Women's Air Derby

"Powder Puff Derby" redirects here. For the later annual race, see Powder Puff Derby (1947).
From left to right: Louise Thaden, Bobbi Trout, Patty Willis, Marvel Crosson, Blanche Noyes, Vera Dawn Walker, Amelia Earhart, Marjorie Crawford, Ruth Elder, and Pancho Barnes,[1] in front of NC229K, de Havilland DH.60 Moth (c/n 41);[2] at the Breakfast Club,[3] Los Angeles, California, before the start of the race[4][5]
Pancho Barnes[6] and the Powder Puff Derby at Long Beach, California[7]

The Women's Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States, taking place during the 1929 National Air Races. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly known. Nineteen pilots took off from Clover Field, Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1929 (another left the next day).[8] Marvel Crosson died in a crash apparently caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, but fifteen completed the race in Cleveland, Ohio, nine days later.

  1. ^ "Florence Leontine Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (1901-1975), Pioneer Aviatrix". ctie.monash.edu.
  2. ^ Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932). "TRANSPORT: Aviation: Female pilots (1929)". youtube. British Pathé. Retrieved 12 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Remembering the First Women's Air Derby—August 1929". Aerlex Law Group. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  4. ^ SDASM Archives (28 September 2022). "SmithTrudy_004". flickr. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  5. ^ Spark, Nick (7 March 2008). "Journal: Pancho and the Powder Puff". legendofpanchobarnes.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  6. ^ D'Elia, Louis F. "About Pancho". Happy Bottom Riding Club. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  7. ^ Jackson, Ashawnta (8 March 2022). "1929 Women's Air Derby Changed Views On Women Pilots". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  8. ^ "1929 – 1st Women's National Air Derby". Los Angeles 99s Chapter. Retrieved 12 June 2023.