SANTA MONICA, Calif. – In 1929, 20 women pilots took off from a Southern California runway on the first all-women’s transcontinental race, which ended in Cleveland, Ohio.
Today, Jennifer Butler is part of the LA Ninety Nines, an aviation club that's recreating the first leg of that flight.
“I’m dressed like Amelia Earhart, the pioneer of women in aviation,” said Butler.
Earhart was one of the 20 women aviators that took part in the original race that took place August 13-20 in 1929.
For the re-creation, the LA Ninety Nine’s, along with chapters from Fullerton, Bakersfield, San Diego, and the San Fernando Valley, have come out in style dressed in their best 1920’s garb.
This sisterhood of the skies was something that attracted Butler to join the club.
Her father was a pilot and aviation has long been part of her family’s lifeblood.
When she moved to California from the East Coast, she really missed flying with loved ones and her dad gave her a tip.
“So I moved to California four years ago, had a hard time meeting friends and connecting with people, and he told me to come to a meeting and I came, and it’s literally changed my life,” she said.
Butler is co-piloting a Piper Cherokee with one of her fellow Ninety Nine pilots.
They make all of the checks of the plane, then it’s time to hit the skies on their way to San Bernardino.
Butler has 40 logged hours of flying time, and is learning while dealing with physical limitations.
When she was five, she had a stroke that left her unable to use her right arm and right leg.
“So when I fly I really only use one hand and one foot. I do a rudder dance, which is what my new instructor taught me to do," said Butler. "And he actually has a physical limitation as well. He lost his arm, so it’s interesting to learn from someone who has the same challenges as me.”
But that’s not stopping her from making the trip to San Bernardino on this special anniversary.
The flight takes them 47 minutes and 20 seconds.
It won’t win them first place, but knowing she’s recreated history -- physical limitations and all -- is added inspiration for Butler getting her pilot’s license.
“If you can dream it, you can do it," said Butler. "So never give up on anything because anything is possible.”
And what was possible for the Ninety Nine’s in 1929 – would certainly make them proud of this group of women -- that are keeping their legacy alive in the sky, 90 years later.