- [Penny] Emily Warner is someone who's patient, tenacious, dedicated and truly loved to fly.

- [Kelly] It was a big deal for Emily to become the first woman airline pilot and airline captain because it broke those barriers for us as women.

- [Donna] When she went to the airlines, she was so well qualified, they couldn't say that she got it because she was a woman.

She got it because she was a great pilot.

[gentle music] - [Reynelda Muse] As strong and enduring as the Rocky Mountains they stood beside.

As visionary as the views of the Grand Plains they looked across.

The women inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame are trailblazers whose work has improved and enriched our lives.

They are teachers, scientists, ranchers, leaders in business, education, religion and the arts, women who have been recognized for their many contributions to our state, our country, and the world.

I'm Reynelda Muse and these are the stories of great Colorado women.

[gentle music] - Emily's greatest accomplishment was leading the way for women to be commercial airline pilots.

- Back then, it was not at all common to see a woman flying, much less pursuing a career in aviation.

- It wasn't easy then.

She took a lot of flack so gracefully and she had the skills to prove that she had every right to be in the cockpit.

She really had to persevere and push through all of the negative comments.

- I don't think too many people understand how truly difficult it was for a woman for a lot of reasons, not because a woman is any lesser of a pilot but because that was the assumption by the men in the cockpit, that a woman couldn't handle the airplane or wasn't strong enough.

- She would say, I don't have to lift it.

I just have to fly it.

- She just personified what every little girl could look up to.

- It's hard to imagine doing a job when you don't see someone like you doing it.

She didn't have role models.

She didn't have someone who looked like her to show her how it's done.

- I think that the right person was picked to be the first female airline pilot.

She had the right temperament, she had the right talent, and she was an excellent pilot.

- For the difficulties that she went through, I'm still amazed that she did it with such equanimity and grace.

- Emily was born in Denver, Colorado on October 30th, 1939.

Emily's father worked in a railroad capacity and her mother was a mezzo soprano with the Denver Opera Company.

They were not rich by any means, but they sacrificed so that their children could have a good education.

- She grew up poor in an Irish family.

She had a twin sister who was remarkable in her own right.

- Emily didn't have a very good experience in elementary school, the children were pretty cruel.

- She used to tell me stories about going to school in potato sacks that her mother had made into dresses for her and her sister - But when she got to the Holy Family High school the great equalizer is uniforms and she was thrilled to be able to wear a uniform because she felt more accepted and wasn't stigmatized by the level of the income of her family.

In High school, she applied for a job at the May Department store.

They saw how good she was with customers and people and she was well on her way to even be a buyer when she discovered aviation.

- She was working at the May Company when she took her first flight on the Old Frontier Airlines.

- When she got into the airplane, she looked into the cockpit and was just fascinated by what she saw.

- She got on the jump seat in between the pilot and the co-pilot and she looked out the window at the beautiful mountains, the sky.

[Emily] I wanted to be a stewardess.

and I was 18 at the time and I didn't even know if I liked flying.

One day I bought a ticket on Frontier Airlines and the pilots allowed me to go forward and I sat in the jump seat all the way back to Denver.

and it was just like everything changed for me when I got into the cockpit.

- She asked if girls could fly?

The flight crew was very encouraging to her.

- The first officer said, "You could learn to fly."

That really planted the seed for her - And that was it.

She knew she wanted to be a pilot and he told her all about Clinton Aviation at Stapleton Airport.

She came in and she said "A Frontier pilot told me that I could take flying lessons."

- The gentleman that was in charge really liked Emily, which is unheard of to like a woman pilot - He proceeded to explain to her, the time it usually took.

You have to rent the airplane, you have to pay for the fuel and those were expensive, and she budgeted to figure out how could she afford a flight lesson every week.

She sacrificed to be able to be a pilot.

She left May and Company before she got her pilot's license and then worked at Clinton Aviation.

- She started working at the front desk and from there she really wanted to learn to fly.

