2010 WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame

The Women in Aviation, International Pioneer Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to honor women who have made significant contributions as record setters, pioneers, or innovators. Special consideration is given to individuals or groups who have helped other women be successful in aviation or opened doors of opportunity for other women. Each year, the organization solicits nominations from throughout the aviation industry for the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame.

The Pioneer Hall of Fame Inductees for 2010 are:

Trish Beckman retired from the United States Navy after serving 28 years. She is the first woman to qualify as a crewmember in the F-15E program and the first American woman to qualify as a crewmember in the F.A-18D. As a Naval Flight Officer, she flew in 67 types of aircraft. She helped influence the United States Senate to repeal combat exclusion laws and change executive branch policy, allowing women to fly aircraft engaged in combat missions. Currently, Beckman flies for Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group in Seattle and has more than 5,000 flight hours in 71 total aircraft types. Beckman is a founding board member and current board member of Women in Aviation, International.

Vice Admiral Vivien Crea is the most senior ranking woman in the history of the United States Coast Guard whose career consisted of the following "firsts:" first female Aircraft Commander in the U.S. Coast Guard; first female Military Aide to the President; first female to Command a U.S.C.G. Air Station; first female Executive Assistant to the Commandant of the Coast Guard; first female selected as Rear Admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard; first female appointed as Vice Admiral and first female of any Military Service to be appointed Second in Command of the military force. In addition, she is the first female to be awarded the Coast Guard's Ancient Albatross which honors the Coast Guard aviator on active duty who has held that designation for the longest time.

Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann is the chief training pilot for The Boeing Company for the almost 700 instructor pilots globally delivering training for initial typeratings as well as recurrent training. She was the first woman to captain a 747-400, the first woman to captain a 777, and the first woman test pilot employed by Boeing in both production and experimental flight test. She broke the distance record in the greater than 661,000 pound weight class, when she and her crew flew a 777-200LR from Hong Kong to London. She is an active mentor spanning two more generations of women test pilots, with six other women currently in her department.

Alice du Pont Mills received her pilot's license in 1929 at the age of 18. The following year, she received her instrument rating, and logged numerous hours shuttling her father between Cape Cod and Wilmington. In 1934, she and her brother Richard flew their Waco outfitted with pontoons, to South America and 60 miles up the Amazon River, and as far south as Rio de Janeiro logging more than 1000 hours in their Waco. During World War II, du Pont Mills taught instrument flying to Navy airmen, and also to women ferry pilots at Newcastle, Del.

Kathy Sullivan was a member of the first Space Shuttle astronaut class and the first American woman to walk in space. She is a veteran of three space shuttle missions, logging more than 530 hours in space. She is a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, as well as a private pilot who flies and owns a Super Decathlon. In 1993, she served as chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where she oversaw the agency's $500 million research and technology portfolio and represented the U.S. in many international scientific forums. In 2006, she was named the first director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University.