Neta Snook Southern

Neta Snook Southern, died in 1991 at age 95. She was born in Illinois in 1896 and from an early age display a mechanical ability, actually building a small automobile. After learning to fly, she opened her own aviation business in Illinois.
It was during the time that she operated a commercial aviation field in California, that Amelia Earhart and her father came to her and asked her to teach Amelia how to fly.
Amelia thought a woman instructor would be a more understanding teacher.
She took a job to earn the money for lessons and later, Amelia and Neta became good friends.
When Neta became a mother, she gave up flying and sold her plane. She did not fly for many years. She took her last flight at age 95.
Neta Snook Southern was inducted into the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame one year after her death.

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Neta Snook Southern, one of the first women pilots in the United States, said her old plane was made of wood and cloth, had no gas gauge, and the instrument panel consisted of an altimeter panel and a dollar watch hanging from a hook.

Interestly enough, that was not her only claim to fame - she was also known as the instructor who taught Amelia Earhart how to fly.