Venezuela’s First Female Aviator
Mary Calcaño was a pioneer and a righteous woman during her time; she was also my grandmother and continues to inspire us today. Below is a letter my grandmother wrote to the Ninety-Nines, which gives a great perspective of her daily adventures as a pilot in those days.
The Ninety-Nines, founded in 1929 by 99 licensed women pilots including Amelia Earhart, is an international organization of female aviators dedicated to advancing women in aviation. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, my grandmother was a proud member of the New York–New Jersey chapter. As one of the pioneering women aviators of her time, she joined forces with other trailblazing pilots to promote flight, support one another, and inspire future generations of women to take to the skies.
Scroll down for images of my grandmother during her heyday. If you would like to use my images, please email me. Always link to my website and give credit to images as ©Mari Keeler Cornwell.
Letter from Mary Calcaño, formerly of the New York-New Jersey Section. September 1940.
“I have been trying to write ever since I arrived in Venezuela in November last year, but thought I would write when I had something to say, and so...time flies! I trust I will have time to give you a little story of my flying activities in Venezuela before some urgent work comes along and I have to stop this letter. I also trust my English will be ''understandable" this morning - sometimes I just can't think in English.
It took me a whole month after my arrival here to clear the usual Latin-American rod tape and be able to fly my little Coupe. The PAA field, where the ship was being assembled, is 30 miles from Caracas, winding up and down mountains that go as high as 9,000 feet. The day the ship was ready I had to test fly it and take it to the home airport, a city named Maracay (there is no hangar at the PAA field.) That meant climbing the ship from sea level to 8,000 feet and flying over mountains for half an hour before reaching the valley and even then there is no decent place where you can sit your plane without tearing at least the fabric. It was a terrific experience ; I have never flown over these mountains of mine, which look so beautiful and yet so dangerous! It was the longest hour ever flown, thinking all the time... "Suppose there is a loose nut somewhere, suppose a wing falls, suppose the motor quits, etc." and I would end with my little pretty Coupe at the bottom of the canyon. No, it was fun only after I had landed.
Since making this flight I made up my mind to cross those mountains over and over again until I got used to them. I have flown some 3300 miles cross-country since then, most of which has been at altitudes between 7 and 10,000 feet. Mountains still bother me a little but most of the time they are covered by clouds, so I don't have to see them much, and I just concentrate in the roaring of my engine, and my compass.
Flying in Venezuela is relatively easy, as far as weather is concerned. Even tho we have no weather stations and we never know how the weather is 20 miles away from the airport, you are almost always apt to find the same weather for a distance of 200 miles. We have zones where we know how the wind blows, but every flight is subject to guesses, of course, and one has to fly by instinct more than anything else. The worst thing is tho, the lack of references on the ground. On any route, you only find check points every 50 miles or so. When you leave the mountains and get to the plains where the topography is exactly the same for miles and miles - big open savannas, then a ranch, then a piece of jungle and then the savanna again - you better guess right as to the direction and velocity of the wind. or....As a matter of fact, if you are travelling south you know you will get to the Orinoco or Apure River someday. Doesn't it sound like a lot of fun?!!
All in all, I have flown this Cub 130 hours without a single scratch. It is ready to be sold, since I want a now ship with plenty of instruments and a starter. Still, and for a long time apparently, I am the only woman flier here. Only boys are taking up flying and I am the spoiled child in aviation circles. This is fun, in a way, since I get all the attentions. The other girls here seem to find more excitement out of the movies, parks, troubadours and the flowery love-making of the Latins. I have talked enough. This is almost a conference, but if you think the girls will get a kick out of my experiences, tell them about it when you get together. Now, it is about time I tell you that being a “99er" means, remembering my meeting you, my good friend Meta Rothholtz, one dinner and meeting. By the way, my Certificate No. is 73550, Private. Trust I have not bored you and that I will hear from you soon. With my best wishes to you and all of my friends at the 99ers, I am, Sincerely, Mary Calcano, P.O. Box #7, Caracas, Venezuela.”
https://www.ninety-nines.org/pdf/newsmagazine/194009.pdf - September 1940
For more information about her, please visit the following links: Mary Calcaño on Wikipedia and El Nacional Newspaper online (en Español).
This excellent documentary discusses Venezuelan aviation and features my grandmother. Watch her fly starting at 0:35secs.
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María Calcaño fue una pionera y una mujer con tremendo carácter durante sus tiempos, también fue mi abuela. Ella siempre estará en nuestros corazones y continúa inspirándonos hoy. Para obtener más información sobre ella, visite estos enlaces: Mary Calcaño en Wikipedia, Periódico El Nacional en línea.
Este excelente documental habla sobre la aviación venezolana y presenta a mi abuela. Mírala volar a partir de 0:35 segundos.
