Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie, 1920s

A young Phoebe Fairgrave Omlie, sitting outside the cockpit of her light aircraft wearing her flying gear, 1920s. This was during her Flying Circus days. She was only a little more than five feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds. Phoebe Omlie was noted for her accomplishments as an early female aviator. Omlie was the first woman to receive an airplane mechanic\u27s license, the first licensed female transport pilot, and the first woman to be appointed to a federal position in the aviation field. In 1922 she married her instructor, Vernon Cleophas Omlie (1895-1936), a talented pilot who has been an instructor during the war, while both were working for the Curtiss Field in Minneapolis. In 1925, the couple moved to Memphis, Tennessee, leasing the Millington airfield to establish a flying school and a chartered commercial air service. Vernon would later become the manager of Memphis Municipal Airport. During the Mississippi flood in 1927, Vernon and Phoebe flew rescue missions.https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-phoebefomlie1/1003/thumbnail.jp