August 18, 1929

The Women’s Air Derby was the first-time women pilots were “allowed” to compete in an air race. The inaugural Women’s Air Derby was part of the 1929 National Air Races and was a momentous occasion for women and for aeronautics. Although the pioneer aviatrix were fierce competitors, they were totally united in their effort to force open the door to the male pilots’ world.
The nine days of air racing captured the attention of the nation, brought women pilots together and resulted in the founding of one of aviation’s greatest organizations, The Ninety-Nines.

---

The women were competing for speed, but supported each other for safety. There was never a race like the Women’s Air Derby before. It was a first and the impetus of a sisterhood that still exists today – 90 years later.

THE START

Santa Monica Airport was widely known as Clover Field. Because it was near to the motion-picture studios, movie royalty hung around or kept their airplanes on the field. Large wooden hangers derived from barns and even an old movie studio lined the perimeter of the field.

Jim and Clema Granger were the host FBO (fixed based operator) at Santa Monica Airport. A large new metal hanger used for their flying school hosted the racers. There, the day before the start of the derby many competitors had gathered to process papers and compare rumors and tips.

The women pilots received word that a plane, piloted by a woman was down. Without hesitation, the women left to locate the downed aircraft and its pilot.

THE DATE
Sunday, August 18, 1929 – 2:00 p.m. take off time. The first leg of the race was from Santa Monica to San Bernardino – a 68-mile journey. It was 105° in San Bernardino when the contestants arrived. The racers took between 25 minutes and 19 seconds and 1 hour, 12 minutes and 59 seconds to arrive.

The downed plane was that of Phoebe Omlie. She’d been flying around trying to locate the field in the dark, but no lights were on to aid her in locating the field. Being low on fuel, she picked a dark spot hoping it was a hay field, landed and taxied up to a house which had its lights on. There she was greeted by a farmer and his boy. While they helped her tie the plane down for the night, the Sheriff arrived and accused her of running dope. She was being detained by the Sheriff when the other women pilots arrived. The Sheriff recognized Amelia Earhart who vouched for Omlie and insisted he release Omlie. Earhart suggested that the Sheriff could also check with Franklin D. Roosevelt for an additional character reference at which point the Sheriff released Omlie.

After the first day of racing to San Bernardino, the women began developing a plan to meet in Cleveland to discuss forming an organization for women pilots.

---

THE RECRUITING

For the first time the National Exchange Club, a men’s service club, elected to sponsor an all women’s derby for their 1929 national publicity project for the year. Cliff Henderson organized the Derby, patterning it after the men’s transcontinental air races.

The contestants were recruited from across the nation by Elizabeth McQueen who was the founder of the Women’s International Association of Aeronautics. Word even spread to Europe.

---

THE RACE

2,759 miles in 9 days. At stake was $8,000 in prize monies plus generous prizes for each leg of the race. Each racer had to fly with a gallon of water and three days’ food along with a parachute. This despite that, for the most part, there was no way to stash the water where the pilots could reach it during flight.

The racers departed the first day of the race in the order in which they had registered. Each day thereafter, except for the final day, the racers departed in the reverse order of their arrival which kept the racers closely bunched which was convenient for the timers, press and arrival crowds. On the last day, the racers departed according to their standing with the pilot who clocked the lowest cumulative time departing first.

---

The first division was composed of aircraft with engines of 510-cubic inch displacement or less and was for the smaller, lighter, sport planes, called the CW class. The second division covered up to 800-cubic inch displacement engines, which was for the heavier, working aircraft, or the DW class.

In 1929, engines were not yet differentiated by horsepower. Cubic-inch displacement was the defining distinction, measured by the sum total volume of all the engine’s cylinders.

Nineteen racers started on August 18 and 1 racer, Mary Haizlip on August 19. Of those 20 racers, 14 timely completed the race, landing in Cleveland Ohio on August 26, 1929. Ten were in the heavier aircraft category who landed in the following order: Louise Thaden, Gladys O’Donnell, Amelia Earhart, Blanche Noyes, Ruth Elder, Neva Paris, Mary Haizlip, Opal Kunz, Mary Von Mach and Vera Dawn Walker. The remaining 4 were in the lighter aircraft category and landed in the following order: Phoebe Omlie, Edith Foltz, Chubbie Keith-Miller and Thea Rasche.

