Mary Feik

Mary Feik (born c. 1924) is a former aviation engineer and aircraft restorer.

Early years

She first became interested in aviation at the age of 7 when a Barnstormer came through her hometown area in a Curtiss JN-4 biplane. She rode in the aircraft and was enthralled.

Feik overhauled her first automobile engine in her father's repair shop when she was 13, then turned to aircraft engines and military aircraft at the age of 18.

Aviation engineer

During World War II, Feik became an expert on many military aircraft and is credited with becoming the first woman engineer in research and development in the Air Technical Service Command’s Engineering Division at Wright Field, Ohio. Her war experiences included teaching aircraft maintenance to crew chiefs and mechanics for the United States Army Air Forces.

At a time when men dominated the cockpits of military aircraft, Feik logged more than 5,000 hours as a B-29 flight engineer, engineering observer, and pilot in fighter, attack, bomber, cargo, and training aircraft. When the Lockheed P-80 entered service, she was issued a brand-new model nicknamed “Mary’s Little Lamb” in her honor.

While flying a P-59 jet fighter during gunnery training, she witnessed tracer rounds coming within feet of the aircraft’s nose. "I was the only person to fly open cockpit in a jet airplane ... the airflow over this little windscreen was so great that I think I was off the seat no matter how tightly I was strapped down," she said. The job of a test engineer was a dangerous one.

Feik also used her expertise to design high-performance and jet fighter pilot transition trainers and aircraft maintenance trainers. The pilot training manuals and technical engineering reports she authored were distributed throughout the armed forces.

Restorations

Mary Feik retired from the National Air and Space Museum’s (NASM) Paul E. Garber Restoration Facility as a Restoration Specialist. She restored antique and classic aircraft and has participated in the construction of reproduction World War I aircraft, helping restore the National Air and Space Museum’s 1910 Wiseman-Cook aircraft, a WWI Spad XIII fighter, and a 1930 Northrop “Alpha” mail plane.

Honors

A recipient of many aerospace honors, in 1994 Feik was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame. Additionally, she earned the FAA’s Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in recognition of her many outstanding contributions to aviation safety. Feik was the first woman to ever receive the award, named for the Wright brothers’ mechanic and engineer.

Mary Feik’s proudest professional honor was bestowed in 2003. “My ultimate honor "is" the Civil Air Patrol cadet achievement created in my name.” See also Awards and decorations of the Civil Air Patrol, the Mary Feik Achievement

Personal

Feik resides in Annapolis, Maryland. Every year, she gives a speech to a gathered assembly of basic cadets and staff at the Civil Air Patrol's Tri-Wing Encampment, held by Maryland Wing.

References

• Edmund Preston, Barry A. Lanman and John R. Breihan. Maryland Aloft: A Celebration of Aviators, Airfields, and Airspace
• 'Voice of the Week - Mary Feik', Timeless Voices of Aviation (April 3, 2005) Retrieved April 23, 2005

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