Women’s National Aeronautics Association Trains at Spartan

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

“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.”

Taken from The Spartan News, March, 1941

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 known that this school would prosper for (75 years), training thousands of pilots and technicians for aviation.”

Excerpted from The Spartan Story