An Nguyen

May 11, 2015

Period 2
Character Traits and Major Events of Ann B. Carl
A WASP Among Eagles, by Ann B. Carl
Part 1 of Book (pages 1-27)
Character Traits
1. a. eager to learn
b. thoughts
c. We listened with earphones to classical music coming out of the air. My father
explained how the radio worked to my brother, and I felt left out. I was no longer the
recipient of this sort of information (7).
d. As a child, Anns father would always explain how different technologies worked,
and Ann showed her enjoyment of it when she wrote that she was disappointed when
he did not explain to her how the radio worked. She was excited to learn how the
music was coming out of the air, so when the explanation went to her brother
instead of her, she felt excluded. Many children would simply enjoy the music
coming out of the radio and be satisfied that it was simply magical, but Ann wanted to
know exactly how music was coming from a little box without instruments inside of
it.
2. a. mature
b. actions
c. When we got to the hospital, I helped them all in. Some had to wait until there
was a free examination room. I soon learned how the treatments were done and, in
fact, usually did them myself when the nurses and doctors kidded around with one
another (22).
d. Ann had volunteered to drive five disabled children to their weekly treatments at
the hospital. Her ability to perform their treatments on their own when the nurses and
doctors were not being responsible showed that she was mature enough to observe
previous treatments and remember how they were done. Her maturity was also shown
in how she did not get angry or yell at the nurses and doctors for not doing their jobs
but instead did their jobs for them because she was able to. Her decision to do
volunteer work shows her maturity to realize that it is important to give back to her
community and help others who are not as fortunate as she is.
3. a. adventurous
b. words
c. I circled round and round the room, imagining dangerous wartime rescues, flying
on and on above the land and the clouds. I felt suddenly more alive. This is what I
was made for, I told myself (25).
d. Because she enjoyed the idea of flying, especially on dangerous rescue missions
during the war, and wanted to do it for the rest of her life, Ann shows she is

adventurous. The fact that she wanted to spend her life in the sky, where she could
fall and die at any time, instead of doing medical research in a laboratory like she was
at the time shows that she was craving more excitement. She had already spent time
in college studying medicine and was probably receiving a decent, steady paycheck
from her current job, but she was willing to change her career path anyway, which
shows she is not afraid to leave familiar places where she knows she will do well for
adventure.
Important Events
1. a. Orville Wright talks to Ann
b. You must fly that jet. Ill be rooting for you. And how Id love to fly it. But Im
close to 80 years old, you know, (Though Wilbur, four years the elder, had died in
1912 at the age of 45, Orville would live until 1948 and age 77.) I certainly hope I
can, I said (2).
c. Orvilles words of encouragement foreshadowed one of Anns biggest
accomplishments: becoming the first woman to fly a jet aircraft. They enforced the
idea that she can and should fly the jet, which unfamiliar and possibly dangerous at
the time. Ann said that she hoped she could eventually fly the jet, but Orville told her
she must. This probably made her more determined to make the possibility a reality
and pushed her to be the first woman to do so. Orvilles words were even more
inspiring than others or her own thoughts because he was a true pioneer in the
aviation industry, and everyone knew it. If such an accomplished, famous person
believed in her so strongly, there was no reason why she should not.
2. a. Ann rides out into a storm
b. You shouldnt have sent that child out in that storm. No, shes simply got to
learn that when she has a job to do, it is her responsibility to do it. Uncle Gordon was
right. I did learn something from going out alone in that raging storm and completing
my job of bringing in the cows who had to be milked each night (12).
c. When Ann rode out into the storm to bring in the cows, it was a turning point in her
personality and her life because she earned bravery. Before, she was very timid and
watched from afar whenever her cousins did anything adventurous. She was not even
going to get the cows that day until her uncle forced her to. More importantly than
learning to be responsible, Ann learned that she could be brave and do dangerous,
challenging tasks on her own as long as she persevered. The turning point was
important to Anns life because she never would have become a test pilot if she had
not conquered her fear of danger and challenge. She later said she actually liked the
excitement she experienced because of the storms danger, which foreshadowed her
career as a test pilot.
3. a. Miss Ellis sparks Anns interest in science
b. Yet she never singled out individual students with advice to pursue science. It was
a case of This is science. Take it or leave it. But she did leave us with an Ovid
quotation: God gave man an upright countenance to survey the heavens, and to look
upward to the stars (17).

