Edna Gardner Whyte
1928 Edna Gardner Whyte with Jenny airplane. -Image from Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection
Edna Gardner Whyte was an air racing pilot, airport operator, nurse, and flight instructor. She educated Navy and Army pilots to fly and she and her husband opened Aero Enterprises at Fort Worth’s Meacham Field. They repaired airplanes and trained student pilots for over 24 years.
"She was a really interesting woman. She was the first licensed female flight instructor in the U.S. She was always disappointed she was not allowed to be an airline pilot. She felt the women got shorted on opportunities and liked to remind all students that women were good and they can do things as good as men. She was not angry but light hearted about the past. Edna came from Minnesota and was named the “flying nurse” back then. She gave up the nursing and just became a pilot and to go flying. She used to race airplanes and met up with Amelia Earhart during a race. She was in a race or two with Amelia Earhart. She then had the opportunity to go to Amelia Earhart’s house for dinner the night before her tragic round-the-world flight started in 1937. Edna ended up in Houston during WWII. She and her husband trained some of the WWII pilots. They were both flight instructors. Edna then became a WASP and ferried airplanes for the military."- Bob Malechek Interview with Keri Kittleson
"She always encouraged the women around her to pursue their dreams. She knew just the right thing to say to you that could alter your view of what you your own possibilities. Thank You Edna for being a Great Woman!"-Edna Gardner Whyte. Charl Agiza :Flying with Edna Gardner Whyte blog spot
Edna Gardner Whyte. Date unknown. Image from: Charl Agiza Flying with Edna Gardner Whyte blog spot
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Autobiography “Rising Above It, Edna Gardner Whyte,” tells the story of Edna Gardner Whyte, air racer, flight instructor and past international president of the Ninety-Nines.
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"When Texas bankers refused to loan her money to start her own airport, true grit got her what she wanted; she borrowed money from friends and “blazed a runway across a cotton field."-By Karen Di Piazza, Airport Journals