Nikki Mitchell

Rhonda Miles

The 1938 World Record setting Ladies of the Rodina

On July 4, 1998, after two years of planning, Nikki Mitchell and Rhonda Miles climbed aboard their Maule M-5, a single engine tailwheel airplane, and flew from outside of Nashville, Tennessee to Moscow, Russia. They were joined there by two Russian female pilots, a support team and two Antonov 2’s, the largest single engine tailwheel airplane ever built. From there, they commemorated the 1938 record-breaking “Flight of the Rodina” by retracing it through Russia, Siberia and the Far East. They flew in formation, while bridging American and Russian female aviators.

Commemorative Flight

BOW Video