Margaret Ringenberg (née Ray; June 17, 1921 – July 28, 2008) was an American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

, who had logged more than 40,000 hours of flying time during her career.

Career and accomplishments

Ringenberg became interested in flying as an eight-year-old when she saw a barnstormer land in a field near her family's farm. She trained at a flight training school and had her first solo flight in 1941 as a 19-year-old. Ringenberg began her aviation career in 1943 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when she became a ferry pilot with the

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

(WASP). Although WASP pilots were not allowed to fly combat missions, they served grueling, often dangerous duties, such as ferrying, test flying, and target towing. The WASP corps was disbanded at the end of 1944. Ringenberg went on to become a flight instructor in 1945 and flew as a commercial pilot and instructor for the rest of her life. After the war, she answered phones at an airport. She began racing airplanes in the 1950s. She raced in every

Powder Puff Derby The Women's Air Derby was the first official women-only air race in the United States, taking place during the 1929 National Air Races. Humorist Will Rogers referred to it as the Powder Puff Derby, the name by which the race is most commonly ...

from 1957 to 1977, every Air Race Classic since 1977, the Grand Prix and the Denver Mile High and many others, garnering over 150 trophies for her accomplishments. She completed the Round-the-World Air Race in 1994 at age 72, and in March 2001 at the age of 79 she flew in a race from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Altogether, Ringenberg logged over 40,000 hours as a pilot. In 1999, she received the NAA Elder Statesman in Aviation Award in a presentation ceremony in Washington, D.C. Margaret Ringenberg was married to banker Morris Ringenberg in 1946. He preceded her in death in 2003. They had two children and five grandchildren. All of her children have flown with her in races and all have been in the winner's circle with her to receive trophies.

Books

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...

devoted a chapter to Margaret Ringenberg in his book ''The Greatest Generation''. During an interview with Brokaw she said, “I started out flying because I wanted to be a stewardess—you call them flight attendants nowadays—and I thought ‘what if the pilot gets sick or needs help? I don’t know the first thing about airplanes’ and that's where I found my challenge. I never intended to solo or be a pilot. I found it was wonderful.” Following her death, Brokaw said, in a telephone interview "Margaret was one of my favorites". Ringenberg's autobiography ''Girls Can’t Be Pilots,'' written with Jane L. Roth was published by Daedalus Press in 1998 (). It was illustrated with several photos from her career both as a WASP and as an air racer. In addition to her autobiography, Ringenberg's daughter, Marsha Wright, wrote a biography of her mother in 2007 called ''Maggie Ray: World War II Air Force Pilot'' ()''.''

Death

Ringenberg died in her sleep of natural causes on July 28, 2008, while attending the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. ...

annual airshow. She was representing the WASPs.

References

Further Information

*Paluso, Philip. ''Wings for Maggie Ray''. ishers, IN Medium Cool Pictures, 2012.

External links

Library of Congress interviewStory about Margaret Ringenberg Indy 500 experience in 2004
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051216102915/http://www.airraceclassic.org/pages/2/page2.html?refresh=1116256106436 Air Race Classic {{DEFAULTSORT:Ringenberg, Margaret 1921 births 2008 deaths Aviators from Indiana People from Fort Wayne, Indiana Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel American commercial aviators American women commercial aviators 21st-century American women American air racers