Space History Photo: Neta Snook Southern

The woman who trained Amelia Earhart examines a flight simulator. CREDIT: NASA. View full size image

In this historical photo from the U.S. space agency, Neta Snook Southern, age 84, emerges from the Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft at Ames Research Center in October 1980.

Southern, one of the first women pilots, was Amelia Earharts flight instructor around the year 1920. In marked contrast with what she saw at Ames, Southern said her old plane was made of wood and cloth, had no gas gauge, and the instrument panel consisted of an altimeter and a dollar watch hanging from a hook.

Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).