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[[caption]] At Hammondsport, N.Y. in 1910, bloomer-clad Blanche Stuart Scott was the first woman to fly solo. [[/caption]]

The First Flyers To Sprout Wings 

These Early Birds are not to be confused with today's communications satellite of the same name. Rather than representing all that is modern in flight accomplishments, the Early Birds who met in Los Angeles last week were the pioneers of aviation—that is, each has documented proof that he soloed in some kind of airborne craft before Dec. 17, 1916. Many of the 171 surviving members of the club gathered for last week's meeting to celebrate—two months prematurely—the 50th anniversary of the date that separates them from other aviators. Soon after the cutoff date it became possible for almost anyone who wanted to learn to fly to do so at Government expense in World War I training programs. Over the years, the annual event has brought together such Early Birds as the first woman parachutist, Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick, 73, of Los Angeles; Maj. Gen. Benjamin Foulois, 86, of Andrews Air Force Base, Md., a retired Army officer who accompanied Orville Wright on the first cross-country flight 57 years ago; and 74-year-old William C. Diehl of North Bergen, N.J., who one day in 1919 cruised over 42nd Street in New York City at rooftop level with a stunt man standing on the wing of his biplane. Early Birds usually aren't hard to spot. At club functions most of them are decked out in black-and-white checkered caps, an informal badge of membership. Says Early Bird archivist, Paul E. Garber of Arlington, Va.: "Most flyers wore the caps, turned halfway around, in the early days. That was the first helmet." 

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[[caption]] Maj. Gen. Foulois: Orville Wright's companion. [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] General Spaatz: He became the Air Force chief of staff. [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] Igor Sikorsky: Helicopter pioneer flew first in 1910. [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] 'Tiny' Broadwick: First woman to make a parachute jump. [[/caption]]

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[[caption]] Grover C. Loening (center) of New York City, an Early Bird, became an aircraft designer. [[/caption]]

Photographs From Underwood and Underwood, Culver, and AP