Ninety-Nines Receive $1M Donation

The bequest honors Josephine Wood Wallingford, who was the youngest woman to hold a pilot certificate when the organization was created in 1929.

Friday, August 30, 2024 at 11:40 AM ET

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The Ninety-Nines received a trove of documents for the Museum of Women Pilots, including Josephine Wood Wallingford’s 1931 Ninety-Nines membership card and 1929 logbook. [Courtesy: The Ninety-Nines]

Key Takeaways:

The Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots, has received a $1 million bequest from the late Bill Wallingford.
Wallingford's mother, Josephine Wood Wallingford, was a pioneering pilot, the youngest woman to hold a pilot certificate in 1929, and one of the original 99 women who formed the organization at Amelia Earhart's invitation.
Josephine Wood, despite her ambition to be a professional pilot, had her career curtailed by the Great Depression but remained a lifelong member.
This largest and most unexpected bequest will fund increased education outreach, leadership programs, and facility maintenance for the Ninety-Nines headquarters and the Museum of Women Pilots.

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The Ninety-Nines, the international order of women pilots, is celebrating a $1 million bequest from the late Bill Wallingford, whose mother Josephine Wood Wallingford was the youngest woman to hold a pilot certificate when the organization was created in 1929.

According to Ninety-Nines historians, Josephine Wood and her sister Francis took flying lessons in Santa Monica, California. After Josephine earned her private pilot certificate, she received a letter from famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart asking her to join an organization that was forming to promote and encourage women pilots.

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.