October 5, 1929 Fay Gillis earned her pilot’s license and immediately became a major force in the world of women’s aviation. Along with Amelia Earhart she founded the 99s, the international organization of women pilots. Gillis became the first female member of the “Caterpillar Club” when she was forced to bail out of her plane the day after her first solo. To qualify you must leap from an airplane to save your life. Her plane crashed but she continued on with her successful career as an international journalist. She landed a plane for the last time at age 92 and died in 2002.
