Katherine Sui Fun Cheung

Katherine Sui Fun Cheung was the first Chinese woman in history to receive an international pilot’s license in 1932. Born on December 12, 1904 in Enping, Guangdong province, Cheung graduated from Guangzhou City Peidao Women’s High School in 1921. At the age of 17, Cheung moved to the United States with her father to pursue her interest in music by studying at many institutions including the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the University of Southern California (USC). Cheung gained interest in flying planes when her father would take her to the airport to practice driving. 

In 1931, Cheung began to take aviation classes and attended the Chinese Aeronautical Association in Los Angeles, where she took flying lessons with instructor Bert Ekstein. Eventually, Cheung obtained her private pilot’s license on March 30, 1932 while still continuing to study the subject of flying. She kept studying with different military pilots to learn aerobatics, international routing, navigation, and many other skills. Cheung began performing in airshows in various locations of California. In 1936 Cheung became a U.S. citizen.

In 1937, Cheung returned to China again to open a flying school. When Cheung raised enough money to purchase a plane to begin, her cousin was killed in it while on a test flight. This incident caused Cheung’s father to convince her to give up flying. Cheung was devastated by the death of her cousin and by the fact she was forced to give up her passion. Nevertheless, her efforts in the history of women’s aviation will forever be remembered.