In addition to the personal papers of individual women, the Museum houses a comprehensive Women of Flight collection. This collection is compilation of several smaller donations put together by Museum staff.  Many of the items in this collection were donated by members of the 99s, an international organization of licensed women pilots established to educate and support their fellow women who have a passion for flight. The group, which soon would be known as the “Ninety-Nines,” was established at Curtiss Field, Long Island, New York in 1929. The 99s took the name of the 99 woman who would meet after the Women's Air Derby in Cleveland.  The collection contains an extensive amount of information about the 99s and their history, in particular about the San Diego chapter.

Original meeting of the 99s in New York.

The collection contains information about the women's air races, most notably the "Powder Puff Derby," the all-women's air race that started in 1947 and ran for 30 years. 

Footage for the Powder Puff Derby from 1972.

Additionally, the collection contains data files on notable aviatrixes, including Amelia Earhart, Fran Bera, Harriet Quimby and Louise Thaden. These files include photos, primary documents, correspondence and newspaper clippings.

The collection contains information on Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to receive a pilot's license.  She was inducted into the Museum's International Hall of Fame in 2014.

This unique photo of Amelia Earhart is signed by the "Breakfast Club" which includes famous aviators Tex Rankin, Wally Timm, Gladys O'Donnell and others.  It goes without saying that Earhart was one of the first people inducted into the Museum's International Air & Space Hall of Fame, in 1967.

The collection focuses both on military and civilian aviation, and contains an extensive amount of information on the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).  A large portion of the collection is made up of material donated by local 99s, and as such is a rich source of information about women in aviation from San Diego.

The collection contains material donated by Fran Bera, a local member of the 99s, inducted into our International Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007. To find out more about Fran (including a video) click here.

Another local 99, Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout, is represented in the Women of Flight collection. This footage shows Bobbi flying the "Lady Rolph" on an record breaking endurance flight.

The Collection includes information on woman astronauts, such as Sally Ride, who was inducted into the Museum's Hall of Fame in 2009.

This collection is very large, and totals several cubic feet in size. Many of the photos from this collection have been digitized and placed on Flickr.