![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Nancy-Bird.jpg\")
The late Nancy Bird was the first Australian woman to use\nher commercial license in Australia. She was the founder of the Australian\nWomen Pilots Association and was a lifelong advocate for female pilots and\naviation. A shining example of manners and poise, grit and dedication, Nancy\ncampaigned for the establishment of an aerial ambulance service in New South\nWales during the 1970s. She represented female pilots throughout her lifetime,\nand shortly before her death at age 93, Qantas, Australia\u2019s national airline,\nnamed their first Airbus A380 in her honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martha and John King<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When Martha and John King were married, they committed to a\nlifetime of mutual entrepreneurship and decided they would be equal partners in\neverything they would do. Pursuing their passion for flying, the couple started\ntheir own business of teaching pilots. Their courses have enabled millions of\ncustomers worldwide to learn to fly. With the use of technology, the Kings have\ntaught more pilots than any other instructors in history. The King Schools has\nreceived multiple awards, and Martha and John have been inducted into the\nNational Aviation Hall of Fame. Their practical tools for starting, running,\nand growing your own successful business were recently published in their new\nbook LIFT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Col. Merryl Tengesdal USAF (Ret.)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since retiring from the U.S. Air Force, Col. Tengesdal has\nmade it her mission to inspire and encourage underprivileged youth, employing\nthe lessons she learned as a pioneer, leader, and mentor to serve as a fitness\ntrainer and a contestant on the reality television series \u201cTough as Nails.\u201d As\nthe first and only Black woman to pilot the U-2 \u2018Dragon Lady\u2019 reconnaissance\naircraft, considered one of the most difficult aircraft in the world to fly,\nCol. Tengesdal is hailed as a military trailblazer. Her memoir Shatter the Sky:\nWhat Going to the Stratosphere Taught Me About Self-Worth, Sacrifice, and\nDiscipline details her humble beginnings and the odds against her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our 2023 inductees reflect the diversity of careers\nrepresented by our members,\u201d says Allison McKay, WAI CEO. “For the past 30\nyears, WAI is proud to honor women who have carried the weight of future female\naviators on their shoulders as they broke down gender barriers and proved that\nwomen could succeed and contribute to aviation in unique ways. Their\naccomplishments \u2013 as individuals or groups-have most certainly helped to change\nthe face of aviation.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to honor women who have made significant contributions as record setters, pioneers, or innovators. Special consideration is given to individuals or groups who have helped other women be successful in aviation or opened doors of opportunity for other women. Each year, the organization solicits nominations from throughout the aviation industry for the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame. For more information on the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame, visit WAI.org\/pioneers<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Women in Aviation International (WAI) has selected the 2023 inductees for its International Pioneer Hall of Fame. These trailblazers will be honored at the 34th Annual Women in Aviation International Conference during a ceremony and celebration dinner at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on Saturday, February 25, 2023, from 6-8 p.m. The 2023 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24229,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24225\/revisions\/24229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Martha-and-John-King-2.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Merryl-Tengesdal-Col-USAF-Ret.jpg\")