Bessie was the world’s first African American woman pilot, and the first African American to earn an international pilot’s license. Born in January of 1892, she entered our world with an innate yearning to “amount to something,” no matter the odds stacked against her. And those odds stood substantially against her, both as an African/Native American and a female of the South before the era of Civil Rights in America.

I don't really know why, but I always had this idea that airports (and pilots) were impenetrable environments for the elite only. So I was pinching myself while hanging out with Cass and Peter from the Australian Aerobatics Academy who share a hanger with some mystery owner who also collects and restores small aircraft. I didn't know where to look first! 

Spending an afternoon with upcoming Petrolette Cass Moeller, I was so lucky to be able to gain an insight into what it takes to run a an aerobatics school... and what it's like to have a fly. Cass gave me warning that she was going to take me up when we scheduled our time together. Needless to say I was pretty excited... but full of questions worried about what my bodily functions would do when subjected to positive and negative G-forces...

Basair is a base for many starting their journey into aviation, whether they have their sights on recreational flying through to commercial and aerobatic aspirations. From the outside, the sleepy airport (being 8am on a weekend) was really unassuming, but stepping past the gate and into the hanger, I forgot to breathe as I was hit with the possibility of this expansive airport.