Myrtle Cagle
Myrtle Cagle | |
---|---|
Born | Myrtle K. Thompson June 3, 1925 |
Died | December 22, 2019 Georgia, United States | (aged 94)
Known for | Mercury 13, aviation |
Myrtle "Kay" Thompson Cagle (June 3, 1925 – December 22, 2019) was an American pilot and one of the Mercury 13 female astronauts group. She worked as a flight instructor and wrote about aviation in North Carolina.
Biography
Pre-Mercury 13
Cagle was born on June 3, 1925, in Selma, North Carolina.[1][2] Cagle had always wanted to fly from a young age.[2] When she was 12, her brothers taught her to fly using the plane they owned.[1][3] When she "earned her wings" at the age of 14, she was the youngest pilot in North Carolina,[2] and at the time, may have been the youngest in the United States.[1] She joined the high school's aeronautics class, when the school's instructor was drafted to fight in World War II, she finished out her year as the teacher.[1] As a flight instructor she was nicknamed, "Captain K".[1] Cagle earned her private pilot's license when she was nineteen.[1]
Cagle joined the
Cagle began writing a column called "Air Currents" in 1946 for the Johnstonian Sun newspaper in Selma.[1] Later the column was moved to the Raleigh News and Observer from 1953 to 1960.[1] When she flew a T-33 jet trainer, she became one of only five women who had "ever piloted a jet."[2]
Mercury 13
Cagle married former pupil, Walt Cagle, in 1960.[2][7] Her wedding dress was made from parachutes.[8] She moved to Macon, Georgia, in 1961. Not long after she arrived, she was invited to participate in the new Women in Space Program.[9] Cagle had 4,300 hours of flying time by the time the program started.[8] Cagle and the twelve other women participants eventually became known as the "Mercury 13."[10] During the program, Cagle was warned by the administrators not to become pregnant.[2] Among the multitude of tests she underwent as part of the program, she noted that one of the worst tests she faced was having her eardrums frozen.[2]
Post-Mercury 13
Cagle went back to teaching students how to fly and also enrolled in
Death
Cagle died on December 22, 2019.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Cagle, Myrtle K Thompson". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on December 28, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Veteran Pilot Cagle Had the Right Stuff". The Greenville News. October 22, 1998. Retrieved April 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Two Women Astronauts Arrive for Air Race". The Monitor. May 8, 1964. Retrieved April 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9780801883941.
- ^ "Aerial Show Set Sunday In Hendersonville". Asheville Citizen-Times. July 6, 1951. Retrieved April 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Thrill Packed Air Show Is Slated". Statesville Daily Record. September 18, 1952. Retrieved April 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The U.S. Team is Still Warming Up the Bench". LIFE. Vol. 54, no. 26. June 28, 1963. p. 32 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d "Myrtle K Tompson Cagle Collection" (PDF). International Women's Air & Space Museum. July 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "First Lady Astronaut Trainees". history.nasa.gov. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ Nelson, Sue (April 15, 1997). "Space: The Final Frontier". The Guardian. Retrieved April 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hallonquist, Al. "Myrtle Cagle". Mercury 13 - the Women of the Mercury Era. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Merzer, Martin (October 27, 1998). "Women's Hopes Dashed". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved April 5, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Myrtle "Kay" Cagle". Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Roe, Bobbi (July 2007). "Mercury 13 Receive Honorary Doctorates from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh" (PDF). 99 News. 33 (4): 100.
- The Telegraph. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
External links