Aline Rhonie | |
|---|---|
 Aline Rhonie with her aviation history mural | |
| Born | Aline Rhonie Hofheimer (1909-08-16)August 16, 1909 |
| Died | January 7, 1963(1963-01-07) (aged 53) |
| Education | Dalton School |
| Occupation(s) | Artist, aviator |
| Organizations | |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Lady Astor (Aunt-in-law) |
| Awards | |
| Aviation career | |
| Full name | Aline "Pat" Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks |
| First flight | De Havilland Moth |
| Famous flights | First woman to fly solo from New York to Mexico City |
| Flight license | 1931 (1931) (transport) 1936 (1936) (UK pilot license) 1938 (1938) (Irish commercial license) |
| Air force |  Women Airforce Service Pilots Air Transport Auxiliary |
| Battles | World War II |
Aline "Pat" Rhonie Hofheimer Brooks (August 16, 1909 – January 7, 1963) was an Americanaviator. Rhonie had several firsts as a pilot and was one of the pioneering women aviation pilots inWorld War II. She became one of the first members of theWomen's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Rhonie also drove an ambulance in France. Rhonie is also known for her aviation history mural which is now located atVaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology.
Aline Rhonie was born as Aline Rhonie Hofheimer inYork, Pennsylvania, on August 16, 1909.[1] She was born into the notable Hofheimer family of York township.[2] She moved from York toNew Jersey at the age of three. Rhonie attendedDalton School in New York.[3]
Rhonie married Richard Bamberger, a member of a wealthy New York family, when she was 17.[4] She became interested in flying after helping two pilots who had crash-landed near her grandfather's golf course.[4]
She moved toReno,Nevada, when she was 19.[4] Aline Rhonie learned to fly at the age of 21.[5] She started flying in aDe Havilland Moth with a Gypsy engine.[1] She received hertransport license in 1931,[6] and her English pilot's license in 1936.[2] She was the first American to receive an Irish Commercial license in 1938.[7]
Rhonie divorced Bamberger in December 1930 in Reno.[8] After the divorce, she took her middle name, Rhonie, as her last name.[3] A year later, she met a nephew ofLady Astor, Reginal Langhorne Brooks.[4] Brooks was a Marine Corps aviator and was learningMorse code, which he shared with Rhonie.[4] When they got married in 1933, they flew 17,000 miles in separate planes to their honeymoon, flying through various locations including the West Indies and Mexico.[4][3] Rhonie was the first woman to fly solo from New York toMexico City.[9][10] Later, in 1937, Brooks divorced Rhonie.[11]
DuringWorld War II, she participated in the British war relief effort.[4] She first applied to ferry planes from Britain to France, but since she wasn't British, was rejected.[12] Instead, she started driving an ambulance in France. In 1940, she took leave to raise money to build canteens for Allied pilots working at the war's front lines.[12] She had been made an American liaison officer for theAero club in France.[13] Rhonie was one of the nine original women who were part of theWomen's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS).[14]
After the war, Rhonie learned mural painting from the Mexican painterDiego Rivera.[15] Rivera taught her how to paint in thefresco style.[9] Her best known mural is a 126-foot-long (38 m), 1,400-square-foot (130 m2) fresco representing aviation history at a hangar inRoosevelt Field,Long Island, which has since been relocated to theVaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology inQueens, New York.[15][5] Rhonie did the research for the mural herself and she worked on it between 1934 and 1938.[16] When Rhonie found out that the hangar at Roosevelt Field was going to be destroyed in 1960, she obtained the rights to the mural and convinced Italian fresco expert,Leonetto Tintori, to come to the U.S. to help relocate the mural.[17] After the mural was taken down, she helped restore the panels and then added 25 more portraits.[17]
She died on January 7, 1963, inPalm Beach, Florida, at the age of 54.[10]
Rhonie won several awards and recognitions, including membership of the French national association of theCroix de Guerre for her service in theFrench Red Cross,Médaille de la Reconnaissance française, and was made a Companion of theOrdre de la Libération.[18] She was inducted into theNew Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010.[15] A collection of her papers was donated to theNational Air and Space Museum of theSmithsonian Institution in 2014.[19]
