VA Vol 4 No 6 June 1976 - EAA Vintage Members Only

Vera Dawn Walker and the Curtiss Robin in which she wasan entrant in the First National Women's Air Derby, 1929.Dixie, to Chicago and the National Air draw at Birimingham and after il car­ the other finished a scant three secondsRaces. Flying an Inland Sport, she en­ buretor overhaul, she flew directly to behind May Haizlip; both flying identicalcountered engine trouble the second day Chicago. There she entered two of the planes - Warner powered Inland Superout, while flying a close second to 25-mile (5 lap) pylon races for 500 cu. in. , Sports.Phoebe Omlie. It was necessary to with- open ships. She won one race and in7Nov. 4-18, 1929 brought Vera Dawnwhat she considers the highlight of herflying career - the First Annual CaliforniaGoodwill Air Derbv in whichtwenty-five fliers were ent~red. Abouthalf of the entrants dropped out, howeverVera Dawn finished the course andduring the tour she learned to fly formationwith Major Mike Doolin in the lead.This Derby was flown up the Coast,across the north end of the State andback down the other side of the State.She flew a Whirlwind J-5 Swallow, whichhad been flown by Ruth Elder in the '29Women's Air Derby and was sponsoredby James Granger, West Coast SwallowDistributor at Clover Field, Santa Monica.Vera recalls, "I do remember big crowdsmeeting the caravan at most of the landingsites, and the tour was under thea uspices of the All-Western AircraftShow". A subsequent flight took herx-c up into Canada.The spring of 1931, she went to Denverto fly one of three planes, a P&Wpowered Stinson, to Guatemala for aprivate fl ying service there. A big undertakingfor that day, all misgivings turnedto delight after the flight was underwayover varied terrain - desert, water,uncharted jungle gorges and ravinesand a flight over an active volcano. Oneforced landing on a canyon lake beachrequired a week to retrieve the plane.Although she was able to fly enough tovalidate her license another year, it wasfour years before she regained her healthand the flying desire had begun to waneafter the Central America episode.In reminiscing of past history, Verareports, "You know the years playstrange tricks on us" and quotes LouiseThaden, '46 years is a heck of a long time!'Vera Dawn admits to having set nospecial records during her flying daysbut flew for the sheer love of flight andthe desire to do something different, justas so many others did during thoseformative years. Today, she ejoys theArizona sunshine in the Phoenix areaand takes an occasional holiday "Southof the Border" .