 1928. With the full resources
and prestige of the Skelly Oil Corporation behind
it, this was to be Tulsa's "University of the
Air". They could hardly have know that this
school would prosper for (75 years), training thousands
of pilots and technicians for aviation." |
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