Of the 5 who did not timely land on August 26 in Cleveland, 4 were out due to wrecked aircraft: Pancho Barnes, Claire Fahy (separated writes), Ruth Nichols and Bobbi Trout finished untimely due to multiple mechanical problems and forced landings. Margaret Perry was out due to typhoid fever and Marvel Crosson was fatally injured when her plane crashed.

The Travel Airs were the racing airplane of choice mostly because Walter Beech thought interest generated by the ladies’ racing would sell airplanes. Five new Travel Airs were produced for women racers all built specifically for the Derby with speed wings (a thinner cross section) and Wright engines. They were bi-wing, open cockpit and had engines of varying horsepower. It took either a running leap, a small stepladder or an agile pilot to climb up into the high cockpit. It was noisy, dirty, too cold or hot and not comfortable. The plane had an exhaust leak that flooded Louise Thaden’s aircraft on the flight to the start of the Derby and is the suspected cause of Marvel Crosson’s crash while on the way to Phoenix, Arizona.

Marvel Crosson had the special narrow fuselage model 2000 built specifically for racing. Her brother Joe had added weight in the tail for a more favorable center of gravity.

Amelia Earhart sported a red, five-passenger Lockheed Vega monoplane – its cockpit was enclosed.

Edith Foltz’s Alexander Eaglerock Bullet with a Kinner 5 engine also had an enclosed cockpit. Foltz said to the press, “Just watch; all airplanes will be enclosed someday, and the landing gear will go up and down for flight efficiency and speed, just like my Bullet.”

---

THE ROUTE

Demonstrating the intense public interest in the women’s race, many cities somewhat along the route contacted the race sponsors and begged (usually with a lot of money thrown in for good measure) to have the course adjusted to add their city as a stop. Naturally, the sponsors adjusted the path, resulting in a zig-zagging route across the nation that exceeded the distance of a straight coast-tocoast flight. Though the sponsors had sought professional advice for the suitability of the stops in terms of normal fuel range and adequate landing fields, the racers found fault with some choices and demanded change. Specifically, the racers were concerned about the second leg of the race (San Bernardino to Calexico) believing the airfield in Calexico was too short for the heavier aircraft.

The evening following the first leg of the route ending in San Bernardino dragged on with speeches, entertainment, and a movie. It was past midnight before the contestants finally met to discuss a plan to address their concerns about the suitability of the Calexico airfield. For the second leg, the racers were to fly to Calexico for a stop then on to Phoenix for the night. The women felt it was unnecessarily dangerous to stop at Calexico when Yuma was an easy and close substitute. Collectively banded together to support safety, the racers signed a petition they would not go further than San Bernardino unless routed by or through Yuma instead of Calexico. At 2:30 a.m., Floyd Logan, the air race chairman in Cleveland allowed a compromise that the en route landing could be in Yuma but all racers had to fly over and be identified at Calexico. The compromise was acceptable to the pilots and after re-working their charts, the racers finally went to bed in the pre-dawn hours to ready for their 6:00 a.m. take-off for leg two of the race.

---

THE SABOTAGE

During the banquet in Santa Monica on August 17, 1929, Thea Rasch handed a telegram to Louise Thaden asking her what she thought. Louise Thaden passed the yellow paper along to the other racers. The telegram said, “Beware of sabotage.” It was unsigned.

THE TELEGRAM SAID,
“BEWARE OF SABOTAGE.”

The concern of sabotage did not end in Santa Monica. The start of the race had drawn a few immature male show-offs who departed immediately before the women, then lingered in the air ready to “escort” the racers on their way. Mary Von Mach was one of the least experienced of the racers. She had the misfortune of having a chance selection for harassment. A curious and reckless student pilot nearly hit Von Mach while buzzing her Travel Air. The fellow decided that a little dog fight was in order, but Von Mach would have none of it. En route from Santa Monica to San Bernardino, she landed the plane somewhere in Montebello, rightly reasoning that her tormentor would lose interest.

