AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - June 2018 - 35

PEOPLE

The Mercury 13
'I could have done anything they did'
B Y J U L I E S U M M E R S WA L K E R

LITTLE-KNOWN STORIES from America
in the 1960s continue to emerge and find
their way into movies and television
shows. Now it's the story of the 13 women
who were a part of a NASA program and
who underwent the same testing as their
male counterparts only to be denied the
chance to travel in space. The Netflix original movie Mercury 13 premiered April
20. It tells the story of the 13 women who
endured rigorous testing and dreams of
becoming astronauts-only to be eclipsed
by the "man in space" program that gave
the opportunity for space travel only to
men. Women were screened as thoroughly
as men and 13 passed. But their existence-
and their stories-were kept secret for
many years.
Dr. William Randolph Lovelace III, a
flight surgeon and NASA advisor, invited
aviator Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb to test for
the space program in a regimen he helped
develop for the original U.S. astronauts-
the men known as the Mercury 7. Cobb
passed, and Lovelace announced the

results in 1960, recruiting
more women to undertake
the testing program. In 1961,
25 women volunteered to
undergo testing and were
evaluated in Lovelace's
clinic in New Mexico. The
13 women who passed then
went on to further testing
at the naval aviation center in Pensacola, Florida,
and were called the "First
Lady Astronaut Trainees"
(FLATs). But the program
was cancelled before the
women could continue and although Cobb
went to Washington, D.C., to testify on the
benefits of the project, it was dismissed.
The Netflix documentary mixes actual
footage with interviews of many of the surviving women. Aviator Jane Hart is shown
answering questions about her family:
"With eight children, you'd want to go
to the moon, too," she quips. And Mary
Wallace "Wally" Funk, the first female

safety investigator for the NTSB and one of
the Mercury 13, is quoted saying about the
men, "I could have done anything they did."
The film acknowledges that it was these
pioneering women who paved the way for
Sally Ride to launch into orbit in 1983 and
for Eileen Collins to become the first female
space shuttle commander in 1999.
EMAIL julie.walker@aopa.org

LITTLE-KNOWN AVIATION HISTORY

Charles K. Hamilton
June 13, 1910

CALLED THE "CRAZY MAN OF THE AIR," Charles K. Hamilton of New Britain, Connecticut, flew a
Curtiss Reims Racer from New York City to Philadelphia-considered a long distance at the time-
to win a $10,000 prize given by The New York Times and the Philadelphia Public Ledger. Hamilton
left Governor's Island in New York at 7:30 a.m. and landed in Philadelphia at 9:26 a.m., flying an
average speed of 45 mph. Hamilton was known as a daredevil for his dangerous dives and frequent
crashes; he survived 60 crashes and many broken bones. He was known for an ever-present cigarette dangling from his lips and was reportedly frequently drunk during his performances. He died
just four years after this feat, age 29 and penniless.

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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - June 2018

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