Katherine Stinson, the “Flying Schoolgirl”

Petite Katherine Stinson looked younger than her 21 years when she earned her pilot's license in 1912. The press dubbed her the "Flying Schoolgirl." But Stinson was among the best exhibition flyers of the pre-World War I era. The "tractor" mentioned in the caption is her airplane. Planes with propellers in front of their engines are called tractors, as opposed to rear-propeller pushers.

Despite her petite stature, Katherine Stinson was among the most skilled exhibition pilots in the world in the 1910s. The press dubbed her the "Flying Schoolgirl," and audiences were wowed by her abilities. This advertisement played loose with the facts -- Stinson was born in 1891 and earned her pilot's license in 1912, when she was 21 years old.

This was the third airplane constructed by Matty Laird, a self-taught pilot and aircraft engineer. He used the plane in stunt flying exhibitions from Montana to Maryland. Later the famous aviator Katherine Stinson took the plane to Japan and China, where she was the first woman to fly.

Katherine Stinson flew this biplane, designed by Emil "Matty" Laird, at Memphis, Tennessee, in October 1916. Stinson was only the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license, and she consistently dazzled spectators with her skilled stunt flying. Though in her 20s, the petite Stinson looked even younger. The press took to calling her the "Flying Schoolgirl."

Katherine Stinson was only the fourth American woman to receive a pilot's license when she earned hers, at age 21, in 1912. Stinson went on to achieve several more firsts: the first woman authorized to carry U.S. air mail, the first woman to fly a complete vertical loop, and the first woman to fly in Japan and China.

Attracted by the high fees paid to stunt pilots, Katherine Stinson earned her pilot's license in 1912 as a way to finance music lessons. Flight quickly replaced music as her passion and Stinson became one of the most skilled pilots of her era. She became the first woman to skywrite at night, using flares like this, in 1915.

Katherine Stinson was only the fourth American woman to receive a pilot's license when she earned hers, at age 21, in 1912. Stinson went on to achieve several more firsts: the first woman authorized to carry U.S. air mail, the first woman to fly a complete vertical loop, and the first woman to fly in Japan and China.

Two celebrity daredevils meet in this 1917 photo. Barney Oldfield raced bicycles before moving to automobiles in 1902. He traveled the country staging exhibition races for enthusiastic crowds. Katherine Stinson earned her pilot's license at age 21 and began exhibition flying in 1913. The petite Stinson performed difficult stunts with ease and charmed the press who dubbed her the "Flying Schoolgirl."

The Stinson family of San Antonio, Texas, produced four notable pilots. Katherine Stinson earned her license in 1912 and became one of the country's top stunt flyers. Her sister, Marjorie, earned a license in 1914 and trained fighter pilots at the Stinson family's school during World War I. Brothers Jack and Eddie founded the Stinson Aircraft Company in 1920.

With his brother Jack, Eddie Stinson founded the Stinson Aircraft Company in Dayton, Ohio, in 1920. Five years later, the firm relocated to Detroit. Stinson produced more than 13,000 aircraft before a series of mergers brought an end to the brand in 1949. Eddie did not live to see his company's demise; he died in an airplane crash in 1932.

William S. Brock and Detroit businessman Edward F. Schlee tried to fly this airplane around the world in 1927. Starting from Harbour Grace, Canada, they flew east for 12,295 miles. At Tokyo, Japan, a typhoon -- and worried telegrams from family and friends -- convinced them to end the attempt. Nevertheless, they were celebrated as heroes when they returned to the United States -- by ship.