Pioneers of Flight – The First Powder Puff Derby in 1929

Sue will  discuss the history of women in air racing. She will begin with the 20 women who defied convention by taking to the skies and racing across the country in 1929 for the 1st Women’s National Air Derby, later tagged the Powder Puff Derby.  With just a compass and road map to guide them, these brave pilots navigated from Santa Monica to Cleveland, Ohio encountering rough weather, mechanical failures and rumors of sabotage. Fast forward to 1976, Sue will share her experience flying from Sacramento to Wilmington, DE with her mother, Beth Fuhrman, in the last Powder Puff Derby and also the Angel Derby in 1978 from Dallas to Freeport, Bahamas.  She will finish up her presentation with the Air Race Classic (formerly the Powder Puff Derby) which she competed in last year, for fun, for the amazing experience once again and also in memory of her mother who passed away one month before the race. Sue flew her single engine Cherokee 180 from Novato, CA to Frederick, MD for the start of the race, which started in Frederick and ended in Santa Fe, NM.