Tiny Broadwick The First Lady of Parachuting

North Carolina was the site of the first powered airplane flight by theWright brothers in 1903. Only ten years later, the state could also claim thefirst parachute jump from an airplane by a woman affectionately known asTiny.At just over four feet tall and weighing a mere eighty pounds, Tiny marriedat the age of twelve, and was abandoned by her husband one year later. As aresult, she worked fourteen-hour shifts at a local cotton mill for forty cents aday, and walked home three times daily to feed her baby.In 1903, she saw a parachute descent from a hot air balloon for the firsttime at the Johnny J. Jones Carnival in Raleigh. Charles Broadwickis thrillingfeat inspired her to join the carnival, and after her first jump from a hot airballoon, she was hooked.This story of Tinyis life follows the history of aviation from the earlynovelty of flight through the tremendous developments in air travel during WorldWar II, all the way to the Apollo 13 launch in 1970. Tiny was inducted into theHall of Fame alongside such aviation pioneers as Charles Lindbergh and theWright brothers in 1976.Little has been written about this pioneer in aviation history, whosecontributions made flying airplanes safer for pilots during World War II throughimprovements to the design of parachutes and demonstrations for soldiers.Elizabeth Whitley Roberson is the author of two other books published byPelican, In Care of Yellow River (pb) and Weep NotFor Me, Dear Mother (pb, hc, also available in a teacherisedition, pb). She holds degrees in education and history, and currently teacheshistory at Northwoods Collegiate School in Martin County, North Carolina.Roberson, Elizabeth Whitley is the author of 'Tiny Broadwick The First Lady of Parachuting', published 2001 under ISBN 9781565547803 and ISBN 1565547802.