Amelia Reid

Amelia Reid (November 13, 1924 – March 3, 2001) was a pilot, flight instructor, businesswoman, airshow performer and airport advocate.

In 1960 Reid founded Amelia Reid Aviation, a flight school at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California. She ran the business out of her 1959 Ford and later, two trailers. She mortgaged her home and constructed a permanent hangar and office building in 1967, from which she operated her flight school for the rest of her life.[1]

Reid logged over 55,000 flight hours and trained more than 4,000 pilots. She flew in countless airshows, her last at age 75 in a Cessna Aerobat. She won the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Lawrence P. Sharples Award and was inducted into the National Association of Flight Instructors Hall of Fame.[1][2][3]

Reid's students include noted airshow performer Sean D. Tucker, aviation author and speaker Rod Machado and Jason Dahl, the captain on United flight 93 on September 11, 2001.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Sweeney, Frank (March 5, 2001). "Top San Jose flight instructor Amelia Reid dies". Newspaper article (San Jose Mercury News). http://archives.californiaaviation.org/ganews/msg09478.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06. 
  2. ^ "Aviation community mourns Amelia Reid, California's 'First Lady of General Aviation' and AOPA Sharples Award winner". Web article. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2001/01-1-076.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06. 
  3. ^ "Flight Instructors Hall of Fame Inductees". Web article. National Association of Flight Instructors. 2007. http://nafinet.org/programs/hof_list.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06.