“Girl Fliers Aid Fete” was the front-page Pittsburgh Press headline on Sept. 11, 1931, the day that Allegheny County Airport was dedicated.
Signing in to perform at the Allegheny County Airport dedication were pilots Rae Trader, Helen Ball, Freda Zeund, and Helen MacCloskey. Pittsburgh Press, Sept. 11, 1931.
The building of the dazzling deco airport had dominated local news for years, so it may seem surprising to find women pilots lauded so prominently amidst the hoopla surrounding the opening. Visitors that day enjoyed nine hours of aerial exhibitions by 150 airplanes doing stunts, parachute jumps, races, and maneuvers by military aces, all capped off by fireworks. The women fliers were an important part of the all-day entertainment that thrilled the crowd of more than 100,000. Aviatrixes (as female fliers were called then) earned esteem and celebration in the early years of aviation. The skills and courage of top pilots like Amelia Earhart and Louise Thaden (who lived in Pittsburgh) inspired countless other women to stretch their wings.
The photo that accompanied that front page headline highlighted four local women who flew for the crowds at the airport’s opening festivities:
Helen Stinner Ball. HHC Detre L&A, MSP220.A007.I02.
Helen Ball was an accomplished pilot and aviation advocate, married to airfield pioneer Clifford Ball, co-founder of nearby Bettis Field. They both were key in promoting airmail.
Helen MacCloskey was an East End native who competed in national air races and went on to a lifetime career in aviation administration.
Bob and Rae Trader. HHC Detre L&A, MSP220. B005.F11.102, colorized
Rae Trader, wife of local aviation entrepreneur and flight school instructor Bob Trader, actively flew for only a few years, but her charismatic presence commanded attention.
Aviation offered an escape from traditional roles for women like Ellen Mahoney and Freda Zuend, pictured in a catalog for the Pittsburgh School of Aviation. Courtesy of Sue Morris.
Freda Zuend of Thomas Boulevard, youngest of the group at 21, was acknowledged as an eminently capable pilot who had been the first local girl to make a solo flight and the first to graduate from the Pittsburgh School of Aviation.
There were many other local women who routinely risked their lives in the 1920s and ’30s to prove that, in the clouds, courage and capability recognized no gender boundaries.
You can read more about Pittsburgh’s women pilots of the Golden Age of Aviation, along with many other tales of daring and dedication, in the Heinz History Center’s book, “Bettis: Where Pittsburgh Aviation Took Off,” by Brian Butko and Sue Morris.
About the Authors
Brian Butko is Director of Publications at the Heinz History Center.
Sue Morris is a Pittsburgh regional public historian who writes and lectures as the Historical Dilettante.
Look for more about the building of Allegheny County Airport and the launch of airmail at nearby Bettis Field in the Spring 2027 issue of Western Pennsylvania History magazine, which History Center members receive for free.