Mercury 13

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1

Most harmful behavior is based in fear.

Protecting ones perceived position

in society

protecting ones territory,

or ones physical well-being.

But progress is inevitable.

This is Apollo Control.

The situation is go for landing.

Repeat again, we are go for landing.

There was, at that time,

a lot of prejudice.

Women astronauts. What a ridiculous idea.

Roger.

Youre five by, Jim. Were sailing free.

Okay, Jim. How do you read? Over.

I read you loud and clear.

You sound beautiful.

I think we all know why it didnt happen.

Okay. 300 feet.

Fifteen down.

Take over, Sarah.

It was a good old boy network.

And there was no such thing

as a good old girl network.

Okay. Fuel is at ten percent.

I guess we did it so well,

they didnt like that. So

Here comes the shadow.

Perfect place over here. I see

a couple of big boulders, not too bad.

I still didnt tell people

that I wanted to be an astronaut.

I was just gonna do it.

Youre leveled off. Let her on down.

Okay. Seven, six percent. Pretty fast.

Contact. Stop!

Someone has to start the fight

to change the opinion.

Someone has to lead the way.

Thats one small leap for a woman

another giant step for mankind.

Surprise!

- How we doing?

- Great.

Good to see you.

- Hi, honey. How are you?

- Good.

- Good to see you, sweetheart.

- Thank you. Nice to see you.

- What kind of airplane do you usually fly?

- Usually a 172.

Although the last time,

I was flying in a Cherokee.

So it doesnt really matter. Im used to a

Piper from the days of my three Comanches.

- Youre the Comanche girl. I remember.

- Yeah. Low-wing Comanches.

Ive been very lucky, and Ive been able

to fly some Stearmans about once a month.

- Oh, good.

- Thats great.

Thats the airplane that I owned

when I was 20 years old out in California.

I was a very, very curious kid.

My first ride in an airplane

was at nine years of age.

And it was wonderful.

The freedom, the smell of the exhaust,

the air going over my hair.

It was me. It was part of me.

I had those wings on too.

I grew up in Minnesota.

Every day, Id see this airplane

flying overhead,

and I thought," I could do that too."

My parents didnt like that idea.

People didnt think

it was for women at all, flying.

But I knew better,

and I liked it and I did it.

I think your first solo is,

in all your flying experiences,

you feel is your greatest accomplishment.

It was the thrill of going up

and being free up there.

And youd look down

and you could get a proper perspective.

I always was very positive

about always willing to learn

something new and have a new adventure.

There was a barnstormer coming into Flint,

and they were advertising rides.

B said that, from the moment she got in

that plane and took off and looked down,

she said, "This is it.

This is what Im meant for."

This is Janeys official wedding picture.

My mother was a very well-off child

who took advantage of that

to pursue the dreams that she always held.

Seventeen. Youre right.

My first experience of flight, um,

was when I was very young.

Mother was the pilot.

And off we go, into the sky.

And Mothers very delighted

to just show her little girl

this is what you could do.

So were going higher

and higher and higher

and closer and closer to the clouds.

Im becoming a bit alarmed

because, in my mind,

these clouds are solid

and were going to crash into them,

and my mother is going to kill us.

As we get closer and closer, I said,

"Why are we going so close to the clouds?

Were gonna hit them."

And she just... She truly laughed

and said, you know, Watch this.

And away we went,

through and over the clouds.

Quite wonderful.

I still, as I lift off,

very often think, Why me, God?"

"Why did I get to do this?

I dont think I needed

a lot of encouragement.

I was raring to go.

I just, I really loved flying.

There was always

a certain amount of prejudice

about women getting into the mens fields.

But there were stories of women

making breakthroughs in aviation.

So I knew it was possible.

Shes out to break the womens

speed record:
Jacqueline Cochran.

Takeoff at Detroit for the girl

who now ranks as first lady of the sky.

Women are progressing rapidly.

The womens record,

made by a ladybird of France,

was 276 miles an hour.

Jacqueline flies

17 miles an hour faster than that.

She lands, and I wonder how she looks

after flying more than 293 miles an hour.

Thats fast enough

to disarrange ones hair.

Sure enough

No, I never met Jackie Cochran.

But I can tell you a Jackie Cochran story.

I was flying into Cincinnati,

and the tower gave me

landing instructions.

And then I heard a womans voice.

She was flying a Lockheed Lodestar.

And I thought, "My word, what female pilot

flies that big old Lockheed?"

The tower called her, and they said,

Lockheed,

you are lined up on the wrong runway.

And she said,

"Ill land on any goddamn runway I please."

And of course I thought,

"Wow, I didnt know

you could say that on the radio."

We didnt really need a reason to

invite Jacqueline Cochran to the program.

Our guest is probably

the most distinguished woman pilot

in the world today.

It seems that you soloed

at Roosevelt Field back in 1932.

- That is correct. And...

- Came in for a dead-stick landing.

Right. And it was 48 hours after

Id seen my first airplane on the ground.

How many hours of instruction

had you had when you...

Five hours and five minutes.

But youve also done very well

in the cosmetics business.

I did very well.

Course it helped to be married

to a millionaire, you admit that?

I was doing pretty well

before I got married.

Jacqueline Cochran was

an extraordinary gal.

She, uh...

She was raised in poverty in the South.

She had formed her own company.

She met Floyd Odlum, who was,

prior to the war, he was

the highest-paid CEO in the United States.

Jackie was very much of an individualist.

First woman to do this,

first woman to do that.

And Jackie wanted to be a trailblazer.

Women with wings.

At Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas,

famous flyer Jacqueline Cochran

gives her ferry pilot students

a last-minute inspection.

Then its off by plane

for graduation ceremonies.

Good-bye, Daughter.

Im working for the army now.

Jackie Cochran headed up

the WASP program during World War II,

the Womens Airforce Service Pilots,

who flew all the airplanes.

That was the first time that happened.

They flew all the military airplanes,

but they didnt go to war.

What they did is that

they provided ferrying capability.

They would pick up the aircraft

from the factories

and fly them to a point

where they would be turned over.

And these women flew these planes

with the same training, or less,

that the men had,

and they had the same safety record.

So they proved

they could fly those aircraft.

Nobody should ever tell a WASP

that flyings not a womans job.

They wouldnt believe it

any more than if it were said

a girl cant be a good flyer and a woman,

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