c. Miss Ellis class was important to Anns life because it shifted her interest from art
to science. Anns school, Walnut Hill School, was very art-focused, so she had
imagined herself as an artist or a writer. After completing Miss Ellis course, however,
she was introduced to chemistry, astronomy, and biology, and went on to choose
science-related courses in college instead of art courses. Although the science class
did not directly push Ann into the field she would come to love, aviation, it pushed
her in the right direction. There is less of a chance that she would find her passion for
flying if she had not taken Miss Ellis class and became an artist or writer.
4. a. Ann spots an airplane
b. One afternoon, which must have been an especially frustrating day, I climbed to
the roof to look around. It was a grey day. The tall New York buildings seemed to
blend into the cloudy sky. But just above them, in a break in the clouds, where the sky
looked silver, was a silhouetted airplane (23).
c. Seeing an airplane that day inspired Ann to learn how to fly. She had found that she
did not love the medical field like she thought she did and wanted a change in her
career path. If it was not for the inspiration, Ann never would have thought of herself
in an aviation field, and would not have found her love of flying or a job as a military
test pilot. Instead, she would have stayed in a laboratory where she would not have
had much fun or found a job that was equally boring. The day she spotted an airplane
from the roof marked another turning point (and presumably her last) in Anns
interests; this time from medical research to aviation.
Part 2 of Book (pages 28-54)
Character Traits
1. a. independent
b. actions
c. When it came time to leave for duty with the WASPs, Merle Crowell warned that I
was jeopardizing a career as a writer if I left then. I would lose all my contacts and my
writing skills! But I had already signed up to go, and I was eager to be off to try to do my
part in the war (29).
d. Ann showed her independence by not allowing the words of others affect her decisions.
Merle Crowell was trying to convince her to stay at her job as a writer by scaring her with
the consequences, but Ann followed her heart and decided to do what she wanted. Ann
was successful with her writing, too, and had no reason to leave besides the fact that she
wanted to be a WASP, not a writer. She did not ask for the opinions of her parents or
close friends, either, probably because she felt she did not need their advice. Ann knew
what she wanted, and she joined the WASPs for herself, not for others.
2. a. optimistic
b. thoughts
c. It was certainly not an unpleasant task to have to go out and fly with a purpose in
view, and even in ones own plane, though the plane was somewhat of a wreck. That
added to the challenge (35).

d. Anns first plane was an old Piper Cub that was underpowered, had no brakes, and had
tears in the fabric. Plus, it was not completely her own; she shared it with another pilot
because she could not afford to pay the full cost. However, she had a goal, which was to
build two-hundred hours of flight time to qualify for a commercial pilot license and many
aviation jobs, so she had to remain optimistic about her less-than-satisfactory situation,
and she did. She took the planes disabilities as a challenge instead of as a reason to
complain. She also called flying many, many hours in the old plane not an unpleasant
task, which shows that she is grateful her conditions were not worse.
3. a. humble
b. words
c. But it showed the cool courage and dedication of WASPs in their service in the Air
Force that they faced the difficulties and dangers here without help from Commanding
Officer Stephenson or Cochran or Washington, and took upon themselves the task of
protecting themselves as best they could. Without complaints, they continued to fly
missions for artillery men who were only learning how to shoot their guns. I felt honored
to fly with them (54).
d. Instead of writing we when complimenting the WASPs, which she was qualified to
do because she was an official member of the group, Ann wrote they. Although she did
the exact things she complimented the rest of the WASPs for, she was too humble to
compliment herself and instead commended the rest of the women. She continued to act
as if she had not done anything of the sort when she wrote that she felt honored to fly
with them. It is as if she felt pride not by reflecting on what she accomplished but on
what they accomplished.
Important Events
1. a. Ann lands with a dead engine
b. And now, as I approached the diminutive grass airport, I could see other small yellow
aircraft taking off and landing. I had no radio in the plane with which to warn them that I
was dead stick. I would simply have to fit myself in (32).
c. The landing described above was the first time Ann faced a difficulty that could have
ended in a plane crash while flying on her own. She had been attempting a spin as a pilot
still in training when her engine failed and her propeller stopped spinning. Remembering
the directions her instructor gave her when the same thing happened during a lesson, she
tried to dive and give it power to restart the propeller, but it remained stationary. Without
any evidence of panic whatsoever (she even reflected on her childhood and what brought
her to aviation), she glided the dead airplane to a nearby airport and even landed without
notifying the control tower that her plane was not fully operational. As a result, Ann
proved to herself that she could independently solve life-threatening problems while
flying and gained confidence for similar situations in the future.
2. a. The Womens Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS) is established
b. General George was satisfied with the proposal as worked out with Colonel Tunner.
The Womens Auxiliary Ferry Troop (later Squadron, or WAFS) was born, so to speak,
with Nancy Love at its head (37).

