Betty Gillies WAFS Pilot: The Days and Flights of a World War II Squadron Leader

BETTY’S TELEGRAM ARRIVED on September 6, 1942. What should I do? she asked Bud, her husband. Isn’t this just what you’ve been preparing for and wanting to do? Go, of course. Betty held a twin-engine aircraft rating and an instrument rating. She had 1,261 flying hours in her logbook. The following morning, she embarked on what became the greatest adventure of her life.

What a treat! This is a book for everyone-not just for pilots or history buffs. You will be climbing into the cockpit with an impressive list of pilots, in some of WWII’s most amazing aircraft. Reading Betty GilIies’s story, I gained a perspective of the world of aviation during WWII from the women who stepped up to fill those cockpits.-TAMMIE JO SHULTS, Pilot, Author, and Captain of Southwest Flight 1380, April 17, 2018

Kudos to Sarah Byrn Rickman for Betty Gillies: WAFS Pilot! Gillies was a trailblazing woman who volunteered to do a dangerous job with determination and incredible bravery. Carefully researched, historically revealing, her story shows us what strong women can do. -SUSAN WITTIG ALBERT Author of The General’s Women and Loving Eleanor.

Betty Gillies-WAFS founder/leader Nancy Love’s second-in-command-personifies the women ferry pilots’ WWII role. Pre-war, as 99s president, Betty fought for a pregnant pilot’s right to fly. Post-war, she chaired the All-Woman’s Transcontinental Air Race in its growth years. Betty’s dedicated leadership defines women’s aviation today.-JACQUELINE BOYD, PHD Chair, Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund, The Ninety-Nines, Inc.