Much went afoul at and after the first overnight in San Bernardino. The “so-called” mechanics put five gallons of oil in the gas tank of Ruth Elder’s plane. After departing San Bernardino, a few miles before arriving for identification in Calexico, Claire Fahy heard a sharp “twang” and she saw two separated wing wires dangling back sickeningly in the wind. Claire Fahy declared that her wing wires had been eaten through with acid and that her plane had been sabotaged reasoning that wing wires don’t just break.

After Thea Rasche made a forced out of Calexico near Holtville California, foreign objects were observed in her tank.

Blanche Noyes experienced an in-flight fire. She suspected the cause of the fire was a mechanic who likely dropped a cigarette or ash on top of her packed clothes in her baggage compartment. Ultimately, she set her plane down in the desert but when she pried the fire extinguisher off its board, it did not work. To extinguish the fire, she used sand and her bare hands.

At the St. Louis stop, Travel Air mechanic, John Burke was stunned to discover that Louise Thaden’s magneto points seemed to have been tampered with. Burke believed it to be an act of sabotage and he personally guarded the aircraft by sleeping with it that evening.

An investigation was launched by the San Bernardino office of Chief Deputy District Attorney Thompson who opined that the claims of sabotage were not well founded. However, it was admitted that preparations for handling the planes had been inadequate. Arrangements were made to have the fields patrolled and the airplanes guarded by soldiers for the late portion of the race.

In response to reporters besieging Thea Rasch about feelings between the flyers and sabotage, she insisted, “There are no poor sports flying in this race.”

Later during the race, understanding that reporters would not cease in questions related to claims of sabotage, Louise Thaden, in an unprovoked comment said to reporters, “Can’t help mentioning one thing more before I close tonight. That’s about this ‘sabotage’ business. To be short and sweet, it is ‘the bunk.’ Nothing to it.”

---

THE PROBLEMS

Although there were questions about whether sabotage was to blame for certain unfortunates, it was indisputable that aviation related problems were plentiful.

Arriving at San Bernardino, the racers discovered that the organizers had failed to control the crowds and the airfield was a mass of spectators and parked cars. Rather than flying past, they instead landed in an unprepared adjacent field, which required some considerable skill given the rough nature of the field and the huge amount of dust kicked up from each successive landing. Opal Kunz’s plane suffered damage to her landing gear which was repaired, allowing her to continue. Amelia Earhart suffered a close call when her landing overran the small adjacent strip of land and barreled through the assembled crowds. Luckily, everyone got out of the way. After that, however, things were generally better en route.

It would take nine days of competition, during which many of the planes would suffer maintenance problems and be forced down. The women would repair the engines — often by themselves and on their own in farmers’ fields — and continue.

The challenges of the route were an inconvenience to some but proved disastrous for others. Mary Haizlip damaged her airplane the day of the race and was forced to start a day late with a replacement. Her replacement aircraft didn’t have a big enough fuel tank, so she had to make more stops on the way, though she hid that fact to the race organizers concerned they would not certify her aircraft for the race.

Departing from Santa Monica Airport Amelia Earhart had a mechanical problem requiring her to return for repairs in her Lockheed Vega. The repairs were swiftly completed, and she was off again.

As the flyers raced across the country many other challenges and problems were encountered. Pancho Barnes got lost and landed in Mexico — but she was soon back on course. As a joke, afterward, she painted the words, “Mexico or Bust!” on the side of her aircraft.

Similarly, Mary Haizlip ended up in Mexicali, but got turned around and headed back north into US territory. Amelia Earhart nosed over her Lockheed Vega at Yuma, requiring a new prop. Bobbi Trout’s plane was wrecked entirely after cartwheeling across a farmer’s field — she was unhurt. Perhaps the funniest encounter was when Ruth Elder had her maps blown out of her hands while in flight. Without her map, she was soon lost and, intending to ask directions, she landed in what turned out to be a bull’s pasture. She had to first scare off an enraged bull that seemed intent on chasing her and her airplane before she could get back out. Her maps were blown out of her hands in flight twice during the race.

