Opal Kunz is an example where, after a little homework, it
is possible to place her at the Davis-Monthan Airfield in
the context of specific activities. In her case, her landing
at the airfield was probably in conjunction with a meeting
of the Betsy Ross Air Corps in California. She landed either
April 3rd or 4th 1931 (view
the register page, her name is 8th from the top),. She did not list the
date or time, her airplane type or number, but she was inbound
from Yuma, AZ enroute to El Paso – Ft. Worth. If anyone
out there knows about her airplane, I'd appreciate knowing
about it through CONTACT
US. Photo, left, from the Newark
Star-Eagle, April 3, 1931.
Opal Logan Giberson married Dr. George Frederick Kunz on
May 15, 1923. He was a Tiffany vice-president and gem expert,
and a man over twice her age. Their marriage was annulled
November 21, 1929, but they lived together amicably until
his death on July 1, 1932. At that time she inherited over
$1 million. She was a charter member of the Ninety-Nines,
and Tiffany was commissioned, via Opal's husband, to design
and produce the handsome "99" logo pin worn by all
members of the Ninety-Nines to this day.
She once stated, “I believe it is the duty of every
American woman who can pass the physical tests to learn how
to fly.” Citing that women during WWI drove automobiles
and would be expected to fly planes in event of another conflict,
she felt it the patriotic duty of a woman to, “fit oneself
as an aviator.”
She was outspoken on the matter of women aviators. In the
August 7, 1929 New York Times (“Mrs. Kunz Deplores Lack
Of Girl Flyers”) she advised women to enter the field
of aviation with the idea of being accepted on an absolutely
equal footing with men, saying, “Above all things, do
not try to flirt with the pilots. Flying is a serious business.”
And:
Newark Star-Eagle
November 18, 1929
"Mrs. George F. Kunz and Mrs.
Marjorie Brown, both of New York
City, climbed a ladder to a hangar
roof and took turns addressing
crowds at the Hadley air races
through a loud speaker.”
She was a character. Opal Kunz received her
pilot’s license June 7, 1929. She had adventurous and
hazardous, aviation experiences. A headline a couple of weeks
later from the June 24th New York Times announced “Mrs.
Kunz In Crash Piloting Her Plane.” In Morris Plains,
NJ, with an ex-sailor/mechanic, Verne E. Moon, on board she
crashed C-9827, her recently purchased cream and gold Travel
Air biplane. Both were uninjured. Some newspapers implied
an illicit liaison (Daily News June 24, 1929 headline: “Gem
Man’s Wife Crashes On Night Flight With Gob”).
Undeterred, she bought another Travel Air to replace the
one she wrecked, and promptly had it christened “Betsy
Ross” by Mrs. Thomas Edison at a social event at the
Newark Metropolitan Airport. On April 10,1930 (New York Times:
“Mrs. Opal Kunz Unhurt In Airplane Crash”) she
departed Philadelphia on her way to Allentown, PA. She landed
by mistake at the Bethlehem airport, and while departing there
her engine failed. She made an emergency landing, striking
rough ground at the edge of the field. Her airplane nosed
over, damaging one wing and the propeller. She was trapped
in the cockpit, but calmly gave instructions to airport employees
to right the aircraft and release her. She was uninjured.
A year later, on April 30, 1931 (New York Sun: “Flying
Skill Saves Life of Mrs. Kunz”), she suffered a leaky
fuel line in the cockpit. With gasoline pouring onto her face
she saved herself, “by a masterly exhibition of piloting
skill” at the Washington-Hoover Airport. She was uninjured,
although her airplane tore down a section of fence surrounding
the airport.
A Newark Star-Eagle article places her in Los Angeles on
April 3rd (“Opal Kunz Organizes Corps of California
‘Lady Birds’”) introducing a group of California
women fliers to her Betsy Ross Corps, the first woman’s
reserve flying corps. She was probably returning east via
Davis-Monthan after this organizing session.
She was back on the east coast, however, by May 30th as shown in the image below. This is a U.S. postal cachet postmarked May 30, 1931 at the "Air Mail Field," Newark, NJ. The cachet comes to us courtesy of site visitor Jeff Staines.