c. The establishment of the WAFS (previously WAFT) was important because it was the
first womens organization in the United States Air Force. Previously, General George did
not want to hire women and instead referred them to the British Air Transport Auxiliary,
which did hire women. The event symbolized the United States Air Forces acceptance of
women as pilots. Nancy Love eventually combined her group with Jacqueline Cochrans,
the 319th Womens Flying Training Detachment, to create the Womens Airforce Service
Pilots (WASPs). Ann later became a WASP and, consequently, was able to fly many
military aircraft and become the first woman to fly a jet aircraft.
3. a. Ann becomes a WASP
b. It was shortly before Christmas that I received my orders to report to Houston in
January 1942 to be in the Class of 43-W-3. What a Christmas present (40).
c. When she stepped onto the field of aviation, Anns main goal was to fly the flying
ambulance for World War II, and becoming a WASP brought her a step closer to her goal.
It also gave her a permanent place in aviation, so she would not need to look for a job or
worry about not receiving enough pay for a while. The requirements to become a WASP
were very strict (only 1,800 out of 25,000 were selected), so Ann was unsure that Jackie
Cochran would accept her, and it was a relief when she did. Being a WASP allowed Ann
to, later on, receive more flight training, build up many flight hours, and fly exciting
airplanes.
4. a. The WASPs spirits are lifted
b. Even though we were a special experiment, with no uniform except our own khaki
trousers, white shirt, and overseas cap (and our surplus Air Force faded flying overalls
two sizes too big), Fleischman had challenged us. We now had something to prove (44).
c. As the WASP organization was just getting on its feet, the women did not live
preferably. They did not have the new blue uniforms that Cochran promised, their base
was old, their food was not good, and they slept two to a bed in old motelsnot at all
what they were expecting when they signed up. They were thoroughly discouraged until
Alfred Fleischman, a young lieutenant, gave an inspiring speech that encouraged them to
prove that women can fly military planes and help in the war effort. The speech also
marked the beginning of improvement at the base as new trainer planes and instructors
arrived at the base soon after.
Part 3 of Book (pages 55-85)
Character Traits
1. a. inquisitive
b. words
c. Every day I had more questions for Sims. I see there are quite a few compressibility
tests. Explain more about that, I said (67).
d. Ann showed her inquisitive nature by constantly asking questions about the flight tests
at Wright Field. At the time, she was temporarily working at the operations desk with a
man named Sims who had worked at the field for a while and was very knowledgeable
about its happenings. She could have easily sat at the desk and observed the tests, but she
always wanted to know exactly what was being tested and why. Multiple questions per

day about the flight tests is a lot of questions, so Ann must have been very curious about
the tests and the physics behind them.
2. a. skilled
b. what others say about her
c. When he asked me where I would land, I pointed to the field. Okay. Do a slow roll to
the right and take us back. He said nothing after we landed and I parked the plane, but
later Sims said he heard him tell Major Petrie (disappointedly?), She actually did okay
(73).
d. Major Lundquist did not approve of women pilots, so him saying that Ann did okay
was a huge compliment that showed she actually had skill. Her flight with him was to test
whether she could fly as a test pilot instead of spending more time at the operations desk.
His approval was confirmed when Anns name showed up on the schedule later on to test
a tail warning device. Because Major Lundquist told Major Petrie that Ann did okay
during the flight and approved of her flying test flights, he proved that Ann had skills that
made her worthy to work under him.
3. a. imaginative
b. thoughts
c. I pictured it as being an extension of myself soaring through the open sky. It would be
like dancing, the wings my outstretched arms, the nose and engine my head and heart, the
landing gear my legs. As the plane climbed effortlessly, we would leave the earth behind
and balance on the thin air, higher and higher. It would be the next thing to flying with
wings of my own, like a majestic Canada goose forging upward with deep wingbeats and
steady skyward gaze (74).
d. Ann pictured her plane as a part of herself and saw herself as a magnificent Canada
goose, proving herself to be fond of using her imagination. Many would simply describe
the rush of excitement they experience when flying quickly through the air, but Ann
personified her airplane and gave animal-like descriptions to herself. She also used the
words balance on the thin air as if she and her plane were a graceful tightrope walker.
Her choice of words when describing what she thought flying a fighter plane would be
like displayed her childlike imagination.
Important Events
1. a. Ann is ordered to report to Wright Field
b. So it was one windy February day in 1944 at Camp Davis. With the sand blowing
about the barracks as usual, and the same bustle of pilots off meeting their appointments
on the flight line, there were two new assignments for Betty Greene and me. We were to
report immediately to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, for temporary duty where we would
test high-altitude and low-temperature equipment proposed for the WASPs (55).
c. Anns duty to report to Wright Field introduced her to the place she would come to love
and want to work at. When they go the assignment, she and Betty Greene were not
ecstatic because there was no mention of flying. They soon learned, however, that Wright
Field was truly the center of military aviation in the United States. During their time
there, their job was simply to test items of clothing in a flying aircraft to coordinate the