- [Penny Hamilton] Emily's flight lessons took place in a smaller general aviation airplane called a Cessna 150.

- [Bev Sinclair] They were so impressed with her skills that when she got her licenses, it was just a natural progression for her to start flying as an instructor for them.

- [Donna Miller] She got her license there and then became one of their flight instructors and then became the chief pilot at Clinton Aviation.

- She had an early marriage to Stanley Howell.

He came into Clinton Aviation to learn how to fly.

She did an introductory flight with him Then she assigned him to a different instructor.

They eventually dated.

They were very compatible.

They had a lot of things in common.

They got married.

Two years into the marriage Emily got pregnant and had Stanley Jr.

The marriage didn't work out and Emily had to support Stanley.

She wanted to have an opportunity for him to go to college.

- For Emily as a single mom, she always had to have somebody in the house at all times, either her mother or family members that could take care of Stanley while she was out.

- [Penny] Emily was the breadwinner in her family and that's why she wanted the important stability to have a job in the airlines instead of a more transient position as a flight instructor.

- She taught many of the men who went on to become commercial pilots.

She trained them and then watched them go to the airlines, knowing that that was not an option for her.

- In the seventies, it was a big deal when women broke out of the mold of being housewives and secretaries at that point men were the only ones being hired by airlines.

- After a while she thought, boy I have almost 7,000 hours and they have 200 hours and I'm teaching them how to fly on instruments.

So she started wondering, why can't I be in the airlines?

Emily had since 1967 written to United, Continental and Frontier saying, I would like an interview.

These are my qualifications.

They said that we're not hiring women.

Emily used to sit in front of the secretary's desk at Frontier to hope she might see the chief pilot and ask for an interview in person.

- At the time, she knew that somebody was going to hire a female pilot.

The chief pilot at Frontier was the one that she really needed to convince and she was very persistent and never gave up.

- And went in and politely asked, how can you justify hiring male pilots with way less experience than a certified instructor with an ATP rating and over 7,000 hours?

- The men probably had in the vicinity of a 1000 to 2000 hours.

- He thought about it a little while and said, "Well why don't we see if you can really fly?"

- The first simulator ride that she did to get her job was tougher than they had given any other man.

- When she interviewed, she had to do a simulator check that the men didn't have to do.

She had to prove that she had the ability to fly the aircraft - And they put through her different scenarios, engine out on takeoff, weather, wind shear.

She did so well.

You know, they had sweat rings 'cause they were exhausted and they said, "Well, you know we've been doing this a while why don't we go ahead and give you a break?"

And she says, "No, I'm ready.

Anything you wanna throw at me, I'm ready."

And they saw, basically that she could handle it and she could fly.

[Emily] And it tool me about six year of trying and I finally got hired by Frontier Airlines.

- [Bev] The chief pilot at Frontier was willing to take the chance and called her in and asked her if she wanted to fly for Frontier Airlines.

- [Penny] This would make Frontier Airlines a big star in aviation history.

- The entire community was moving towards equality.

I think that, at some point they probably liked the idea of being first.

- Mr. O'Neill said to her, we're going to hire you but we wonder what you think you might wear?

[laughing] And Emily laughed and said, "I think that's the least of your problems."

- They had no such thing as a woman's uniform for pilots.

- They handed her a male uniform that didn't quite fit right so Emily was able to send that back to her mother and have it tailored so that there was some feminine aspect to it and it fit correctly.

- [Penny] Well, of course, the first flight for Frontier, the media was everywhere, the hype was there.

The air controllers were saying on the radio, "Emily, good luck."

I mean it was a celebratory atmosphere.

- I was working and meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada and the meeting was over and I got on a Frontier flight into Denver and all of a sudden over the loudspeaker comes this announcement from the pilot saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very historic day.

Today, we have with us, for the first time, a female co-pilot in the airplane, Emily Howell."

The gentleman next to me, he says, "I'm a pilot and a woman has no place in the cockpit."

At that time, our flight attendant was standing near me.

