Amelia Reid
Amelia Reid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Amelia Lola 13 November 1924 Ord, Nebraska, US |
| Died | 3 March 2001 (aged 76) |
| Alma mater |
|
| Spouse |
Robert Reid Jr. (divorced) |
| Children | Robert "Robin" Reid III |
| Awards | Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Lawrence P. Sharples Award |
Amelia Reid (November 13, 1924 – March 3, 2001) was a mathematician, pilot, flight instructor, businesswoman, airshow performer, and airport advocate. She was the founder of Amelia Reid Aviation (now AeroDynamic Aviation) and is known as California's First Lady of Aviation.[1]
Early Life and Education
Amelia Reid got her first taste of flying in 1940 when pilot Evelyn Sharp took her on a ride in a Piper Cub J-2.[2] In 1941 Reid had her first flying lessons,[1] and in May 1946 she earned her pilot's license.[2]
Reid studied mathematics at Kearney State College in Nebraska, earning her bachelors degree in June 1945.[1][2][3] Reid then attended San Jose State University where she earned her master's degree in mathematics.[1] She worked at NACA (now known as NASA) as a human computer and programing mathematician from 1945-1958.[1][3] Because the NACA Ames Research Center where she worked did not allow flexibility in her work schedule, she left after the birth of her son.[1]
Career
From there she returned to flying and became a certified commercial pilot with instructor ratings in 1960.[1] That same year, Reid founded Amelia Reid Aviation, a flight school at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California.[1] The company bought their first aircraft, a Taylorcraft L-2, for just $350. Reid initially ran the business out of her 1959 Ford and, later, out of two trailers.[2] She mortgaged her home and constructed a permanent hangar and office building in 1967, from which she operated her flight school for the rest of her life.[4][2]
Reid logged over 55,000 flight hours and trained more than 4,000 pilots.[1] She flew in countless airshows, her last at age 75 in a Cessna Aerobat. She won the 1996 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Lawrence P. Sharples Award and was inducted into the National Association of Flight Instructors Hall of Fame.[4][1][5]
Reid's students include noted airshow performer Sean D. Tucker[1], aviation author and speaker Rod Machado, aerospace engineer and author H. Paul Shuch (whose recurring fictional character Avalon Eden[6] is based in part on Reid), and Jason Dahl, the captain on United flight 93 on September 11, 2001.
Activism
In the 1960s, Reid-Hillview Airport, founded in 1939 by five local airmen including Reid's father-in-law, was sold to Santa Clara County.[1] The growth of Silicon Valley in the San Jose area instigated campaigns to close the airport.[1] Reid was a strong advocate of the preservation of the airport and a founder of the Reid-Hillview Airport Association.
Later Life
On January 16, 2001 Reid had a stroke, and she passed away on March 3rd, 2001 at age 76.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n AOPA Communications staff (March 5, 2001). "Aviation community mourns Amelia Reid, California's 'First Lady of General Aviation' and AOPA Sharples Award winner". AOPA Online. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Archived from the original on 7 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
- ^ a b c d e Donnelly, Kathleen (1993-03-14). "AFTER 50 YEARS, FLIGHT STILL SUITS HER FANCY". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
- ^ a b Ngaotheppitak, Ratana (November 2010). "Guide to the Amelia Reid National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Human Computer Papers, 1945-1958". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
- ^ a b Sweeney, Frank (March 5, 2001). "Top San Jose flight instructor Amelia Reid dies". The San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
- ^ "Flight Instructors Hall of Fame Inductees". National Association of Flight Instructors. 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
- ^ "The Avalon Eden Stories". AvSport of Lock Haven. Archived from the original on 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
External links
- AeroDynamic Aviation, formerly Amelia Reid Aviation