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Mary Riddle, also known as Kus-de-cha or Kingfisher,[1] (April 22, 1902 – October 25, 1981) was the second Native American woman to earn a pilot's license, with Bessie Coleman being the first.[2][3] Soon after earning her pilot's license she also earned her commercial license.[4]

Mary Riddle
Mary Riddle posing with her plane.
Born	(1902-04-22)April 22, 1902 Bruceport, Washington
Died	October 25, 1981(1981-10-25) (aged 79) Portland, Oregon
Nationality	Quinault, American
Other names	Kus-de-cha
Known for	Second Native American woman airplane pilot

Early life

Riddle was a member of the Clatsop Tribe in Oregon[2] and the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington.[5] She was the daughter of Albert "Doc" Riddell, and had two brothers, John and Valentine.[6] Her grandmother gave her the name Kus-de-cha after noting that her cries sounded like a kingfisher's call.[7] On the way home from school, an eleven-year-old Riddle saw her first plane and was mesmerized.[8] From that day forward, she went to every airshow she could.[8] When Riddle was seventeen, she saw a woman fatally crash an airplane.[9] The incident made her determined to prove women could fly well.[9]

Aviation career

Pilot

Riddle saved money for two years[8] to attend the Rankin Flying School in Portland, run by noted aviator Tex Rankin.[10] Rankin, who also taught Chinese-American pilot Leah Hing, was interested in creating "a 'rainbow', all-female stunt team," but Riddle declined to participate, and the idea fizzled out.[11] She flew solo for the first time on May 10, 1930.[8] "I wasn't scared," said Riddle one month later. "On that first trip alone I just missed the weight of the instructor in the plane."[8] She featured in an airshow at the 1930 Portland Rose Festival, riding up to her plane on horseback and in "full tribal costume".[12] Riddle was one of three female pilots in the show: the others were Dorothy Hester and Edith Foltz.[13] In August of that year, she made plans to fly to Washington D.C. with "beaded gifts from Indian tribes of the Northwest", to be delivered to for "President Hoover and others".[14] Riddle earned a limited commercial pilot's license in 1933.[15] In June 1934, she was featured on the 99's magazine, The 99er.[16] An all-around athlete, she enjoyed swimming, riding, "golf, tennis, and ice skating."[17]

Parachutist

Riddle later went to the Spartan School in Tulsa to learn parachute jumping.[18] Though the school was all-male at the time, Riddle convinced them to admit her and graduated with honors.[18] By 1937 she was performing as a parachutist[19] while touring the United States on The Voice of Washington, advertised as the largest tri-motored plane in the world,[20] on which she also served as chief stewardess.[1] Press described her as quiet and charming.[17] Riddle did forty parachute jumps.[10] In 1937, she almost died when her parachute, which had not opened correctly, became tangled with her legs.[20] The next year, a back injury caused her to quit parachuting.[7]

Aircraft Inspector

World War II restrictions on civilian aircraft forced Riddle to give up flying.[7] She began working with aluminum sheet metal as part of the U.S. Air Force's Civil Service, reasoning, "I just had to be near airplanes- even if I could not fly them."[7] She was recruited by the government to inspect civilian aircraft and work as an aircraft maintenance advisor.[10] Riddle recalled, "I was a sort of guinea pig, really, on account of being the only woman, but I got along fine."[21]

Later life

After the war, Riddle became a receptionist at the Gibbs and Hill firm in New York City, but continued to fly on occasion and to visit the Northwest.[21]

See also

• Bessie Coleman
• Ola Mildred Rexroat
• Eula Pearl Carter Scott
• Leah Hing
• Hazel Ying Lee

References

External links

• Mary Agnes "Nannie" Riddle at Find a Grave

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