Women Headed For the Skies

A Woman Standing on an Airplane Pontoon (Photo From Nassau County Museum Collection, Long Island Studies Institute)

Long Island's reputation as ``The Cradle of Aviation'' is bolstered by the accomplishments of many women. Among them are Harriet Quimby, who in 1910 in Garden City became the nation's first female licensed pilot. The list reaches lofty heights when one considers the Ninety-Nines, a women's aviation organization founded in 1929 at Curtiss Field in Valley Stream. Its first president was the legendary Amelia Earhart.

Founders included Elinor Smith Sullivan, who flew a record 26 hours over Long Island in 1929; and Ruth Nichols, who in 1958, flying out of Bridgehampton, became the first woman to reach 51,000 feet.

With these pioneers in mind, ``Time Machine'' presents two ``History Mystery'' photos of women in aviation. The images were taken by John Drennan, who photographed Long Island for 57 years until the day he died in 1986. The photos exist without caption information in the Nassau County Museum Collection of the Long Island Studies Institute at Hofstra University.