Aug 14, 2008 - Claremont, Calif. - Harvey Mudd College Instructor in Aeronautics Emerita Iris Cummings Critchell was honored at the annual Gathering of Eagles program at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama this past June.

Critchell was one of 14 persons recognized for their service to aviation, joining the ranks of military and civilian pilots, astronauts and other leaders from around the world who have been honored since the program began in 1982.

Her name now appears alongside those of other “Eagles,” including well-known pilots Jimmy Doolittle, Chuck Yeager and Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, and astronauts John Glenn, Jr., Alan Shepard and Neil Armstrong. Also honored with Critchell was Eugene F. “Gene” Kranz, whose 37-year career at NASA is best remembered for his role as flight control commander during in the successful return to Earth of the Apollo 13 module after the explosion of an oxygen tank while en route to the moon.

Critchell’s remarkable career is summarized in the following biography provided by the Air Command and Staff College:

Iris Cummings Critchell’s lifetime achievements include swimming in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, reigning as the U.S. women’s 200-meter breaststroke champion from 1936 to 1939, serving in the Women’s Air Force Service Program (WASP) during World War II, winning the 1957 All Woman Transcontinental Air Race (fondly known as the Powder Puff Derby), being elected into the National Flight Instructors Hall of Fame in 2000, and being inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2007.

Critchell started flying in 1939 at Mines Field (now Los Angeles International Airport) and was a member of the first Civilian Pilot Training Program at the University of Southern California (USC), eventually becoming the first woman to graduate from the school’s advanced acrobatics course in 1940.

She was a member of the second class of women recruited by Jacqueline Cochran, founder of the WASP, for Army flight training in Houston. As a member of WASP Class 43-2, Critchell earned her wings in May 1943 and was assigned to the 6th Ferrying Group at Long Beach, Calif. While at Long Beach, Critchell served as a civilian ferry pilot with the Air Transport Command Ferrying Division until the WASPs were deactivated on Dec. 20, 1944. She flew 18 types of military aircraft as pilot in command, including the A-24, P-39, P-40, P-47, P-51, C-47, A-20, B-25, P-38 and P-61.

Following her WASP service, Critchell went on to develop the first aviation curriculum for USC’s College of Aeronautics, where she taught primary, instrument, commercial and instructor courses. In the late 1950s, Critchell helped develop a unique curriculum that showcased the airplane as an educational tool to broaden and enhance the education of young people beginning with junior high and high school.

In 1962, Critchell and her husband Howard worked with the Bates Foundation in establishing the Bates Aeronautics Program at Harvey Mudd College at The Claremont Colleges. Critchell served as director of the Bates Aeronautics Program and, for 28 years, as lecturer in aeronautics on the college faculty. After retirement to emerita status, she continued some teaching and counseling until 1996.

In addition to winning the Powder Puff Derby, she served on the race board nine years and on the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Committee for six years. She has been a FAA designated pilot examiner for more than 20 years and was recently honored with the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for ”...50 years of dedicated service, technical expertise, professionalism and many other outstanding contributions that further the cause of aviation safety.” Critchell has been active in the Ninety-Nines, an international organization for women pilots, since 1952.