Good Morning,
In my continued and on going research into the life of Bessie
Coleman, I just came to realize something else, that Bessie Coleman was
everything By Edward DeV. Bunn Jr. said, in his book ‘Lifting as She
Climbed: Bessie Coleman's Contributions to the
Elevation of Black Women’.
I am reading and researching on
many levels to get a better understand of Bessie and what she endured to reach
the status of ‘stunt pilot’. Last night I was reading Eugene
Bullard: Black Expatriate in Jazz-Age Paris by Craig Lloyd,
this is an amazing book giving the reader insight to the Black or
afro-American pilot and what they endure to reach pilot status, and the female
endures even more.
First, referencing an article
from Aviation Quarterly, the Curtiss JN-4 was one of the most dangerous
airplanes on the market where more flying cadets were killed in training than
in actual war; because, the cadet flew up front and the instructor in the back
seat; eventual this style of instruction was changed where the instructor flew
up front and the student in the rear-the instructor new how to correct in
problems.
The skills of Bessie Coleman were
demonstrated when her engine cut off during a air show demonstration, she nosed
the plane over into a dive, and the engine started up again, the crown went
crazy with applause and Bessie’s notoriety increased.
Last night in reading about
Eugene Bullard, the first Africa-American male pilot, and the fact that he was
able to complete his training in seven months when it took other pilots longer,
McConnell stresses how difficult
the training was for the initiate leaning to fly the avion de chasse, the
fighter plane. To control these small, swift craft on the ground as well as in
the air, students had to possess great dexterity of hand and foot. Moreover,
fighter planes, unlike larger ones used for reconnaissance or bombing, were
one-seaters, and the trainee had to have the courage to take off alone on his
first flight. There was a great deal of weeding out among fighter pilots
because “a man’s aptitude for the work shows up, and unless he is by nature
especially well fitted he is transferred to the division which teaches one to
fly the larger and safer (and co-pilot) machines.” Some fifty-six Americans and
an untold number of French students pilots failed to meet the demanding
requirements and never served at the front1.
Now given the
above site, remember that Bessie Coleman was 5’4”, 130 pounds, that had to
teach herself French and raised her own money for travel and boarding in
France, not to mention walking eight-teen miles everyday for her lessons. This
is the type of woman you are honoring today.
From my
research I see Eugene Bullard in the light of a Malcolm X, and Bessie Coleman
in the light of Dr. Martin Luther King. Bother were tough, but approached
freedom from different paths.
Something else
you may have or not realized,
Eugene Bullard
Born: 1895
Enter military
1914 @ the age of 19
Became pilot
May 5th, 1917 @ 22 yrs of age-May 5th, 1917
Bessie Coleman Born: born:January,1892The resilience of a women - Bessie Coleman 1892-1926
pilot rating –
International Pilot June 15th, 1921
She was 29 years of age
She was encouraged by newspaper owner, Robert S. Abbott, while working in a male barbershop as a manicurist. Bessie raised monies for her stunt pilot training by selling chilli in a business she owned.
Bessie Coleman was seven years Eugene Bullard's senior...
And, she purchased two Curtiss JN-4s.
And, she purchased two Curtiss JN-4s.
