The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) presented Wally Funk with the 2021 Katherine and Marjorie Stinson Trophy at a reception held on the opening night of the 33rd annual Women in Aviation International conference, which took place March 17 to 19 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Created in 1997 by NAA to honor the accomplishments of sisters Katherine and Marjorie Stinson—who were among the first 11 American women to be certified as pilots through NAA predecessor Aero Club of America—the award recognizes a living person for “an outstanding and enduring contribution to the role of women in the field of aviation, aeronautics, space, or related sciences.”
Funk took her first flight lesson at the age of nine and at 16 she began flight school at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she graduated at the top of her class. She later became the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and has soloed more than 700 students in her flight training career.
In the 1960s, she was selected to undergo preliminary astronaut testing as part of a privately funded research project by the doctor who evaluated NASA’s Mercury astronauts to test women's physiological readiness for space. Funk and the other female participants who successfully underwent the same screening tests as their male counterparts—but were ineligible for space flight at the time because of their gender—became known as the Mercury 13.
On July 20, 2021, at the age of 82, Funk finally achieved her lifelong dream of spaceflight as a member aboard the first crewed suborbital mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule. She made history as the only “Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainee” to fly in space and the oldest person at the time to travel to space.
She was also the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board and the first female FAA inspector.
At the reception, Funk was recognized for “blazing trails for women in aviation and spaceflight and inspiring the next generation of aerospace professionals as a pioneering member of the Mercury 13, flight instructor, air safety investigator, and the oldest woman to fly in space.” Upon receiving the award, she thanked the organization and closed by exclaiming "I love my life."
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The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) presented Wally Funk with the 2021 Katherine and Marjorie Stinson Trophy at a March 17 reception at the opening night of the 33rd annual Women in Aviation International conference. Created in 1997, the NAA award recognizes a living person for “an outstanding and enduring contribution to the role of women in the field of aviation, aeronautics, space, or related sciences.”
Funk took her first flight lesson at age nine and at 16 began flight school at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. She later became the first female civilian flight instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and has soloed more than 700 students.
In the 1960s, she was selected to undergo preliminary astronaut testing as part of a research project evaluating women's physiological readiness for space. Funk and the other female participants, however, were ineligible for space flight at the time because of their gender and became known as the Mercury 13.
On July 20, 2021, at the age of 82, Funk achieved her lifelong dream of spaceflight as a member aboard the suborbital mission of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule. She made history as the only “Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainee” to fly in space and the oldest person at the time to travel to space.
She was also the first female National Transportation Safety Board air safety inspector and the first female FAA inspector.
At the reception, Funk was recognized for “blazing trails for women in aviation and spaceflight and inspiring the next generation of aerospace professionals.” Upon receiving the award, she exclaimed: "I love my life."