Opal Kunz

Opal Kunz
Born Opal Logan Giberson
November 6, 1894
Died May 15, 1967(1967-05-15) (aged 72)
Auburn, California
Spouse George Frederick Kunz
Aviation career
Known for President of the "Ninety-Nines"

Opal Kunz, also known as Opal van Zandt Giberson Kunz (November 6, 1894 – May 15, 1967) was a noted early American aviator, the first president of the "Ninety-Nines", a women pilots’ organization, that was formed in her living room, and an early feminist. She was married to Dr. George Frederick Kunz.

As an aviator, Opal Kunz spent a great deal of time and money on her flying pursuits. "I learned to fly as a sportswoman in the interest of National Defense [sic]. My planes were always called 'Betsy Ross.' My husband was Gem Expert and vice-president of Tiffany & Co. N.Y. C. Never flew for any company as my husband was able and wanted to pay my way... I have a huge scrapbook containing clippings from all the papers in the country... All the publicity was given free by the press- No publicity agents were employed. I was the first woman to race with men in open competition. It was an American Legion Air Meet in Philadelphia. I had the fastest plane and won the race..."[1] In another letter, she stated: "I was the first woman to race with men in open competition at Philadelphia American Legion Benefit Air Meet, on April 7, 1930. Won first prize."[2]

Betsy Ross Air Corps

She also was an organizer of two other aviation clubs for women, the "Betsy Ross Air Corps" and the "Lady Birds." The Betsy Ross Air Corps was formed as a semi-military service to support the Army Air Corps and to act in times of emergencies, such as flood, earthquakes, etc. "The Betsy Ross Corps was formed to ferry planes, give flight instruction, compete in benefit air meets to raise funds for charities, and provide first aid. Mrs. Kunz obtained about 100 members and kept the organization going for about four years." She also indicated she placed as much money as she could spare into the service. "I spent all my resources trying to form Women’s Reserve Corp [sic]."[2]

There appears to be very little original information or primary sources about this organization, a precursor to many of the women’s flying organizations during World War II. Most of the information found are in the comments of the early members, which often were not recorded for posterity. "...In the spring of 1931, the year before she Pancho Barnes ran for L.A. County supervisor, she heard about the Betsy Ross Corps, a national organization of female pilots intended to function as an auxiliary to the Army Air Corps, the precursor to the US Air Force. She joined immediately, donning the uniform of khaki jodhpurs and shirt, and meeting with other local women fliers at March Field. But she was disappointed with the lack of activities..."[3]

Powder Puff Derby

"The First Women's Transcontinental Air Derby," or the Women's Air Derby, later dubbed "The Powder Puff Derby" by humorist Will Rogers, took off from Clover Field in Santa Monica, California, headed for Cleveland, Ohio. At this time, there were only 70 licensed female pilots in the entire US, and only 40 qualified to take part in this contest. Over 500,000 tickets were sold for this race and air show which took place over ten days, and which instantly became a spectator sport. The flights were limited to daylight hours only, and the pilots navigated by dead reckoning and by using commercial road maps of the states they would fly over.

That there was overt sexism shown against this group was obvious from the first. One of the odd qualifications was that the aircraft would have to have horsepower "appropriate for a woman." Opal Kunz was told her airplane was too fast for a woman to handle, and had to get another craft or stay out of the race. "...Though Opal Kunz owned and flew her own 300 horse power Beech Travel Air, it was disallowed since it was deemed by the judges to be 'too fast for a woman to fly.' With $25,000.00 in prize money at stake, she found a lesser horsepower craft to race."[4] In August 1929, the first Women's Air Derby was held. Of the 20 entrants, seven flew Travel Airs, and it was Louise Thaden who won the Santa Monica, Calif., to Cleveland race. Opal Kunz finished eighth. The other five Travel Airs were flown by Pancho Barnes, Claire Fahy, Marvel Crosson, Mary von Mach and Blanche Noyes.

The derby was divided into two classes of airplanes based on engine size, and other pilots had Travel Air airplanes. Opal Kunz seems to be the source for this story about the airplane motor being too powerful for a woman to use, so she had to buy another one instead. However, another account by her indicates she crashed an airplane going to the race. These stories are not backed up by official decisions of the judges, a letter of disqualification, or any other sources to independently verify this account.

Thea Rasche and Claire Fahy claimed that someone tampered with their plane, and both Bobbi Trout and Opal Kunz claimed their instruments were maladjusted before starting the race in California. When another contestant, Marvel Crosson, was killed in a plane crash in Arizona, a police investigation into the charges of sabotage were taken more seriously. No cause for her crash has ever been determined.[5]

Death of Captain Jack Donaldson

On September 7, 1930, the World War I Air Ace John Donaldson (aviator) had just won the 15 mile race for airplanes with a Curtiss OX-5 motor, used during the World War in the Jenny and in other military aircraft. After winning that race, Captain Donaldson borrowed Opal Kunz’ more powerful and more modern airplane, and shortly afterward crashed at the American Legion Air Races meet in Philadelphia. The airplane fell from a height of 1,800 feet straight down into the municipal airfield, in front of over 40,000 horrified spectators. List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1925–1934)

Marriage Annulment

After only seven years together, Dr. Kunz announced to the press that the marriage was annulled in January 1930. The request for the annulment came originally from Mrs. Kunz, but the legal papers concerning the annulment are still under seal in New York, and the causes and details for the annulment are not publicly known today. To avoid open court proceedings, the annulment was granted by a Supreme Court judge from New York, who had the authority to annul a marriage without open court proceedings and the possibility for more scandal. Mrs. Opal Kunz (she retained her married name) stayed in their apartment in an amiable arrangement. She continued to act as a hostess for Dr. Kunz and to care for him as long as he lived. In his will, he left half of his estate to her, as well as his apartment in New York City and his stock in Tiffany & Co. A frequent flyer, Mrs. Kunz had often said that her long absences on distant flights would make it "impossible for me to be a good wife to any man."[6]

