Explore the stories of people who pushed boundaries so they could become a pilot. 

These are the people who changed the face of who fly aircraft and began opening doors for others to participate.

Activities

Explore this timeline of events and stories of people finding their wings, despite boundaries and challenges.

Scroll through this interactive timeline for photos and stories about aviation pioneers from the earliest days of flight all the way to today! Click on each event to see photos and read more about these pilots and their stories.  What new firsts do you think we'll see in the next year?

 Watch an interview of Bessie Coleman, portrayed by her great niece, Gigi Coleman Broome.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Bessie Coleman becoming the first African American and person of Native American descent to get a pilot's license.

Interested in learning more about Bessie Coleman?

 Check out our resource page

Make a family timeline. 

As you read through these inspiring stories, discover your family's personal history with flying by creating a timeline. A timeline helps you see events in order and how they relate to each other.
string, post it notes, paper, scissors, tape and string.

What you'll need for this activity:

  • Piece of paper for taking notes
  • Sticky notes or small squares of paper
  • Tape
  • String or yarn
  • Pencil and eraser
  • A flat surface (either a wall or the floor) for making your timeline
  • Measuring tape or a yardstick (optional)
  • Marker (optional)
Several post its for dates on it.

Step 1: Gather information for your timeline. 

  • Make a list of the family members you want to include in your timeline.
  • Next to each person's name, write their birth year and place of birth (Photo 1)
  • Have a conversation with your family members about their experiences with flying. Ask each listed family member the following questions and write down their answers on your sticky notes:
    • When did you first fly in an airplane? Where did they go? 
    • What was your favorite place to fly to? When did you travel there? 
    • When did you last fly in an airplane? Where did you go? 

Conversation tip: Use dinnertime as an opportunity to ask each other these questions!

Step 2: Organize your information.

  • Look at the dates that you have. Which one is the earliest date? Which one is the most recent date? These two points will be the start and end of your timeline.  
  • Next, look at the rest of the dates. Place them in order from earliest date to the most recent date.
1940 to 2020 = 8 decades (80 years); 48 inches divided by 8 decades = 6 inches per decade
A string stretched against a measuring tape.
Post It Notes on a string.

Step 3: Make your timeline. 

  • Take a long piece of string or yarn (about 4 feet long) and tape it down to your flat surface.
  • If you want to be more precise in the placement of events on your timeline, count the number of decades you need to put on your timeline and divide that by the length of your string (see Photo 2)
  • Use a measuring tape or yardstick and a marker to mark each 10 year block of time using your calculation (Photo 3)
  • Place your sticky notes onto the timeline string in order. Use the corners of the sticky notes as "arrows" to point to the event's point on the timeline (Photo 4 and 5)
A timeline made of string and post it notes stretched out.
Measuring the length between post its with string.

Step 4: Have a conversation about your timeline observations.

  • Ask each other the following questions:
    • Where did you fly to?
    • Why were you flying?
    • What kind of airplane did you fly in? Was it big or little? 
  • Measure the length of time between one family member's birth date and the first time they flew. You can do this by measuring with a piece of string or you can use your measuring tape (Photo 7)
  • Compare your time with those of other family members. What is different? Why?
  • We hope you learn more about your family history and have great conversations!