Wally Funk ... Finally headed to Space at 82!
by TARA SHAWDE' BROWN
One of the Mercury 13 finally made it into space because she never gave up!
Wally is an amazing 82-year-old aviatrix!
It took her six decades to receive this opportunity which, I believe she should have received at the age of 20.
Wally Funk was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1939. She grew up in an artistic family. Her family owned a retail store in the art colony of Taos, New Mexico. As a child, she was in awe of planes, and when she was a year old, she got her first taste of flight. She got up close and personal with a Douglas DC-3 and went right to the wheel to turn the nut and her mother said, " She's going to fly." By seven, she was making balsa wood planes and had her first flying lesson.
She was an amazing outdoors-woman: fishing, hunting, skiing, and riding her bike and horse. She became a distinct marksman at the age of 14. She was awarded by the NRA and her results were sent to President Eisenhower and he wrote back to her! She was also the top Female Skier in the Downhill race US competition.
In High School, she got fascinated with mechanical airplane drawings, and she took auto mechanics courses. She graduated High School early, in 1958 at the age of 16 and went into Stephen College in Columbia Missouri. She obtained her pilot licenses in 1958. She then moved on to get a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University. She was a member Alpha Chi Omega, and was drawn to OSU's famous "Flying Aggies" program. She earned many aviation certificates, ratings, and got her Seaplane rating as well as a couple of Flight instructor, and ground instructor ratings.
She started her aviation career at the age of 20, and became a professional aviator flying non-commissioned and commissioned officers in the US army. She obtained her Airline Transport Rating in 1968. She was the 58th woman to do so in US history! She applied to commercial airlines, but due to her gender she was turned away. This was just the beginning of the "No's" she experienced within her career.
She made an amazing career for herself in the FAA - Federal Aviation Administration , and became the first woman to complete the Inspector Academy course. She was hired by the NTSB in 1974 where she investigated 450 accidents. She retired in 1985 and was appointed as an FAA Safety Counselor. She was a renowned pilot trainer and speaker in the Aviation safety industry.
Funk has been a Chief Pilot trainer for several schools across the US. She has soloed more than 700 students and put through 3,000 Private / Commercial / Multi-engine / Sea-Plane CFI / AI / Airline transport & Glider Pilots!
A Note from the Writer
I am a glider pilot myself. I started flying at the tender age of 12 and soloed at the age of 14.
There is nothing like flying on a smooth, crisp, morning in a glider, and looking behind you while realizing you are all alone! I was 14 and independent, and felt one with the wind and the plane. I was flying over all outside societal pressures. All my stressors were gone the minute I took flight!
I admire any aviator / aviatrix who can fly a glider. It is the truest form of flight requiring amazing piloting skills. Some of the best landings performed by glider pilots! Just look at Captain Sulley!
In 1960, Wally Funk was one of the the Mercury 13. The Mercury 13 were thirteen American women who underwent physiological screening tests as a part of a privately funded space program. Despite being one of the youngest in the group, Funk performed exceptionally well, even better than John Glenn. Unfortunately, the program was cancelled and it was yet another rejection for this aspiring astronaut. Little did they know at the time, that she would eventually go in 2021, representing all 13 of them who couldn't make it!
To read more about the Mercury 13, check out this article : 'Mercury 13' pilot Wally Funk will carry 60 years of history to space on Blue Origin flight | Space
Wally funk never lost her dream of going into space. In the 1970's, NASA finally began accepting women into the space program and Funk applied. Despite being an impressive aviatrix, she did not have an engineering degree and got yet another rejection.
By 1995 Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the space shuttle. However, by then Wally was too old to qualify to be a space shuttle pilot.
Funk and six other members of the Mercury 13 were invited guests of Collins at the launch. NASA gave them a behind-the-scenes VIP tour of the Kennedy Space Center complex.
In 2012, she put money down to be one of the first people to fly into space via Virgin Galactic. The money for the flight came from Funk's own book and film royalties and family money.
Finally, Wally Funk got her chance in the 2021 Suborbital flight on the New Shepherd!
Check out this article to see her Blue Origin experience: 'Mercury 13' pilot Wally Funk will carry 60 years of history to space on Blue Origin flight | Space
This remarkable lady has been a trailblazer since 1960. She is the epitome of resiliency.
Check out her website: The Real Wally Funk (wallyfly.com)
Books:
In July 2020 Funk published a memoir, Higher Faster Longer —My Life in Aviation and My Quest for Space Flight with author Loretta Hall.
