Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-10-11
She's a
Helicopter
Pilot
By MARY L. VAUGHAN
Star Staff Writer =

Star stan Writer
Jean Ross Howard is q
versatile woman who lightens
the serious side of weighty
jobs with an infectious laugh
and an elfin sense of humor.
She's assistant to the di-
rector of the Aircraft Indus
tries of America and one of
the few licensed women hell
copter pilots in the Nation.
Miss Howard returned last
week from a Conference in
Los Angeles where she at
tended SympoSiums and
watched demonstrations Of
helicopter flights.
They demonstrated hell
copterS. of the ambulance
type picking up victims and
rushing them to a hospital
heliport, another model with
trained hound dogs confined
in outside baskets who are
freed in the mountains to
find lost persons, and a
demonstration by the Los
Angeles fire department
showing how a helicopter
can pick up a fire hose and
squirt it from above to stop
fires" she recalled.
Casual Departure
She left for California in
the most casual fashion, TAX
ing a helicopter at Twenty
sixth street and Virginia ave-
nue. to Friendship Airport,
where she boarded a jet fight.
Miss Howard stopped off in
New Orleans on the way back
and was flown in a helicopter
to oil rigs stationed out in
the Cult of Mexico for a look
at the 'copter'S versatility.
AS assistant ALA director,
she writes new releases on
aircraft subjects and is a
regular contributor to the
ALAS Letter to Aviation
Writer'S"
A native Washingtonian,
Miss Howard went to Sid
wells Friends School, later
attended Connecticut College
and was graduated from
George Washington Univer-
sity here.
While in college she began
leading tours of 10 college
students through 10 Euro
pean countries in the summer
intervals. One of the most
popular spots. she recalls,
was the swimming pool in
Budapest where artificial
waves rolled every IS min
uteS as a siren blew. "You
certainly got to meet every
one in the pool" she OBJ
served.
Resumes Career
During the period 1925
she resumed. in addition to
duties at Ala, her scholastic
career in graduate study in
transportation at American
University. Her graduate
thesis discussed, Selected
Economic Problems in Oper-
alton of Common Carrier
Helicopters."
Miss Howard obtained a
private pilot license under
the Civilian Pilot Training
Program at Beacon Field
here while attending George
Washington University.
Her first job was with
Eastern Airlines "overselling
i never said no to a pas
senger, but, come on out, I'll
get you on" She was in
charge of the box lunches
aboard flights, too, and when
a flight was Cancelled the
boxes became piled up in the
office. Eve got SO we couldn't
look at a piece of fried chick
en-" she says.
After a stint in,the WASPS,
Miss Howard was sent over
seas as a Red Cross program
director on the Isle of Capri,
planning rest and recreation
programs for 1900 tired pilots
a week.
PilOt-Secretary
Later she was employed
as a pilot-secretary with a
combined aircraft group,
flying women in club groups
around weekends to show the
feasibility of light aircraft.
In her spare time Miss
Howard has participated in
two Transcontinental Air
Races and in one Interna-
tional Air Race. She belongs
to a dozen organizations in
Guiding an exclusive group
called The Whirly Girls
which she dreamed up after
earning her helicopter Ii
cenSe.
Today, the group numbers
exactly "a qualified women
helicopter pilots in the free
world, including Nine. Jacq-
ueline Auriol, daughter-in-
law of the former French
president and one of the
foremost women flyers in the
world.
They even have their own
insignia: a cute little hell
copter with long eyelashes
and a Kewpie Doll expression.