Our History

Archivist Virginia J. Oualline replaces a book on a crowded shelf of the Aviation Research Library which now contains more than 400 volumes, including all issues of the famed Airwoman and The 99er, along with The Ninety-Nine scrapbook collection. The library is in the International headquarters of The Ninety-Nines, located on Amelia Earhart Lane at Will Rogers World Airport. The need for additional library space is one of the reasons the headquarters is expanding.

The photos above, are of some of the display cases which house priceless memorabilia from the early days of women pilots who have been members of the only international association of women pilots, The Ninety-Nines. The headquarters at Will Rogers World Airport has run out of space for additional display cases, and soon will expand to provide needed room.

99 women pilots

Visitors to The Ninety-Nines headquarters find this relaxing area near the front entrance. Taking a short break are the staff members from left, Loretta Gragg, executive director; Barbara Engel, headquarters secretary, and Virginia J. Qualline, archivist

In the early years, officers of the organization handled the business of the club themselves. As the Ninety-Nines grew, some more permanent arrangement seemed desirable. In the early 1940s arrangements were made to have the National Aeronautics Association in Washington, D.C., handle the organizational records. Continued growth, however, made it feasible to set up a separate office in New York City in 1951.

Headquarters was moved to Oklahoma City in 1955, with office space rented in the Will Rogers World Airport terminal building. The first secretary was Dorothy Morgan, who had the task of setting up the books and records.

The concept of a separate international headquarters building was presented in the early 1970s, and a six-acre plot was made available by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust on the east side of the airport property north of the terminal building. The present 5,000 square-foot facility was built and dedicated in 1975.

In its 57 years, the organization has grown from its original 99 members to 6,500 active members today. It is international not only in name, but also in its active chapters in 33 nations.

The Ninety-Nines have always been international. Australian Jessie Keith Miller, who competed in the Women's Air Derby in 1929, attended the first organizational meeting. A German flier, Thea Rasche, was a charter member o f the Ninety-Nines, and for several
years was the only woman in her country with a pilot's license and a plane of her own. While women pilots trace the history of their organization to 1929, they go back many years before that in tracing the history of women in aviation.