Begins flight training at the Moisant School of Aviation

On June 13, 1911, Harriet Quimby, then a successful and well-known journalist for Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, began her formal flight training at the Moisant School of Aviation in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. The school was operated by the family of aviator John Moisant, whose sister Matilde Moisant would also train there and become the second American woman licensed to fly.

Quimby's decision to learn to fly was extraordinary for the era. Aviation itself was barely a decade old—the Wright Brothers' first flight had occurred only in 1903—and it was widely viewed as a dangerous pursuit unsuitable for women. Quimby trained secretly at first, reportedly wearing a disguise to avoid press attention, flying a Blériot monoplane, the same type of aircraft used by Louis Blériot in his historic 1909 crossing of the English Channel.

Her training was rigorous and physically demanding, requiring her to master an aircraft with an unenclosed cockpit, minimal instrumentation, and unpredictable engine performance. Quimby's journalistic career had given her a public platform and financial independence, both of which enabled her to pursue this unconventional path. This training period set the stage for her licensing just weeks later and her subsequent historic achievements, including becoming the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel less than a year afterward.