2009 Michigan Wing Conference
Local Cadets meet Aviation Pioneer Mary Feik
Three local cadets from Selfridge Cadet Squadron received awards at the Civil Air Patrol Michigan Wing Conference, held in Bay City on March 28 and 29. Cadets Zechariah V. of Romeo, David V. and Anthony C. of St. Clair Shores all received personal Mary Feik Awards from Col. Mary Feik herself. The Feik award, one of fifteen different awards, was named in honor of Feik as she is regarded as an “Eagle” aviation pioneer in the CAP National Congress on Aviation and Space and Education. Feik, now 85, taught aircraft maintenance to crew chiefs and mechanics for the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. During WWII, Feik became a 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 in Dayton, Ohio.
She flew more than 6,000 hours as pilot in fighter, attack bomber, cargo and training aircraft. She qualified as a B-29 Flight Engineer and was an engineering analyst in test aircraft for flight and maintenance requirements. (She currently still owns and flies her own plane.)
She authored pilot training and maintenance manuals for many of the military aircraft. She further wrote aviation-related reports in engineering and the physical sciences for distribution throughout the Armed Forces. In 1994, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame, and also awarded the Order of Merit for outstanding leadership and support of aerospace education worldwide. Among numerous other awards, she also received the Crown Circle Award in 2001, the highest Aerospace Education Award. In 2004, she was promoted to the rank of Colonel in Civil Air Patrol
and was designated a Life Member in 2008 in Civil Air Patrol and promoted to the rank of Colonel.
A petite, gracious woman, still full of energy and purpose at the age of 85, Mary Feik encouraged all the cadets present at this conference to “Aim High and follow their dreams.” She was and still is an amazing lady.