McCormick, Jill S.
Biographical Information
Jill Sutton McCormick (1916-1989) was an accomplished pilot and aviation professor at Purdue University. A graduate of Sullins College and Columbia University, McCormick learned to fly during World War II as a member of WASP (the Women's Air Force Service Pilots). During her twenty-six month tenure as a ferry pilot, McCormick flew twenty-three types of military aircraft, including both transport and fighter aircraft. After being discharged when the WASP organization disbanded in 1944, McCormick remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a major. McCormick also flew a/or provided training for Eastern Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and Flying Tiger Lines before eventually coming to Purdue as a flight instructor. As the first full-time instructor in the Professional Pilot Program established in 1955, McCormick taught most of the aviation lecture courses and instructed procedures for the Link flight trainers (and later versions of flight simulators). In addition to her professional commitment to Purdue and the miscellaneous commercial airlines for which she worked, McCormick was also an active member of the Ninety-Nines, the premier women's aviation organization. In the peak of her career as a flight instructor, McCormick was honored with a Women's Achievement Award (1962) from the Lafayette Business and Professional Women's Club and an Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship (1964) from the Ninety-Nines. In addition, President Lyndon Johnson appointed her to the Women's National Aviation Advisory Board for the 1964-1966 term.