Rhea Woltman facts for kids

Rhea Hurrle Woltman (born November 6, 1928 – died February 15, 2021) was an amazing American pilot. She was also one of the brave women known as the Mercury 13. These women dreamed of becoming astronauts.

Early Life and Flying Dreams

Rhea Woltman was born in Minnesota. She was the third of six children. Her parents, Ellanora and Leo Hurrle, had a farm. From a very young age, Rhea had a big dream: she wanted to fly.

Rhea's Flying Career

After finishing school, Rhea went to St. Cloud Teacher's College. She taught for a few years. But her dream of flying was still strong. So, she moved to Texas to start her pilot training.

Learning to Fly

Rhea's first plane was a Piper J-3 Cub. She quickly learned to fly different types of aircraft. She became a private pilot, then a commercial pilot. This meant she could fly for a living. She even became an instructor, teaching others how to fly planes.

Rhea also learned to fly seaplanes. These planes have floats instead of wheels. She also became a glider pilot. Gliders are planes without engines that use air currents to fly.

Amazing Flights and Races

Rhea was a very skilled pilot. She flew in competitions. One of her most impressive flights was a solo trip. She flew all the way from Houston to Anchorage, Alaska. She did this in a Piper Super Cub with floats.

She worked as a charter pilot. This meant she flew people to different places across North America. Rhea also competed in big races for women pilots. These included the International Women's Air Race and the Powder Puff Race.

The Mercury 13 Dream

In March 1961, Rhea Woltman began training to become an astronaut. She passed all the tough physical tests. She was part of a special group called the First Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATs). There were 13 women in this group. They all passed the same astronaut tests as the men. These tests were given at the Lovelace Clinic.

Even though they passed the tests, the project was not officially run by NASA. Because of this, Rhea and the other women never got to go to space. The U.S. government stopped the women's program.

Honored as a Pioneer

Rhea Woltman stopped flying professionally in March 2014. In 2007, she and the other surviving Mercury 13 women received a special honor. The University of Wisconsin gave them an Honorary Doctorate in Aeronautics. This recognized them as true pioneers in aviation history. In 2008, Rhea was also added to the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.

Life After the Mercury 13 Program

After the space program for women ended, Rhea Woltman moved to Colorado Springs. This was in the early 1970s. She continued to be involved with flying. She helped train cadets from the United States Air Force Academy. She taught them how to fly gliders. She also helped tow gliders into the air.

Rhea Woltman was also a professional Parliamentarian. This means she was an expert in rules for meetings. She worked with the boards of large organizations. These included the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association.