Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation

A little while ago, I got my hands on a copy of Silver Wings - New Zealand Women in Aviation.  I managed to get it for a bargain price but would fully recommend it at the full retail price as well.  It's a beautiful little soft cover book, with 288 pages and as many photographs.

The book chronicles the women flying in New Zealand from Gladys Sanford receiving her pilots license in Dec 1925 up to modern women flying any and every type of aircraft you can imagine at all levels.

My favourite photos were those of the women in the 1960's and 1970's - many of them recreational pilots - dressed in some of the most fashionable items of the times with hair to match and ready to fly!  As I said in in my post Flying in Style, the best clothes for flying aren't necessarily the most fashionable or stylish, so these women are yet another source of Aviator Chic inspiration.

The easiest way to get your hands on a copy of this great book is to order it from NZAWA via this order form.  Alternately, you can borrow it from your local library (if they have it) or scour Trademe and used book stores to find a more modestly priced copy if you really want to own it but can't afford the $50 price tag.

Here's a little sneak peek of photos found in the book.  (Please note, I took these from the NZAWA order form as I didn't think it fair of me to scan and redistribute the images from the book without permission.)