best outfit for women pilots, but watching the flight tests inspired them to seek a
permanent job there as flight test pilots.
2. a. Ann receives a permanent job at Wright Field
b. To the Materiel Command, she read. Reporting to Colonel Ernest Warburton, Chief
of Flight Test Division. This was the time to throw our hats in the air (61).
c. Anns transfer from Camp Davis to Wright Field was a big step in her career path
because it meant she was closer to her dream of becoming a flight test pilot. It was
especially exciting for her and Betty Greene because they had come to love Wright Field
during their clothing and relief tube tests. Plus, Wright Field had so many more
opportunities for a woman seeking her place in military aviation because all military
aircraft were tested there, and many extremely talented engineers tested their designs
there. Anns job at Wright Field was important because without it, she never would have
gotten the chance to become the first woman to fly a jet aircraft.
3. a. Sims lets Ann borrow his Gilruth report
b. I have the Gilruth report I spoke about here somewhere. You might read it overnight.
It will give you a better idea of how intricately airplane flying characteristics are
analyzed, as well as how they are being measured. Here it is. Thanks Ill study it (67).
c. Although the borrowing of a report might not seem very important, it was important to
Ann because it was the start of her studies of the physics behind flight tests. The report
was called Requirements for Satisfactory Flying Qualities of Airplanes and gave her a
deeper understanding of what the flight tests were for and what the results of the tests
should look like for an aircraft to be approved. The deeper understanding would result in
a greater appreciation for Wright Field and the people and planes in it and would help her
fly more effectively when she was promoted to flight test pilot.
4. a. Ann flies a fighter plane for the first time
b. I banked sharply between white floating clouds, brushing the planes tummy along
their whipped-cream tops, ending in a straight-up climb and a low power dive. I was
speeding along in a fighter plane at last. It was pure exhilaration (75).
c. Flying a fighter planes was one of Anns biggest goals almost since she started working
at Wright Field. She had only flown bombers before, but had heard from other test pilots
working on the field and dreamed about flying fighters for a long time. Her excitement
and enjoyment of the flight was shown when she described the clouds as whipped-cream
tops and the experience as pure exhilaration. The flight was important to her career at
Wright Field and the plot of the story because, sadly, it was the last she flew for pure fun
without any worries. Afterward, flight testing became a serious matter and, as a result,
Ann became more serious and flew carefully instead of carelessly.
Part 4 of Book (pages 86-111)
Character Traits
1. a. decisive
b. words

