On this day in aviation history, 97 years ago (July 28, 1929), French aviator Maryse Bastié became the first woman to set an aviation-related world record. Bastié was born on February 27, 1898, as Marie-Louise Bombec. Her early life was not easy, losing her father at a young age and working in a factory to help keep her family afloat. Her first marriage ended in heartbreak, with a lost child. Bastié’s story would, however, ultimately become one of perseverance.
Maryse married again, this time to WWI veteran pilot Louis Bastié. It was through Louis that she gained an interest in aviation. In 1925, Maryse earned her pilot’s certificate and began flying aerobatics as a way to earn money. Soon enough, she would purchase a Caudron C.109. The C.109 was powered by a 40-horsepower Salmson 9AD 9-cylinder engine and could attain a maximum airspeed of 76.1 mph. It was in the C.109 that Maryse would attempt and break world records. On July 28, 1929, Bastié set the FAI world record for duration of flight with a 26 hours, 47 minutes, and 30 seconds long journey aloft.
Bastié would once again break this FAI record in 1930, after her aviator friend Léna Bernstein surpassed her original record set in 1929. On this record-breaking flight, Bastié flew for nearly 38 hours. She would go on to set additional records related to distance and time, including a solo flight across the South Atlantic. Bastié became the first Frenchwoman to be awarded the Harmon Trophy, a prestigious aviation commemoration. On July 6, 1952, Maryse Bastié was lost when her plane crashed after takeoff in Lyon. She was buried at the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. Although her departure from this world was premature, Bastié left behind a legacy worth keeping alive.