Even though they were separated, Dr. Kunz was still proud of his former wife. A few months after the annulment, he suggested that she pilot a member of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh up in her plane to photograph a partial solar eclipse, something which had never been done before. "...On April 28, 1930 Dr. Fisher [of the Amateur Astronomer’s Association] went up in a biplane from Newark Airport for his first time in the air to photograph a partial eclipse of the sun. He used a Graflex camera with a Zeiss f/4.5 lens from an altitude of 18,200 feet. He wore helmet and goggles, the camera was handled with bare hands at a temperature of 18 below zero. The trip had been suggested to him only a couple of hours before by the husband of Mrs. Kunz, the pilot..."[7]

World War II

With the threat of war rising on the horizon, Opal later renewed her pilot’s license after taking a refresher course at Hagerstown, Maryland, and began teaching aviation students at the Arkansas State College. She later moved to Rhode Island, and at the start of World War II became an instructor at the Rhode Island State Airport for Navy cadets and the government sponsored "Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP)"[8] during the war, teaching over 400 young men how to fly for the Air Corps.

This was her old dream of the Betsy Ross Flying Corps come true, as she helped train the men who would fly fighter aircraft in combat. An account form the time shows the work she was doing by saying: "Mrs. Kunz has been in Providence since January 1942 as a member of the staff of E. W. Wiggins Airways. She has a mother's confidence in her 'boys' and they reciprocate with respect and enthusiasm. Nothing gives her greater joy than to see them solo, to know she has taken them one step nearer to Uncle Sam's aerial defense line." Later, at her home in California, she would recall with fondness her experiences. "I trained about 400 boys and it was easily the highlight of my career. I really became a sort of foster mother to them. You would be surprised how many of my boys brought their wives and children to see me after the war."[9] She also indicated in a letter that she had trained combat pilots. "...I was a flight instructor all during the war. Had over three hundred students who served as combat pilots in the war."[10]

After the war, she became an inspector for the Aerojet-General Corporation in California. She never re-married, and she lived alone in her modest house with her three dogs. While she never had a great deal of money, she was able to do fairly well on her inheritance from her husband and her retirement income from the aircraft company. "These days, I haven’t the money to fly. Aerojet lays off more people than they hire, and I have to depend on my modest income from N. Y. willed to me by my late husband. I have a modest house with plenty of shade trees and my old Oldsmobile runs beautifully. My family consists of three fine dogs- two collies and one German shepherd."[9]

As a final example of her self-confidence, after the historic flight of the Russian Cosmonaut, Major Yuri Gagarin, in orbiting the earth, she wrote to President John F. Kennedy on April 14, 1961, and volunteered her services as an American astronaut. "It seems to me that all the Russians did was send a human dummy upstairs. All was controlled from the ground. Anyone could have ridden that course, even I could do that... I would be glad to fly in any contraption offered by my government to outdo this record flight of the Russian. I’m a widow and have no one to leave to suffer in case I didn’t come back."[9]

While a letter from an older woman volunteering to become an astronaut might be laughed at, when they checked her credentials they found she was not unqualified with her many years of flying expertise and her engineering experience. She deserved serious consideration and a courteous reply, and she received both from President Kennedy.

Death

She died alone at her home in Auburn, California on May 15, 1967, and is buried in one of the public cemeteries, called the "Old Auburn Cemetery", in plot: 127B-3.

Although her Social Security record indicates she was born in 1894, her burial record indicates she was born in 1896. Her cemetery burial card also indicates her mother's maiden name was "Gribble".

References

  1. ↑ Kunz, Opal. Letter to Carol Craig of the 99's. July 24, 1963. The letter describes her experiences and early days of flying.
  2. 1 2 John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, "White House Central Name File, Box 1532, Folder: KUNZ." Letter from Opal Kunz to President Kennedy, dated April 14, 1961.
  3. ↑ Kessler. Happy Bottom Flying Club. Page 100.
  4. ↑ Jessen, Gene Nora. "The 1929 Air Race." The Ninety-Nines. See the website accessed on May 14, 2001: http://www.ninety-nines.org/1929airrace.html.
  5. ↑ "Women Pilots Make Charge: Investigate Claim Miss Crosson’s Plane was Weakened." Warsaw Daily Times. August 29, 1929, front page.
  6. ↑ "Dr. G. F. Kunz Left Estate of $114,109.00." New York Times. November 7, 1932.
  7. ↑ Patrick Rizzo. "A History of the First Forty Years of the Amateur Astronomers Association."
  8. ↑ The Civil Aeronautics Authority, starting in 1940, contracted out the work of training fighter pilots in reaction to World War II. The University of New Hampshire was one of the main contractors and ran the Civilian Pilot Training Program from 1940 to 1943. See the site accessed May 31, 2004: http://www.izaak.unh.edu/archives/guides/pilottraining.htm
  9. 1 2 3 Ray Canton. "Woman Flyer, Who Volunteered for Space Flight, is Full of Surprises." Sacramento Bee, June 4, 1961, page B4.
  10. ↑ Canton, Ray. "Personality in the News: Woman Flier Who Volunteered for Space Flight, is Full of Surprises." Sacramento Bee, June 4, 1961, page B4.

Bibliography

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