Alys McKey Bryant ( McKey; 1880–1954) was an American aviator. She was the first woman to fly on the Pacific Coast and in Canada, and one of the few female members of the Early Birds of Aviation—individuals who had solo piloted an aircraft prior to December 17, 1916. She set an altitude record for women, and trained pilots during World War I. Early life Bryant was born in rural Indiana on April 28, 1880. She was one of three siblings, raised alone by their father after their mother's early death. Bryant's father taught her mechanics, and as a child, she wrote an essay "describing an imaginary flight across the country... in an electric-powered craft." Bryant later said that she lived on a farm until she was seventeen, breaking in horses. She attended Valparaiso University. By 1911, she had become a home economics teacher in California. Career Early aviation career Bryant's interest in aviation grew when she witnessed the final stop of pilot Calbraith Perry Rogers's cross-country flight. She began flying in 1912, when she answered a magazine advertisement offering "the ultimate in excitement", posted by Fred Bennett of the Bennett Aero Company of The Palms, California. Bennett's pilot, John Bryant, approved her and signed her on to his exhibition flying team as an airplane pilot. At the time of being signed on, she had never flown before, which was not uncommon during the time. Most pilots had to teach themselves to fly. Bryant's first paid exhibition flight took place at the Blossom Festival in Yakima, Washington, on May 3, 1913. This achievement was followed by flights at the Portland Rose Festival in Oregon and the Seattle Potlatch. While in Seattle, Bryant also set an altitude record for women, reaching 2,900 feet. In a trip to Vancouver, she flew in an exhibition for Edward, Prince of Wales, and his brother George, Duke of York – both future Kings of England. Heading even further north, she became the first woman to fly in Canada on July 31, 1913. Her flight was part of an airshow at Minoru Park in Richmond, British Columbia. A local paper reported that she "delighted the crowd by the clever manner in which she handled the plane [in] dips, rolls, figure eights and other evolutions of a like nature." On May 29, 1913- the same day she performed in a Boise airshow- Alys married John Bryant. They were