I gave her my card and said, "Would you give this to Emily?"

20 seconds later, Emily comes out of the cockpit and says, "Tom, would you give me a drive home?

I don't have my car at the airport when we get to Denver?"

The gentleman next to me [laughing] suddenly we didn't have much to say the whole rest of the trip back to Denver.

- The second flight, the cameras were gone.

One of the captains was not happy flying with her and he impolitely said, "Sit there and don't touch anything."

- She just folded her hands in her lap and said, "Okay" and then after the flight she approached him and she said, "It was very nice flying with you captain."

At the time you had a lot of the World War II pilots still flying.

They didn't want women in their good old boys club.

- They saw the invasion of anyone who wasn't male.

They took it very harshly and did not want open the flight deck to women.

- Most of the men didn't think she could do it and of course it was a man's world.

She got a lot of comments like, "Another empty kitchen."

- [Penny] When they found out that she could fly and she loved to fly and she was helpful.

Then the whole attitude changed within a year and it was kind of like, "Emily, you're one of the boys now."

- We didn't see one another lot through those periods of time and the phone did ring one day and she says, "You're gonna get a phone call from a man named Julius" and she said, "Don't tell him where I am, don't answer any questions.

He's looking for me to take me out and I really don't like him."

And about what, a year or two later, she and Julius were married.

- Julius was right there.

He was her cheerleader, her support system.

He was exceptional with her and there was just a deep loving relationship and one built out of respect.

Julius was extremely supportive of everything she did.

- She was hired in 1973 by Frontier and in 1976 she became the first captain at Frontier Airlines.

- When she became America's first female airline captain, Smithsonians called her up and said "This is a pretty historic uniform, would you donate it?"

Of course, she was elated.

- When I was about seven or eight years old, I discovered her uniform in the Smithsonian when my family took a trip to Washington and there was Aunt Emily's uniform in the Smithsonian it really drove home to me what she had done, what she'd accomplished.

30 years later I got to take my own children to the same museum.

They were able to have that same profound moment that there is this legacy to carry on and appreciate.

- [Penny] In 1984, Frontier made another first.

Emily as Captain partnered with Barbara Cook who was her co-pilot, and that was the first time in Frontier's history where we had women on the flight deck together.

- When it's an all female crew, we call it an unmanned flight.

For her to be the captain of the first unmanned flight it was definitely a milestone and it showed the world that women can do this job.

- Emily flew with Frontier until 1986 then she was able to fly with Continental, then she had the opportunity to fly for UPS.

That was a difficult time because of course UPS flies at night.

Even over Christmas Eve she had to fly a UPS flight to Alaska with packages, and of course she was missing all of this time back in Denver.

- Doing what she did with a family is remarkable.

It's hard enough to be gone from home half the month.

- There were things that Stanley was involved in that in retrospect she wished she could have attended, but she didn't.

One of her friends was working with the Federal Aviation Administration as an inspector and he said, "Emily, you know we have a nice office in Denver and FAA is starting to hire."

- She went to work for the FAA in the Flight Standards District Office and I know that she liked the change of pace.

It was being able to be home every night and I think she really enjoyed the fact that she was still able to get in the cockpit.

- She also did a lot of public speaking for the FAA.

Having been such a trailblazer, that was important to the FAA that they put a face on aviation and what better face than this beautiful woman and excellent pilot for 42 years.

That was her job for many years until 2002 when she retired from the FAA.

For a long time, I did not understand the impact she had on women in aviation until I went to the International 99s Convention with her.

- The 99s is an international organization of women pilots.

It was formed in 1929 and Amelia Earhart was the first president and we have almost 7,000 members now.

- [Bev] The first group of women pilots that got together numbered 99, that's where they came up with the name.

- In the early nineties, she was speaking at a 99s meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado.

At the time, I didn't realize that I wanted to become an airline pilot.

- I was flying for fun and had no intention of flying for a living, and I think that meeting with her and hearing her story is what planted that seed.