c. Well, I said, Im the captain of this ship right now. And I choose to nip around the
left end of this squall line as the safer route. All he could do was grumble. When we
landed, we found that a twin-engine plane like ours had flown through that inviting hole
in the squall line and had one of its wings ripped off in the turbulence there (89).
d. Ann demonstrated her decisiveness when she flew a general from Wright Field to
Indianapolis. During the flight, a squall line of thunderstorm began to form at their right,
so the general told Ann to fly through a hole he spotted between two thunderheads to
escape the storm. Ann knew, however, that that hole, which seemed safe and clear, was
probably the most dangerous because of its up and down drafts. Even though the
suggestion came from an authoritative figure, she made the right decision without
second-guessing herself by listening to what she thought instead. She was proven right
when a different plane that followed the path the general suggested was damaged.
2. a. selfless
b. actions
c. I did not leave the Flight Test Division completely right away. I moved over to the
public relations department, where I (having been a writer for the New York Times) hoped
to do stories on these test-pilot heroes who, after years in combat, now willingly flew
dangerous tests to eliminate hazards in the planes future Air Force Pilots would fly
(107).
d. When the WASPs were disbanded and Ann no longer had a job at Wright Field, she
stayed simply to write the stories of the test pilots instead of pursuing another career or
starting a family. In a way, she put her life on pause to write these stories. She saw how
important and heroic the test pilots were, respected them, and thought they deserved
respect for years to come, so she recorded their stories so that they would always be
remembered. Writing the stories of all those test pilots is not a short, easy task, so the fact
that she was willing to do it for little to no pay just to commemorate the test pilots shows
selflessness.
3. a. grateful
b. thoughts
c. This would certainly be the last time I would fly a B-24, or any bomber probably. But
how extraordinary that I should be flying one at all. Without Jackie Cochrans program,
bringing so many of us (about 1,000 altogether) into the war effort, we would not have
had this great chance to fly military planes (108).
d. During her final flight from Wright Field, before thinking about her own
accomplishments in aviation or what she would do in the future, she thought about the
people who brought her there (flying military aircraft) in the first place. Her gratitude was
shown when she wrote that she never would have been able to fly military planes if it
were not for the WASP program. She obviously did not take the WASPs for granted and
understood what a privilege she had to fly the many military aircraft that she did. Because
Ann thought about the program that brought her to where she was before reflecting on
anything else, she must have been truly grateful for the opportunities Jackie Cochrans
program gave her.

Important Events
1. a. Ann flies a famous golfer
b. Another time, my passenger was a well-known professional golf champion. He and
his three colleague were appearing at a golf tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, to make
money to pay for sports equipment for the enlisted men at Wright Field (89).
c. Anns experience flying the famous golfer and his friend was important because it was
one of the first times she was treated differently by a passenger for being a female pilot.
At first, the golfer refused to fly with Ann because he was afraid that, since Ann was a
lady, the plane would crash. He eventually agreed to, though, because she was the only
available pilot, and he needed to attend the event on time. After they landed safely, he got
off the plane and introduced everyone to her, calling her his lady pilot. He was so
impressed that he even invited her to watch the tournament and continued to introduce
her as his lady pilot everywhere they went. Her incident with the golfer was important
because it showed the prejudice men had toward women pilots and their reaction of shock
when they realized women pilots flew just as well as men pilots.
2. a. Ann becomes the first woman to fly a jet aircraft
b. There would be jet fuel for only 30-minute flightsenough for only an abbreviated
examination, but enough to get the feel of jet-propelled flight. We awaited our turns
anxiously, hoping the brass were taking good care of the jet. Right after lunch, it was my
turn (101).
c. Anns flight in the YP-59A was probably the most important flight in her whole
aviation career because it made her the first woman to ever fly a jet aircraftan
accomplishment not only for herself but also for her fellow WASPs and future female
pilots across the country. Orville Wright had also told Ann that she must fly the jet and
tell him all about it, so the flight was an accomplishment for him, too. The aircraft was
one of the first jet aircraft America had ever made, so flying it was a privilege. The fact
that Ann earned this privilege showed the capabilities of women pilots and proved that
they were just as skilled as male pilots.
3. a. WASPs are disbanded
b. In October, there was news from Washington for all WASPs. Without exception, the
WASPs would be disbanded the end of December 1944 (103).
c. The disbandment of the WASPs was important to Anns aviation career because it
meant she was on her own if she wanted to remain in the aviation field. Since the
disbandment meant she would no longer be a part of the military, she would lose her job
at Wright Field and was to be sent home to New York. This signified the end to her
accomplishments as a test pilot and in aviation because she did not pursue an aviation
career afterward. The WASPs received no recognition after they were disbanded until
many years after the war, but many continued to fly military aircraft.
4. a. Ann leaves Wright Field
b. My last flight from Wright Field was in early February 1945. It was not strictly
authorized. It was an arrangement of convenience. Major Leach needed a copilot for his
B-24 flight to Mitchell Field, New York, and I lived in New York. Though listed officially
as a passenger, I would be the copilot (108).

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c. The last flight Ann made from Wright Field was a flight home, and signified her
leaving her career as a test pilot and in aviation altogether. In a way, it also symbolized
the end of many women pilots roles in World War II because the WASPs had been
disbanded, and many were returning home. During the flight, she reflected a lot about
what brought her to where she was, what she learned, who she met, what she and the
WASPs accomplished, and what she would do in the future. Her thoughts were sort of a
summary of her whole aviation career and made her more grateful for and proud of her
experiences.