A sandstorm delayed everyone at El Paso.

In Pecos, a flood of cars were parked near the edge of the narrow runway. Those unfamiliar with aviation did not understand that when pilots raise the nose of their aircraft for landing, they are virtually blind to the front and could only maintain their momentum straight down the runway by using their peripheral vision. One citizen drove too far into the landing strip and when Pancho Barnes descended for landing, she landed right on his car, demolishing both her upper and lower right wings, putting her out of the race.

Margaret Perry caught typhoid and was out after being hospitalized in Abilene. Near the end, Ruth Nichols crashed into some construction equipment at Columbus, Ohio — the landing field was under construction.

Because of Noyes’ in-flight fire, she side-sliped her plane in a quick descent maneuver down to the ground. Once the fire was extinguished, she took-off from a mesquite filled field which tore holes in the bottom of the fuselage and wings and damaged the landing gear.

In Abilene, Vera Dawn Walker near killed her own father who had, in the excitement of her arrival, swarmed her airplane along with a pack of Walker’s family members. Her father led the pack of family members and seemed oblivious to the danger of Walker’s still moving propeller. Walker frantically shut down the engine, but that process was not instantaneous. Fortunately, an alert bystander grabbed her father just as he was about to walk right into her still-spinning propeller. Walker nearly fainted at almost having killed her own father.

Mary Haizlip landed in Washington Missouri with a broken fuel line she repaired herself. By the stop in St. Louis, she endured six emergency landings and her fuel lines were drained with all sorts of foreign debris removed. Thaden had fuel siphoning out through her fuel cap caused by a missing washer necessary to keep the cap tight. Vera Dawn Walker made a precautionary landing to cool her overheating engine en route to Tulsa.

Fuelers were inexperienced – some had no idea what to do with a fuel nozzle. One fueler unscrewed Thaden’s oil drain plug.

In East St. Louis, both Blanche Noyes and Neva Paris suffered landing gear damage after intentionally ground looping to avoid running off the end on their landing.

Bobbi Trout had to perform so many repairs on her aircraft that it was rumored to have been a completely different aircraft by the conclusion of the race.

The most devasting event was the loss of Marvel Crosson. Though many had varying theories as to the cause of Marvel’s crash, the factory crew suspected that she suffered from the same carbon monoxide poisoning that had affected Louise Thaden before the race began. The crew opined that Crosson passed out from the carbon monoxide poisoning causing her to crash in a mesquite forest – she was too good a pilot for any other explanation to make sense. She would be the only casualty of the race.

---

THE FLYING

Because of the lack of invent of aeronautical charts, the racers used Rand McNally road maps for navigation. The racers flew as low as 500 feet above the ground when they had railroad tracks to follow. Occasionally they would climb up to a thousand feet or higher for a better view. They had to draw course lines on their Rand McNally road map with slash marks every ten miles to facilitate the time and distance computations. As they flew, their index fingers traced along the lines on the charts. This “finger flying” was vital to keep track of position and what to look for ahead.

Holding a predetermined heading proved a challenge because they relied on “the dancing compass” that floated in alcohol. The compass responded to every thump and naturally aimed downward at the ground because north was in the earth, not up in the air parallel to the nose of the airplane. The compass would lead and lag at turning north and south. The racers had to remember variation corrections from true north to apply to their heading calculations – calculations which kept them quite busy.

Race officials flew the route and had to contend with the same challenges as the racers which caused their admiration for the women pilots to grow. Exposure to women who had dreams and pursued them, some even in life-threatening situations caused flying sponsors to examine their own sometime too-cautions path through life.

---

THE DISCRIMINATION

Aviators were heroic, and none more so than the brave women who overcame not only the considerable mechanical, financial, and technical obstacles, but also gender biases.

