Mary Riddle

Mary Riddle, also known as Kus-de-cha or Kingfisher,[1] (April 22, 1902 – October 25, 1981) was the second Native American woman to earn a pilot's license, with Bessie Coleman being the first.[2][3] Soon after earning her pilot's license she also earned her commercial license.[4]

Mary Riddle
Mary Riddle posing with her plane.
Born(1902-04-22)April 22, 1902
Bruceport, Washington
DiedOctober 25, 1981(1981-10-25) (aged 79)
Portland, Oregon
NationalityQuinault, American
Other namesKus-de-cha
Known forSecond Native American woman airplane pilot

Early life

Riddle was a member of the Clatsop Tribe in Oregon[2] and the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington.[5] She was the daughter of Albert "Doc" Riddell, and had two brothers, John and Valentine.[6] Her grandmother gave her the name Kus-de-cha after noting that her cries sounded like a kingfisher's call.[7] On the way home from school, an eleven-year-old Riddle saw her first plane and was mesmerized.[8] From that day forward, she went to every airshow she could.[8] When Riddle was seventeen, she saw a woman fatally crash an airplane.[9] The incident made her determined to prove women could fly well.[9]

Aviation career

Pilot

Riddle saved money for two years[8] to attend the Rankin Flying School in Portland, run by noted aviator Tex Rankin.[10] Rankin, who also taught Chinese-American pilot Leah Hing, was interested in creating "a 'rainbow', all-female stunt team," but Riddle declined to participate, and the idea fizzled out.[11] She flew solo for the first time on May 10, 1930.[8] "I wasn't scared," said Riddle one month later. "On that first trip alone I just missed the weight of the instructor in the plane."[8] She featured in an airshow at the 1930 Portland Rose Festival, riding up to her plane on horseback and in "full tribal costume".[12] Riddle was one of three female pilots in the show: the others were Dorothy Hester and Edith Foltz.[13] In August of that year, she made plans to fly to Washington D.C. with "beaded gifts from Indian tribes of the Northwest", to be delivered to for "President Hoover and others".[14] Riddle earned a limited commercial pilot's license in 1933.[15] In June 1934, she was featured on the 99's magazine, The 99er.[16] An all-around athlete, she enjoyed swimming, riding, "golf, tennis, and ice skating."[17]

Parachutist

Riddle later went to the Spartan School in Tulsa to learn parachute jumping.[18] Though the school was all-male at the time, Riddle convinced them to admit her and graduated with honors.[18] By 1937 she was performing as a parachutist[19] while touring the United States on The Voice of Washington, advertised as the largest tri-motored plane in the world,[20] on which she also served as chief stewardess.[1] Press described her as quiet and charming.[17] Riddle did forty parachute jumps.[10] In 1937, she almost died when her parachute, which had not opened correctly, became tangled with her legs.[20] The next year, a back injury caused her to quit parachuting.[7]

Aircraft Inspector

World War II restrictions on civilian aircraft forced Riddle to give up flying.[7] She began working with aluminum sheet metal as part of the U.S. Air Force's Civil Service, reasoning, "I just had to be near airplanes- even if I could not fly them."[7] She was recruited by the government to inspect civilian aircraft and work as an aircraft maintenance advisor.[10] Riddle recalled, "I was a sort of guinea pig, really, on account of being the only woman, but I got along fine."[21]

Later life

After the war, Riddle became a receptionist at the Gibbs and Hill firm in New York City, but continued to fly on occasion and to visit the Northwest.[21]

gollark: That seems reasonable.
gollark: Please indentation.
gollark: `refuel`
gollark: Maybe it's out of fuel.
gollark: I'm imagining chickens flying through pipes.

See also

References
  1. "To Dare Death Here". The Bismarck Tribune. 20 May 1937. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Mary Riddle, First Native American Woman Aviator". One of Many Feathers. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  3. "Future Beauty Queen: Wins French Crown: To-morrow's Citizen". The Ottawa Journal. 10 June 1930. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Mary Riddle, First Native American Woman Aviator". www.oneofmanyfeathers.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
  5. "Indian Girl is Full-Fledged Flyer". Rock Valley Bee. 11 July 1930. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Dixon, Harold C. (Summer 1971). "My Girlhood Days In Bruceport" (PDF). The Sou'wester. 6: 31.
  7. "Stunt Flier Quits Thrills To Serve US". Jefferson City Post-Tribune. 25 May 1943. Retrieved 29 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Rummel, Dick (13 June 1930). "Indian Girl Has Yearn For Sky; Becomes Pilot". The Oregon Daily Journal.
  9. Bulman, Morgan (22 November 2017). "Native American Women Aviation Pioneers". Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  10. Speirs, Jim (28 May 2010). "Tex Rankin's Flying School, and the Golden Age of Women aviators" (PDF). St. Johns Review. 107 (11): 1. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  11. Boule, Margie (29 July 2001). "If The Hereafter Has Rules, Leah Hing's Breaking Them". The Oregonian.
  12. "Crowds Acclaim Floral Parade". The Klamath News. 14 June 1930. Retrieved 30 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Aviator Thrills Crowd". The Oregonian. 14 June 1930. p. 12.
  14. "Indian Girl Pilot To Fly East". Daily News. 3 August 1930. p. 3. Retrieved 30 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Indian Girl Wins Flyers License". The Los Angeles Times. 19 September 1933. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. French, Jack (2011). "Lady Aviators: In History and Popular Fiction from the 1700s to World War II". Winged Victory. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  17. "A.W. Lucas Co. Sponsoring Spectacular Parachute Jump". The Bismarck Tribune. 21 May 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 30 December 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "A. W. Lucas Co. Sponsoring Spectacular Parachute Jump by Princess Kus-de-cha". The Bismarck Tribune. 21 May 1937. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "A look back..." The Daily News. 28 April 1977. Retrieved 31 August 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  20. "Air Circus Here". St. Cloud Times. 5 June 1937. Retrieved 4 November 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. Rothert, Yvonne (6 February 1975). "Pilot Called First Licensed Indian Woman". The Oregonian.
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