At the time there were so few women with helicopter ratings that the group started with only 13 charter members representing the United States, Germany, and France.

[2] The Whirly-Girls provided a community for female helicopter pilots to share interests, remove feelings of isolation, and to come together in annual "Hoverings" beginning in April 1955.

[1] An early member ("Whirly-Girl #1") was Hanna Reitsch, who flew her helicopter inside Berlin's Deutschlandhalle in 1938.

Four helicopters performed a square dance, with a caller on the microphone and a band playing "Turkey in the Straw".

The "girl" helicopters were topped with blonde wigs fashioned from dyed floor mops, and faces were painted on them in the style of Betty Boop.