The first race publicity had announced that each woman pilot would be accompanied by a mechanic, since there was no question that mechanical problems would develop along the way. Suddenly, ravishing Hollywood starlets who had never been closer to an airplane than to watch one were revealed to have become “pilots.” They would pose prettily for the camera while the male mechanics accompanying them would really do the flying. The contestants of the 1929 Air Derby were outraged and demand they be allowed to fly solo. So they did.

The fact that women pilots would want to supervise while their airplanes were serviced did not occur to the planners. Had they been asked, the women flyers would have preferred to camp under the wing rather than endure all the social obligations, but they were polite, understood their objective of promoting aviation and women in aviation and did not want to appear ungrateful for the hospitality.

Increased publicity buzz about the Derby worked much to the benefit of the aircraft manufacturers. It was in the manufacturers interest to support a spectacle that proved anyone, “even women” could fly their planes. The Golden Eagle company had hired Bobbi Trout to demonstrate their aircraft, employing the same reasoning as always for women pilots, “After all, Mr. Customer, if this little lady can fly our fine airplane, then you can too.”

Ten of the eleven females holding the prestigious transport license were racing, with only the UK’S Lady Mary Heath missing. Despite the women’s professional acumen, the group was variously dubbed the Petticoat Pilots, Sweethearts of the Air, Ladybirds or Flying Flappers. Typically, the reporters seemed more interested in pilot appearances than race results. Their articles often read like a fashion report, containing little technical flying information.

The Department of Commerce had proposed grounding professional female pilots for one week each month to ensure safety; however, after a study ensued, the proposal became lost and forgotten although not closed. As it evolved, women pilots were forced to retake all their pilot certificate and rating exams after recovering from the ‘illness’ of childbirth. In response to questions such as whether women could withstand the stresses of competing with one another in the volatile machines of the air and comments about whether they should be home in the kitchen wearing an apron – Gladys O’Donnell responded defiantly to an insolent reporter, “My mother never gave me the keys to the stove!”

The discrimination occurred both within the aviation community and outside of the aviation community. Amelia Earhart claimed that a female spectator had even poked her with an umbrella “to see what these women pilots were made of!”

Erle P. Haliburton, a self-righteous pretentious Oklahoma oilman made several chauvinistic comments to the press including: “Women have conclusively proven that they cannot fly.” His newspaper quote went on,

“Women have been dependent on men for guidance for so long that when they are put on their resources they are handicapped.”

He was also quoted as saying, “The women’s ‘On to Cleveland’ air derby is contributing nothing to aviation. It should be canceled immediately. Women are lacking in certain qualities that men possess, just as men are lacking in certain qualities that women possess. Handling details essential to safe flying is one of the qualifications women have not mastered successfully.” Because Amelia Earhart’s credentials gave her some measure of credibility, she took the time to respond to Mr. Haliburton by speaking to him in the cabin of her airplane talking soberly to him for fifteen minutes.

Despite this, Haliburton continued to offer his opinions which newspapers continued to report. Haliburton also commented: “All the pilots should have been forced to fly over the course at least four or five times. One plane was not even licensed. The death of Marvel Crosson, one of the best women pilots today, was needless. If it hadn’t been for her fear and confusion regarding the course, she would have been leading now.” The women were outraged by Haliburton’s remarks. Marvel was one of the most experienced pilots and had practice-flown the entire course before the race. Haliburton’s blatant prejudice was appalling, yet the racers displayed class and restraint and did not engage publicly to respond to such untruths.

---

FLYING – FACT OR FICTION?

In 1929 speeds were reported in statute miles per hour rather than nautical miles per hour so the airplanes would seem faster in advertising.

To save weight, the racers didn’t carry many clothes.

Ever wonder why so many airplane parts, such as aileron, empennage and fuselage were acquired from French names? France had been an early contributor to the development of powered flight.

When clouds drifted off the ocean into the LA Basin, the airplanes had to find a safe harbor immediately or they’d be stuck “on top.” A pilot would be stuck on top where it was clear and beautiful above the undercast of low, flat clouds – it felt like flying above an ocean of cotton. But hidden in the benign looking clouds, were buildings and trees – called “airplane catchers.” The pilots jokingly referred to these types of clouds as cumulo granite or a cloud with a rock in it because in those days, there was no way to fly down through the clouds safely, and if stuck on top and out of fuel, a pilot cold only parachute and abandon the plane.

