Local Woman Helped Pave Way for Future Woman Pilots

By Jamie Muro First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The desire to soar above the clouds calls to many of us. It did for the Wright brothers, and it did for hundreds of women serving their country during World War II.

In 1943, America was in the midst of a dramatic war. Short on pilots, Uncle Sam went looking for help, and found women with no fear, like Janet Lee Hutchinson.

"Oh it was very thrilling, very thrilling!" Hutchinson said, from her Ponte Vedra home.

The little girl who once had a lion as a pet had a heart to match. So in 1943, Hutchinson enrolled in the Women Airforce Service Pilots program, commonly called WASP. It was a government operation set up so men could go to war, allowing women to take over and fly military aircraft in the states.

"If he was a test pilot, then I was a test pilot. If he ferried planes, then I ferried planes. If he was an instructor, then I wan an instructor. We just took their place until it was over," she said.

Hutchinson had historic beginnings. Her family was one of the first "flying families." Her father owned an airport and flew his family around the country, not to mention some exotic locations as well.

So it was only natural that her love of flight would lead her to the WASP program, side-by-side with more than a thousand female pilots.

"You hear the drone of the engine, and it turns into music. If I could have only written the notes down, I could have written a symphony," she said.

As important as their responsibilities are, Janet and her pilots opened doors for women in modern day aviation.

"I was coming back from California, I had seen my son, an the captain was a female. She was so beautiful. I introduced myself when I left the plane. She said you really paved the way for us," Hutchinson said.

The WASP was deactivated in 1944 as the need for pilots lessoned. However, what these women accomplished has not diminished: an important highlight in aviation history that started with a 12-second, 120-foot flight in a Kitty Hawk 100 years ago.

"People appreciated what we did, and we appreciated what Orville and his brother did. They were the start of things. We did pave the way for the younger people now."

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