New Auburn Airport Mural Honors Women Aviation Pioneers

The latest mural to be painted at Auburn Municipal Airport (S50) south of Seattle features two local women with tens of thousands of hours in the cockpit between them, including military flying, airlines, and competitive aerobatics. 

The new mural, which features Joann Osterud and Kimberly Scott Ford, at the nontowered airport is the work of local artist Myron Curry, whose designs appear in several locations around Seattle, including several others at Auburn. Curry’s murals are located on the airside of the T-hangars—and they are simply larger than life.

Women on the Wall

Osterud was an airline pilot and a world-record holder in aerobatics.

Osterud, who died in 2017 at age 71, grew up in Seattle then headed to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she majored in science and graduated in 1968. That same year she started taking flying lessons in Hillsboro, Oregon. She earned her pilot certificate a short time later while a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

When she returned to Seattle, Osterud became a flight instructor then served as a transport pilot in Alaska. Her first airshow appearance was in 1974 flying a clipped wing Piper Cub. In 1975 she became the first woman to be hired by Alaska Airlines, starting her career piloting a DHC Twin Otter out of Juneau. Three years later she was hired by United Airlines.

Despite a busy flying schedule, she still found the time to perform aerobatics at airshows, flying a Stephens Akro. In 1989 she set a world flight record with 208 outside loops in a Sorrell Biplane Supernova that had been modified for the stunt, including straps to hold her feet to the pedals. She also set the distance record for flying upside down (658 miles) and specialized in a stunt where she flew her aircraft low to the ground over the runway and cut a ribbon suspended between two poles that were often illuminated with fireworks. 

Ford is the only person appearing on one of the Auburn airport murals who is not being honored posthumously.

A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Ford was the first African American woman to fly the C-17 Globemaster. In 2001 she was hired by Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, the first Black woman pilot for the legacy carrier. She continued to fly with the U.S. Air Force Reserve until retiring in 2016 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. 

Ford is still flying with Alaska and has in excess of 11,000 hours in a variety of aircraft both civilian and military, including the KC-135R Stratotanker and Boeing 737. She works with several aviation youth groups, such as the Red Tail Hawks, and is also a member of the board of trustees with the Museum of Flight.

A museum contact told Ford about the mural project and asked if she would be interested in being included. She said she was because she saw it as inspirational—and that’s where a person’s aviation journey begins. As testament to this, the mural features an image of a little girl with a ponytail looking toward the women aviators, perhaps seeing herself in the future. 

The Artist

Curry said he received a lot of input from the aviation community about this particular mural.

“I developed the design based on the input from the community and stakeholders,” Curry said. “I chose who to represent based on the influence and opinions of the team at the Auburn Municipal Airport as well as their significant contributions to the local area and aviation history. The most challenging aspect was the scale and working around the existing structure elements…My favorite part was seeing the likeness of Kim come to life.”

This mural, according to Curry, took a little longer than his others in part because he was working around the winter rainy season and because the subject matter is so important.

“I have done several large projects, but this one is definitely one of my favorites here at the airport because it showcases the diversity of aviation with women and a person of color,” he said. “That is why I have taken so much time to really highlight that and to showcase my growing skill set. It is still currently in progress. I would love to see more public art that reflects the diverse history of the region.”

How the Mural Project Began

The first design Curry created honors astronaut Dick Scobee, the commander of the Challenger space shuttle. Scobee grew up in the Seattle area and the field is officially named Auburn Municipal Airport-Dick Scobee Field in his honor.

After that mural went up in 2022, airport officials said they heard from pilots who had ideas for more artwork. The rule is that the honorees must be tied to the airport and be locally famous individuals. Private sponsors pay for the projects.

Curry said he was impressed by the sense of community at the airport and the friendliness of the pilots.

Fly Baby

Another Curry mural pays homage to Fly Baby, the experimental aircraft designed by Seattle resident and aviation historian Peter Bowers in 1960.

The airplane won the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) design contest in 1962. The contest required the aircraft to be a low-cost, folding-wing design that could be towed or trailered and easy to build and fly.

Fly Baby took Bowers 720 hours to build. The plans for the design originally sold for $65.

Flight Students Honored

Auburn has a robust flight training community, and one of the flying clubs, Valley Fliers, has been honored with a depiction of “First Solo.”

Valley Fliers was established in 1986 and has produced hundreds of aviators.

Fictional Aviator, Real Inspiration

Fictional pilot Nick “Goose” Bradshaw from the movie Top Gun, the 1986 blockbuster that increased enlistment in the U.S. Navy by 300 percent, is also depicted on a hangar wall.

Local Hero

One of the Auburn murals is dedicated to the U.S. Armed Forces and includes the likeness of former Air Force colonel Joe Jackson, a locally based career officer who was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson for his efforts in saving three airmen in an evacuation during the Vietnam War.

Jackson also served in the Pentagon and helped develop America’s stealth aviation technology.