Connie Bowlin
After completing studies at Winston-Salem Business College in 1970, Connie Bowlin began her aviation career as a Delta Airlines flight attendant. During her time with Delta, she obtained her private, commercial and airline transport pilot certificates and multiengine and instrument ratings. She became the fourth female pilot hired by Delta and one of the first 50 women pilots hired by a major commercial airline.
Bowlin flew as a second officer on the Boeing 727 and as a copilot on the DC-9 and Boeing 767/757 before eventually moving to captain on the DC-9. In 2003, she retired as a Boeing 767/757 captain. She not only flew commercial aircraft but warbirds as well. She has enjoyed flying the P-51 Mustang and EAA’s B-17. She has more than 17,000 hours of flying time in more than 70 different aircraft.
Her involvement with warbirds, aviation history, and aviation friendships inspired her to co-found AviationAutographs.com. She has also become one of the driving forces behind EAA’s popular Warbirds in Review program at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. In 1998, Bowlin was honored as an Eagle at the Gathering of Eagles and remains an inspiration to both female and male pilots.