Former WWII WASP pilot passes away

Mid America Flight Museum Andrew Kies, Jane Doyle, and Tommy May on the right in front of the MAFM Sky King.

By W.P. Minor, MAFM Volunteer.

We at Mid America Flight Museum are saddened to hear of the passing of WWII Womens Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) very own Jane Doyle on February 1st, 2019 at 97 years of age.

Our hearts are gladdened however; to have gotten to meet Jane several times and even take her on some flights in the MAFM DC3/C47 "Sky King", itself a veteran of the Invasion of Normandy and many other operations.

Born on October 13th, 1921, a resident of Grand Rapids, Mi. Jane was only six years old, when her mother managed to get her to see the famed Spirit of St. Louis and pilot Charles Lindbergh Jr. After his historic transatlantic flight, Lindbergh as a means to further promote aviation and the dependability of aviation, hopscotched around the United States in his Ryan, the Spirit of St. Louis, so it could be seen in person. One is almost obliged to think, that the seed to become a pilot was instilled in Jane at the time.

When in Junior College, taking an engineering drafting course, she recounted that she learned the college had initiated a new opportunity for students. It was the the U.S. Government sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program. Not one to be held down by a glass ceiling, Jane thought she would explore the opacity of the glass ceiling and put her name in the hat. Female candidates were at the time, only accepted into the Civilian Airman Program at a rate of one female for every ten males who applied.

Jane would not only obtain her pilot's license, but would go on to obtain her Multi, Instrument, and Commercial along the way. When she heard of the WASP program, she again applied and was accepted. Jane once stated that there were twenty-five thousand applicants for the WASP program. Of those applicants, only eighteen hundred were accepted, and of those, only one thousand graduated the program.

Needless to say, the staff and volunteers of the Mid America Flight Museum were elated to meet up with Jane on Memorial Day Weekend of 2017 at the WASP Museum in Sweetwater Texas. We had the chance to hang out with Jane and take her on a ride or two around the patch in the MAFM DC3 Sky King.

We observed firsthand that day, some of the inspiration Jane was passing on to several women aviators, destined to join the ranks of professional airline pilots themselves. At the core of just about anything Jane spoke of, was the fact that if anyone wanted to do something seriously enough and was willing to work hard enough, they too, can succeed.

We at Mid America Flight Museum hope her message rings true well beyond Jane Doyle's short 97 years on earth.Fly High Ms. Jane.