The pilots quiet themselves in anticipation, and Debra Winegarten flashes her audience an easy smile. "Flying is not like anything else in the world," she begins, after a traditional speaker’s "Thank you, for being here tonight." Winegarten’s connection with this tight community of aviation enthusiasts is warm, instantaneous, and obvious. She invites her audience of flyers into her stories. The one she tells now is about Katherine Stinson, a petite barnstorming pioneer aviatrix from the early twentieth century. It is also Winegarten’s story about how she came to write Stinson’s inspiring biography, Katherine Stinson : The Flying Schoolgirl

Winegarten came to know Stinson’s history through her mother, Ruthe Winegarten. "My mother was a research historian for the Texas Women’s History Project." Ruthe, along with a notable list of other accomplished women involved in the project, learned about Katherine and her sister Marjorie Stinson while compiling the historic exhibit. "She told me this would make a great children’s book," recalls the younger Winegarten.

"I had a summer off between my undergraduate degree and going to graduate school. I knew that grad school would require research and writing, so I spent part of the summer researching, reading about Katherine, and wrote five chapters."

Winegarten learned Katherine was the fourth woman in the United States to receive her pilot’s license in July 1912. Besides that, Stinson was the first pilot in the U. S. to carry pioneer airmail, the first woman to fly alone at night, the first woman in the world to perform the loop-the-loop, and the first pilot to perform skywriting in 1915. Stinson Field, the original airport in San Antonio and second longest continually operated airport in the United States, was founded by and named for Katherine and her business partner siblings, Marjorie, Eddie, and Jack.

The excitement of Katherine’s story lies only partly in her long list of aviation accomplishments. Equally compelling are the stories Winegarten has woven together about how Stinson came to flying and succeeded.

Stinson was a young musician wanting to study in Europe. The large expense of travel and a European education forced her to contemplate a quick way to earn a large sum of money. A newspaper ad promising incredible earnings through barnstorming – flying early planes into rural areas and giving exhibitions of stunt flying or short joy rides – was her answer.

Eventually, she surmounted the difficulties in simply getting someone to teach a woman to fly in 1912, and in raising money to buy a used plane. One of Winegarten’s favorite Stinson anecdotes is an account of Katherine’s endeavors to clean up her first plane, and how the male pilots laughed at her. Stinson persisted with her efforts, found numerous wires and joints needing repair, and sent the men scurrying to check their own machines. Stinson then made it a practice to check her plane thoroughly before each flight; and is, thereby, credited with instituting pre-flight checks.

"One thing about writing history," says Winegarten, "we are looking back from where we are now. I don’t think Katherine, in her own mind’s eye, was a feminist. I don’t think she set out to be a pilot to open up the field, but because she wanted to fly."

Winegarten didn’t really set out to write this book. She gave the first five chapters to her mother before moving to Ohio to pursue her Master’s degree in Sociology. Actually, "I didn’t plan on being a sociologist. I was studying physical therapy at Texas Women’s University (TWU). That was the closest legitimate profession that includes massage that I could get my father to go for." She thought she would "get a few electives out of the way" and signed up for sociology. "The instructor started talking about issues that I was passionate about. I ended up getting a Bachelor of Science in Sociology."

Much later, after graduate school at Ohio State and later teaching at the community college level in Cincinnati, Winegarten moved back to Texas to be closer to her family and to enjoy Austin’s freer lifestyle. When she began looking for research and writing projects, her historian mother pulled the first five Stinson chapters from carefully maintained files. Ruthe Winegarten suggested that her daughter send the chapters to a publisher. Having published several books herself, the senior Winegarten had good experience with Eakin Press in Austin, so she pointed Debra in that direction with success. They liked it.

"I wrote the book with the audience in mind -- fifth through eighth grade girls -- to give them a role model of non-traditional women. I tried to keep the language clear. I didn’t want the words to interfere with the story," says Winegarten. "I also kept it non-technical. I relied on my dad, whose education is in aeronautical engineering, to answer questions."

Despite the emphasis on telling a role model story for young women, Winegarten quickly found, as she traveled around the country promoting her book, that pilot groups are her core audience. "My first real presentation (of this book) was to the Austin 99’s." The Ninety-Nines, Inc. is an international women’s pilot organization of 6,500 members. The name comes from the original 99 founding members, including Marjorie Stinson and Amelia Earhart. It hasn’t hurt that Texas Governor Rick Perry proclaimed April as Women in Aviation Month in Texas.

"It occurred to me," she continues," that I’m barnstorming like Katherine Stinson. The difference is Katherine flew her own plane, thrilling audiences with her flying. I’m thrilling them with her story." Currently, Winegarten flies commercially when she travels. She is scheduled, however, to take her first ride in a small, private plane during the next two weeks. "I plan to begin flying lessons soon," she adds.

Taking to the skies in between researching and writing projects won’t leave Winegarten much spare time. When she does have some, she enjoys playing her flute, swimming at Deep Eddy pool, hosting potluck dinners for friends, reading, stock market research, and "cats who own me." "I try to spend a portion of every day out of doors. And my family – family of origin as a sociologist would say – is important to me, as is a long term relationship with my heart partner, Cindy."

"I’ve already started researching Marjorie’s papers," says Winegarten. "They’re located in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. And I’m keeping notes on Eddie’s story." These projects will have to take a back seat, though, to two other projects. Winegarten has a contract with the UT Press to produce her maternal family history; and she has a grant from the City of Austin to write Mike Eakin’s (son of the late publisher, Ed Eakin) story. Winegarten explains, "Mike was a social activist, and at one time in the 1970’s was an editor of The Daily Texan at UT. He was murdered in Houston, and the murder remains unsolved."

"I love the research," says Winegarten. "Sociology is broad enough that you can study nearly anything, and can take on a global or individual perspective. It allows a freedom of thought. . . . My graduate degree is in qualitative research vs. quantitative. That’s the stories, recognizing the patterns, and weaving them together. That’s fun."

Winegarten recognized the patterns in Stinson’s freedom of thought that pilots value and her mother first saw in the Texas Women’s History Project. "Katherine was willing to be unreasonable to get what she wanted. Katherine was cautious, yes. She didn’t take unnecessary risks. She wasn’t afraid," says Winegarten. "If there’s something you want, figure out how to do it. Then, go do it."