I resigned my position as an interior designer and started flight instructing.

- She was everything I wanted to be.

When I first heard her speak, it inspired me and I really realized that I could do it.

No one ever asks men how they juggle a family and a career but they asked the women all the time, and she was instrumental in getting all of the airline ladies together to talk about issues that the guys didn't have to deal with.

- She certainly was a big supporter of the ISA + 21 which is the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

- [Penny] They're founding, there were 21 women in commercial aviation in America.

They started the core.

- It is a program that engages women airline pilots to give back to mentorship and to new generations of airline pilots.

- [Bev] She enjoyed it so much herself that she wanted everyone to have the opportunity.

- [Penny] It wasn't just that she spoke at pilot conventions, Emily was a sought after speaker at International Women's Day or the Girl Scout Conference.

- Emily was amazing as a mentor and she encouraged everyone to learn to fly.

- Well all of this worked to all of our advantages because it introduced young girls and women to aviation and aviation careers.

- [Donna] You could just see the light in their eyes.

If Emily believed in them then they could believe in themselves.

- I've got a little girl that's grown up now and she's wearing a blue uniform.

- One of my mother's best friends was Emily Warner.

Growing up, I knew Emily as Aunt Emily.

She actually gave me my very first flight lesson in a Cessna 152.

My first entry to my first log book is from Emily and that flight, she told me that it is my responsibility to give back to the community to help mentor these kids into an aviation program and to watch their whole world expand, beyond their imagination.

- Over her 42 year career Emily received a number of recognitions.

She accumulated 21,000 hours of safe flying and for that she received the FAA's Wright Brothers Award which is obviously very coveted.

- In 2014, she was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

She asked if I would introduce her.

That for me was a huge honor.

It was in a way a crowning jewel I think for her because it encompassed not just women.

It was a recognition of her achievements in all of aviation.

During her speech, she credited not only the women in her life but the men because without their support and encouragement she would never have achieved what she did.

- She is in the National Women's Hall of Fame.

- She was inducted into the same class as Rosalyn Carter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg - But in Colorado, very dear to her was the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.

Early on in the sixties, Emily bought a very rustic cabin between Granby and Grand Lake as a little retreat and she took Stanley there a number of times because Emily loved the mountains.

She loved watching the sunsets and the sunrises.

Later on when she married Julius Warner, who was a real estate developer they saw an opportunity to develop a property that used to be the Y M C A camp.

Emily loved Grand County and she made her home here.

Our neighborhoods were literally next door to each other and I was involved in aviation, so we spent a lot of time together.

She saw the opportunity for Granby to get commercial airline service so she talked to the founder of Rocky Mountain Airways which was an airline that served many of the mountain communities.

Rocky Mountain Airways started service here in 1973.

Granby then could have people pick up the flight and go to Denver and they could connect to the world.

In 2015, her home airport in Grand County was named Emily Warner Field.

In fact, her museum and our aviation building is in their former airline terminal building.

- It's extremely rare for an airport to be named after a woman.

I think Emily was thrilled that the Granby Airport was named after her, and I know Bill and Penny Hamilton worked tirelessly to make that happen.

- [Penny] These are things that make Granby special to the legacy that Emily Howell Warner gave to all of us - Was so fun to see the joy on Emily's face, [cheering and applauding] To be surrounded by her community and her friends, her pilot sisters who all came to share in her joy.

- [Bev] It was wonderful that that could happen while Emily was still alive.

- This week we highlight another life well lived.

Emily Howell Warner, an American pioneer in the sky died this month in Littleton, Colorado.

She was 80 years old.

- I want everybody to know what a absolutely remarkable person she was all the way around.

She had adversity growing up that she worked through to achieve her dreams.

She didn't quit.

She didn't give up.

- She was one of the most gracious, humble well loved people that I've ever known.

- Emily didn't just open the doors for women.

She held it open for all of us.

She allowed us all to share in the joy and the flying and the camaraderie and all of that, that she learned to love - [Penny] She lived to fly.