14 Facts About Myrtle Cagle

Myrtle "Kay" Thompson Cagle was an American pilot and one of the Mercury 13 female astronauts group.

Myrtle Cagle worked as a flight instructor and wrote about aviation in North Carolina.

Myrtle Cagle joined the high school's aeronautics class, when the school's instructor was drafted to fight in World War II, she finished out her year as the teacher.

Myrtle Cagle earned her private pilot's license when she was nineteen.

Myrtle Cagle joined the Civil Air Patrol and the Ninety-Nines, and wanted to become a WASP.

Myrtle Cagle went on to run an airport near Raleigh and her own charter plane service.

Myrtle Cagle earned her Commercial Pilots license with Airplane Single and Multi-Engine Land ratings and Instrument ratings by 1951.

Myrtle Cagle was a certified Flight Instructor, Flight Instrument Instructor and Ground Instructor.

Myrtle Cagle began writing a column called "Air Currents" in 1946 for the Johnstonian Sun newspaper in Selma.

Myrtle Cagle had 4,300 hours of flying time by the time the program started.

Myrtle Cagle went back to teaching students how to fly and enrolled in Mercer University.

Myrtle Cagle continued to be involved in the Civil Air Patrol.

In 1988, Myrtle Cagle became the second woman to graduate with an airframe and powerplant mechanic's rating from the South Georgia Technical College.

Myrtle Cagle was still flying her single-engine Cessna in 1998 at age 73, even though she had retired from teaching at Robins Air Force Base.