Willa Brown Chappell admired pioneering aviatrix Bessie Coleman and wanted to follow in her footsteps. Chappell enrolled in flying lessons in 1934 at Chicago's Aeronautical University. Afterwards, she became a member of the Challenger Air Pilot's Association and the Chicago Girls Flight Club. In 1937, Chappell earned her pilot's license, making her the first African-American woman to be licensed to fly in the United States. (Bessie Coleman, the first African-American woman in the world to be licensed to fly an aircraft, received her pilot's license in France, not in the United States.) Chappell earned a few more firsts. She is the first woman in the United States to have both a mechanic's license and a commercial pilot's license. In 1939, she became the first woman to fly with the Illinois Air Patrol and the first African American to achieve an officer's rank with that organization. Chappell also lobbied to get African Americans into the United States Air Force. Achieving Coleman's unfulfilled dream, she created a pilot training school for African Americans. Some of her students later became part of the 99th Pursuit Squadron at Tuskegee Institute — also known as the legendary "Tuskegee Airmen." Chappell played a major role in the creation of this historic squadron, which led to the integration of the military in 1948. In addition to aviation, Chappell also "threw her hat in the ring." In 1946, she became the first African-American woman to run for Congress.