Some racers didn’t have enough flying hours to be eligible so they fudged, making the decision that a little Parker Pen time padding their logbooks to meet the experience requirements wouldn’t hurt.

The military promoted early air racing as a way to improve aircraft design and cultivate more pilots. The public supported the exciting and dangerous sport; their enthusiasm made successful pilots household names.

In Wichita, local flyers were ordered to land shortly before the racers were due by an airplane launched with yellow letter son the side reading, “Land At Once.”

Upon her arrival in Wichita, Thea Rasche was informed her federal license had expired, and she was grounded – until negotiations with the Department of Commerce proved successful and her license was renewed locally and she was allowed to proceed.

The National Exchange Club of Wichita along with Steffen Ice Cream Company took out a full-page newspaper ad which said, “The object of this race, to stimulate interest in aviation, to aid long distance flying, and to further the Exchange Club’s program of establishing Airports and Air Markers is being fulfilled. Wichita welcomes you, aviatrixs of the Women’s Air Derby, and extends to you the keys of the city. Wichita has 113,000 hears and every one beats for Aviation.”

Just before the Santa Monica takeoff, Walter Champ, Jr. proposed to Ruth Elder. Kansas City Star broke the story of Ruth’s engagement in a headline which read, “Flying to her wedding.” Walter was somewhat perturbed at the instant publicity not yet having advised his mother of the app roaching nuptials.

One farmer with a sense of humor and some flying experience had plowed out a huge arrow in the middle of his harvested corn crop point toward Columbus Ohio.

Flight plans usually carried the cryptic note, “Arriving G.W.W.P” (God Willing and Weather Permitting).

After Louise Thaden landed in Cleveland first, throngs of reports and photographers engulfed she and her airplane. A horseshoe of roses was thrust upon her neck – with thorns intact. Always the diplomat, Thaden suggested that the flowers really should adorn the wining airplane and they were transferred off her neck onto the nose of her loyal aircraft.

In response to a reporter’s question to Neva Paris – could any woman learn to fly, Paris responded, “Yes, indeed. As much so as they can learn to drive a car. The way they are making planes today, there’s no great danger. That’s just what this women’s derby hopes to prove – that women are as much at home in the air as men.”

In response to a reporter’s question about whether she still got a thrill out of flying, Neva Paris said, “Oh yes, I always will – it’s a sport of the Gods. I enjoy takeoffs the most. They never seem to lose their allure. But I am getting the greatest thrill of my life right now in this air derby. I’ve never been so interested in anything before…I want to see if it goes over big. It’ll do wonders for aviation.” Pilots claimed to believe that all city fathers had perversely pledged to place telephone lines and the tallest trees around airports to challenge pilot skills.

Women aviators often wore a white scarf. It had a practical purpose as a goggle wiper for rain and the inevitable engine oil mist.

Of Bobbi Trout, reporters said, “She looks like a boy, flies like a man.”

After the race, the Plain Dealer wrote, “Young, small for the most part, and pretty, these women of our century wear goggles instead of knitted shawls. They burn up distance in a way which is ridiculous. Just imagine your dear old grandmother hopping in a plane, tossing away a cigarette butt, pulling goggles over he yes, giving eh ship the gun and heading from California to Ohio.”

Thaden, a writer for the Wichita Eagle newspaper said, “There is one bit of pleasure I will get out of winning. I’ll now be able to make good my promise. I have won the cup for Marvel Crosson, and it will be inscribed with her name and turned over to her people”

---

THE RESULTS

After nine days of similar mishaps and challenges along the way, most of the women competitors made it to Cleveland, Ohio. Louis Thaden would take the top prize for the larger sized, more powerful racers while Phoebe Omlie would win in the light plane class. For the press and sponsors, the Powder Puff Derby (as humorist Will Rogers had jokingly dubbed it) was a huge success. The women pilots too benefited from all of the publicity, even if the news writers seemed more enamored with reports of what clothes they wore and how they did their hair rather than details about the flights and challenges they had faced along the way.

