Katherine Stinson Otero

Katherine Stinson Otero. , Katherine was the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license and the first female skywriter. She overcame pioneering aviator Max Lillie's reluctance to teach her to fly, and became the "Flying Schoolgirl," nicknamed for her youthful looks, small stature, and derring-do. Katherine marveled spectators, rolling her plane, skywriting at night with flares attached to its wings, and maneuvering risky loop_the_loops. With her family she founded the Stinson Aviation Company, designed aircraft, and operated a flight school. She was the first aviatrix to fly the Orient and set a record in 1917 for the longest West Coast solo flight. , The military twice denied her permission to fly in World War I, although she was already flying a U.S. mail carrier. Instead she drove an ambulance for the French Red Cross. Katherine contracted tuberculosis and sought treatment in Santa Fe where she embarked on a new career designing notable Spanish Pueblo Revival-style homes. Her clients included Manhattan Project gatekeeper Dorothy McKibbin. Katherine married airman and future judge, Miguel Otero, Jr., and the couple remained in Santa Fe until their deaths. They are buried together at Santa Fe National Cemetery.