SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WSET) — At 20,000 feet in the sky,
history was made as the first female pilot in the Air National
Guard flew an F-35A Lightning II plane on her inaugural flight.

It took three years of training for 1st Lt. Kelsey Flannery to
reach the achievement, but she had to jump through many
more hoops than just training before she could fly.

The process started when she interviewed in 2019 for the
134th Fighter Squadron, or the "Green Mountain Boys."
Out of hundreds of applicants, Flannery was a member of
the small group selected to continue in the squadron as a
new pilot.

 
SANDY KOZEL

Charles Augustus Lindbergh
(February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)

The Double Eagle II completed the first transatlantic balloon flight
when it landed in a barley field near Paris, 137 hours after lifting 
off rom Presque Isle, Maine. The helium-filled balloon was piloted
by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman and flew
3,233 miles in the six-day odyssey.

Three American airmen arrive in Paris after crossing the
Atlantic in their air balloon ‘Double Eagle II. They are Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman.

On this day in 1933, aviator Wiley Post returned to Floyd Bennett
Field in New York, having flown solo around the world in 7 days,
18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish
the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye,
began the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a
brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several
stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska,
Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in
New York.

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935)

On July 12, 1957, Dwight D. Eisenhower (left) became the first president to ride in a helicopter.

Although experimental military helicopters had been tested since
1947, it was not until 10 years later that a president considered
using the new machine for short, official trips to and from the
White House. Eisenhower suggested the idea to the Secret
Service, which approved of the new mode of transportation,
seeing it as safer and more efficient than the traditional
limousine motorcade.

 
The Bell H-13J helicopter pictured on Presidents Day,2018.