37 Facts About Wally Funk

Mary Wallace Funk was born on February 1,1939 and is an American aviator, commercial astronaut, and goodwill ambassador.

Wally Funk was the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the first female Federal Aviation Administration inspector, as well as one of the Mercury 13.

Wally Funk became the oldest person to go to space on July 20,2021, at age 82, flying on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft during its suborbital flight, breaking a record held by John Glenn for 23 years.

Wally Funk remains the oldest woman to have travelled into space.

Wally Funk is the last surviving member of the Mercury 13 group.

Wally Funk is the only one of the thirteen to have traveled to space.

Wally Funk was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in 1939 and grew up in Taos, New Mexico.

Wally Funk was an accomplished outdoorswoman, spending time riding her bike or her horse, skiing, hunting, and fishing.

Frustrated, Wally Funk left high school early at the age of 16 and entered Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.

Wally Funk became a member of the "Flying Susies" and rated first in her class of 24 fliers.

Wally Funk graduated in 1958 with her pilot's license and an Associate of Arts degree.

Wally Funk moved on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education at Oklahoma State University.

Wally Funk was drawn to OSU primarily by its famous "Flying Aggies" program.

At OSU, Wally Funk earned a large number of aviation certificates and ratings, including her Commercial, Single-engine Land, Multi-engine Land, Single-engine Sea, Instrument, Flight Instructor's, and all Ground Instructor's ratings.

Wally Funk was elected as an officer of the "Flying Aggies" and flew for them in the International Collegiate Air Meets.

Wally Funk was the first female flight instructor at a US military base.

Wally Funk earned her Airline Transport Rating in 1968, the 58th woman in the US to do so.

In 1971, Wally Funk earned the rating of flight inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration, becoming the first woman to complete the FAA's General Aviation Operations Inspector Academy course, which includes Pilot Certification and Flight Testing procedures, handling accidents, and violations.

Wally Funk worked for four years with the FAA as a field examiner, the first woman to do so.

In late November 1973, Wally Funk again entered the FAA Academy to take courses involving air-taxi, charter, and aviation rental businesses.

In 1974, Wally Funk was hired by the National Transportation Safety Board as its first female Air Safety Investigator.

Wally Funk investigated 450 accidents, ranging from a probable mob hit to a fatal crash at a mortuary.

Wally Funk made the discovery that people who die in small-plane crashes often have their jewelry, shoes, and clothes stripped off by the impact.

Wally Funk placed eighth in the Powder Puff Derby's 25th Annual Race, sixth in the Pacific Air Race, and eighth in the Palms to Pines Air Race.

On October 4,1975, flying her red and white Citabria, Wally Funk won the Pacific Air Race from San Diego, California, to Santa Rosa, California, against 80 participating competitors.

Wally Funk retired from her post as an Air Safety Investigator in 1985 after serving for 11 years.

Wally Funk was then appointed an FAA Safety Counselor and became a renowned pilot trainer and speaker on aviation safety.

In 1987, Wally Funk was appointed Chief Pilot at Emery Aviation College, Greeley, Colorado, overseeing the entire flight programs for 100 students from Private to Multi-engine flight Instructor and Helicopter ratings.

Wally Funk has been chief pilot for five aviation schools across the country.

In February 1961, Wally Funk volunteered for the "Women in Space" Program.

Wally Funk was in the tank, without hallucinating, for 10 hours and 35 minutes, a record.

Wally Funk passed her tests and was qualified to go into space.

Wally Funk's score was the third best in the Mercury 13 program.

When NASA finally began accepting women in the late 1970s, Wally Funk applied three times.

Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a Space Shuttle into space; Wally Funk was too old to qualify to become a Space Shuttle pilot by the time Collins became one.

On July 1,2021, Blue Origin announced Wally Funk would fly on the first New Shepard flight with passengers, one of four on the flight, including Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen from the Netherlands, who became the youngest ever person in space during the flight of July 20,2021.

Wally Funk enjoys sports and restoring antique automobiles, with a collection that includes a 1951 Hooper Silver Wraith.