---

THE NINETY-NINES

Louise Thaden confided in her husband the sadness that the race was nearing the end, “We have helped each other, worried together, laughed over mistakes, silently wept and endured in community, recognized our strengths, and combated weaknesses. We never mentioned the afraid times – anticipatory on the ground, actual in flight.”

At the Kansas City stop, Neva Paris ran from airplane to airplane to tell the competitors of a meeting planned under the grandstands in Cleveland.

Those who had preflown the route shared the notes they had describing the airfield, obstacles and the general condition of the landing area. Although they were fiercely competitive for speed, the women supported each other for safety.

The banquets, socials and receptions were recognized by the aviators as public relations duties connected with their objective of promoting aviation and women in aviation, and they attended in good spirit.

Two and a half months after the race, on November 2, 1929, many competitors and other women pilots met at Curtiss Airport, Valley Stream, New York.

Neva Paris and Opal Kunz were beacons lighting the way for a formal organization for women pilots and were the key organizers of the meeting, which resulted in creating the 86s, which evolved later into Ninety-Nines, a women’s aviation organization that survives to this day (at the time, there were 86 women pilots certified in the USA, a number which grew to 99 when the organization’s name was finally solidified). Louise Thaden chaired the group on an informal basis but deferred leadership, generously acknowledging that Amelia Earhart’s prominence would help the organization and its members.

SMO take off order	Name of Contestant	Race #	# Land SBD	Time to SBD	Aircraft	Class	Age	Residence
1	Marvel Crosson	1	4	29:23	Travel Air Whirlwind J5	Heavy	29	San Diego, CA
2	Florence Lowe “Pancho” Barnes	2	2	27:21	Travel Air Whirlwind J5	Heavy	28	San Marino, CA
3	Blanche W. Noyes	3	5	31:15	Travel Air, Wright J5	Heavy	29	Cleveland, OH
4	Louise M. Thaden	4	3	27:50	Travel Air Whirlwind J5	Heavy	24	Pittsburg, PA
5	Mary E. von Mack	5	19	unkwn	Travel Air, Wright J5	Heavy	33	Detroit, MI
6	Amelia Earhart	6	13	51:04	Lockheed Vega, Whirlwind J5	Heavy	32	New York, NY
7	Phoebe Omlie	8	6	32:15	Monocoupe, Warner	Light	26	New York, NY
8	Margaret Perry	11	11	40:19	Spartan, Wright J5	Heavy	unk	Beverly Hills, CA
9	Ruth Nichols	16	7	32:50	Rearwin, Ken-Royce Challenger	Heavy	28	Rye, NY
10	Opal Logan Kunz	18	10	38:36	Travel Air, Challenger	Heavy	33	New York, NY
11	Neva Paris	23	12	41:22	Curtiss Robin, Challenger	Heavy	unk	Great Neck, LI
12	Jessie Chubbie Keith-Miller	43	18	1:12:59	Fleet, Kinner K5	Light	28	New Zealand
13	Claire Fahy	54	14	44:11	Travel Air, OX5	Light	unk	Los Angeles, CA
14	Thea Rasche	61	15	46:30	Gypsy Moth, DH Gypsy	Light	30	Germany
15	Ruth Elder	66	8	34:40	Swallow, Wright J5	Heavy	26	Beverly Hills, CA
16	Evelyn Bobbi Trout	100	9	36:23	Golden Eagle, Kinner	Light	23	Los Angeles, CA
17	Gladys O’Donnell	105	1	25:19	Waco 10, Wright J5	Heavy	25	Long Beach, CA
18	Edith Foltz	109	17	52:55	Eaglerock, Kinner	Light	24	Portland, Or
19	Vera Dawn Walker	113	16	51:04	Curtiss Robin, Challenger	Heavy	32	Los Angeles, CA
20	Mary Haizlip	76	n/a	n/a			19	Tulsa, OK