U.S. Postal Cachet, May 30, 1931, Newark, NJ (Source: Staines)
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Mr. Staines says of his cachet, it is, "... an event cover dated May 30, 1931 (Decoration Day weekend) commemorating the untimely accidental death of Captain John O. Donaldson, the World War I Ace pilot, sponsored by the American Legion Aviators Post 743 of New York, who's members included such famous flyers as Eddie Rickenbacker, Roscoe Turner, Hap Arnold, Alexander De Seversky, and others. This cover is special in that it is signed by ... Opal Kunz. Kunz [who] loaned Donaldson her Travel Air Whirlwind aircraft, in which she came in third place at the National Air Races in Chicago just ten days earlier, to perform stunt flying near Philadelphia. The plane fell out of the sky at an altitude of 1800 feet in front of 40,000 horrified spectators. Donaldson died later on. Opal Kunz was a pupil of Captain Donaldson's. The cover is postmarked at the Newark,NJ Air Field, where Donaldson worked and Kunz commenced many of her popular flights."
Front Aspect, Betsy Ross Corps Pin, Ca. 1931 (Source: Site Visitor)
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Kunz spent significant effort on the Betsy Ross Corps. She
envisioned it, sponsored public relations events in its name,
solicited female pilots to join, and served as the first commander
of the organization. The New York Sun of January 2, 1931 (“Girl
Flyers Ready to Aid Army”) described its formation.
It was organized, “solely for national defense, as a
strictly patriotic society…. Its peacetime mission is
to encourage women to improve their skill and experience,
thereby making them safer pilots, and in a short time it is
expected that a fine reserve group of young women pilots will
be trained and disciplined to serve in national emergencies.”
Back Aspect, Betsy Ross Corps Pin, Ca. 1931 (Source: Site Visitor)
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At the first meeting the organization was completed, the
constitution adopted and the insignia selected. The insignia was developed and designed by Opal's husband into a membership pin fabricated by Tiffany & Co. One of the pins, shared with us by a site visitor, is pictured flanking. The pin measures an inch from wingtip to wingtip, and it's also about an inch long. Also, please click this link to see another incidence of the Betsy Ross Corps pin owned by member Aline Miller.
The following
flyers were present at the charter meeting, either in person or by proxy: Gladys
O’Donnell, May Haizlip, Marjorie Stinson, Florence Lowe “Pancho”
Barnes, Eleanor McRae, Ruth Elder Camp, LaVelle Sweeley, Ruth
Bridwell McConnell, Jean
LaRene, Jane Dodge, Mary Goodrich, Manila Davis, Margery
Doig and E. Ruth Webb.
The Newark Evening News of January 3, 1931 (“Women
Fliers Military Club Organized by Mrs. Opal Kunz”),
lists the Betsy Ross Corps officers. Besides Opal Kunz as
commander, other officers elected for the first year were,
“Mrs. Gladys O’Donnell of California, winner of
the woman’s California-Chicago Derby, is lieutenant
commander, and Mrs. May Haizlip second lieutenant commander.
Mrs. Haizlip, wife of Jimmie Haizlip, well-known flier, was
second in the free-for-all race about a closed course in the
Chicago races and has won other races. Mrs. Kunz came in third
in the Chicago event.
“Mrs. Haizlip, whose home is in Chicago, will organize
the chapters in the Middle West, as Mrs. O’Donnell will
organize those on this coast. Miss Margorie [sic] Doig of Connecticut,
who was flying a close second to Miss O’Donnell in the
derby when she was forced out by motor trouble, was named
adjutant. Miss Jane Dodge, of Philadelphia, whose father and
two brothers are pilots, and who is well-known both in aviation
and social circles of New York and Philadelphia, is quartermaster.”
The Betsy Ross Corps was not the only women’s pilot
organization Opal Kunz was involved with. The Newark Star-Eagle of December 16, 1929 revealed that a national organization
of women pilots made its debut that day. Calling itself the
“Eighty-six Club” the name was derived from the
initial number of members. The article states that the first
meeting was at the home of Mrs. Opal Kunz, New York City,
and that other charter members were wiring acceptances. Five
weeks later, after more members signed up, the New York Sun (1/25/1930) cites her as, “…an organizer of the
Ninety-nine Club, composed of women aviators, and is temporary
president of the organization.”
But, according to Leslie Haynsworth and David Toomey’s
book “Amelia Earhart’s Daughters” (William
Morrow, 1998; pp. 14-15) the organizational meeting for what
eventually became the Ninety-Nines was held in a room over
a hangar at the Curtiss Airport, Valley Stream, Long Island
on November 2, 1929, with Neva Paris cited as the temporary
president. In a personal conversation I had with Bobbi
Trout, she said the Ninety-Nines were envisioned under
the Cleveland grandstand at the 1929 Air Races. Bobbi and
Amelia Earhart were present, as well as a couple of other
female pilots. Opal Kunz passed away in 1967.
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Dossier 2.4.18
UPLOADED: 05/05 REVISED: 10/24/07, 03/11/08, 04/07/09, 02/24/11, 12/28/15
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