{"id":20436,"date":"2022-05-10T15:32:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T10:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=20436"},"modified":"2022-05-10T15:32:17","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T10:02:17","slug":"today-in-aviation-mama-bird-evelyn-b-johnson-pilot-and-instructor-dies-at-102","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/10\/today-in-aviation-mama-bird-evelyn-b-johnson-pilot-and-instructor-dies-at-102\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY IN AVIATION | &#8216;Mama Bird&#8217; Evelyn B. Johnson, Pilot and Instructor, Dies at 102"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Evelyn Bryan Johnson, a record-breaking pilot born just six years after the <strong>Wright brothers&#8217; inaugural flight<\/strong>, died at the age of 102.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Johnson, who started flying in 1944, holds the <strong>Guinness World Record for the most hours clocked by a female pilot with almost 57,000. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnson not only had an <strong>impressive flying record, <\/strong>but she also assisted many other pilots in obtaining their licences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"580\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/EvelynJohnson.jpg\" alt=\"Evelyn Bryan Johnson, a record-breaking pilot born just six years after the Wright brothers' inaugural flight, died at the age of 102.\" class=\"wp-image-20438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/EvelynJohnson.jpg 580w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/EvelynJohnson-300x155.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption>Credits to targetmag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Johnson earned the nickname <em><strong>Mama Bird<\/strong> after one of her students called her that while she was giving instruction and FAA flight examinations to thousands of pilots<\/em>. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnson had a lasting impact on aviation, training 5,000 pilots, many of whom are still flying commercial jetliners and freight planes today, according to her own estimation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>She told NPR&#8217;s Scott Simon in 2003 that &#8220;<strong>two of them turned out to be vice presidents of US Air.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><p> &#8220;One of them was a <strong>FedEx pilot for 30 years;<\/strong> another flies for American out of New York; and others fly for United and Delta.<\/p><p> There are many of both girls and guys.&#8221; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnson was the longstanding manager of the Moore-Murrell Airport in Morristown, Tennessee, a position she held well past her 100th birthday and up until her death on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"599\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/evelyn_johnson_600.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/evelyn_johnson_600.png 599w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/evelyn_johnson_600-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" \/><figcaption>Credits to travel insider <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;In 2007, Johnson was honoured by the <strong>National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, <a href=\"http:\/\/Ohio.com\">Ohio<\/a>.<\/strong> <\/p><p>She had been flying for 55 years and had flown for the equivalent of seven years at the time.&#8221; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>There was the time she flew in a race from Washington, D.C. to Havana, Cuba; the two times her engine failed, forcing her to land in fields; and the flight that went off without a hitch despite an engine on fire. <\/li><li>Johnson was also one of the first female helicopter pilots, joining a group known as the Whirly Girls. <\/li><li>Jonson was honoured by the Carnegie Hero Fund in 1958 for her fast actions after witnessing a helicopter disaster. <\/li><li>When Johnson climbed beneath the whirling blades to cut off the machine&#8217;s motor, the injured pilot was still in the debris.<\/li><li> To avoid an explosion, she sprayed the wreck with a fire extinguisher. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Johnson had flown more than any other living pilot at the time of her death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the occasion of her <strong>94th birthday,<\/strong> she chatted with Scott Simon about how flying aeroplanes always helped her clear her mind of life&#8217;s troubles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a completely different universe than the others. <\/p><p>Everything is so gorgeous when you get up there and fly about. <strong>That&#8217;s how fantastic it is <\/strong>&#8220;Scott was informed. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"998\" height=\"561\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/johnson_wide-a45d7c83460b438e2b05edd6e9f3461911ba7ca9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/johnson_wide-a45d7c83460b438e2b05edd6e9f3461911ba7ca9.jpg 998w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/johnson_wide-a45d7c83460b438e2b05edd6e9f3461911ba7ca9-600x337.jpg 600w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/johnson_wide-a45d7c83460b438e2b05edd6e9f3461911ba7ca9-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/johnson_wide-a45d7c83460b438e2b05edd6e9f3461911ba7ca9-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/johnson_wide-a45d7c83460b438e2b05edd6e9f3461911ba7ca9-750x422.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 998px) 100vw, 998px\" \/><figcaption>Image courtesy &#8211; staynews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse has-text-align-center\">\"Then you forget about your worries while you're up there. \n\nYou still have them, but it doesn't matter because you've taken a break from them. It's really an amazing thing.\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Johnson&#8217;s hundredth birthday was six years<\/strong> away at the time of the interview, which she claimed she was looking forward to. Johnson told Scott about her plans for the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;d like: Willard Scott will tell about me becoming 100,&#8221; she explained.  <\/p><p>&#8220;However, I wouldn&#8217;t hear him since I&#8217;d be up in the air.&#8221; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay Informed with us! Subscribe us to get notified on your fingertips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Evelyn Bryan Johnson, a record-breaking pilot born just six years after the Wright brothers&#8217; inaugural flight, died at the age of 102.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5840],"tags":[5919,5920,5918,5863,5869,279],"class_list":{"0":"post-20436","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-today-in-aviation","8":"tag-evelyn-b-johnson","9":"tag-inaugral-flight","10":"tag-mama-bird","11":"tag-today-in-aviation","12":"tag-what-happened-today-in-aviation","13":"tag-wright-brothers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20440,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20436\/revisions\/20440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}