Sabiha Gökçen was the first female fighter pilot from Turkey and the world. Known as “the girl in the sky”, during her 28 years in the Turkish Air Force she flew 8,000 hours, flew 22 different types of aircraft and took part in 32 military operations. She received the Gold Medal of the International Aviation Federation in 1991. In her commemoration, an airport in Istanbul was named after her. She was born in extreme poverty and lived in an orphanage. When she was 12 years old, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, visited her province, and Sabiha told him about her desire to study. Mustafa adopted her and took her to live in the presidential residence in Ankara. She attended Cankaya Elementary School and Üsküdar School for Girls. In 1935, her adoptive father took her to the opening ceremony of the Türkkuşu Flight School of the Turkish Aeronautical Association. She loved it. Atatürk told the headmaster of the school to register her as the first female apprentice. When she was 23 years old, she was sent to Russia along with seven other male students for advanced non-engined flight training. Upon her return, despite the fact that Turkish military schools did not accept women, she entered the Eskişehir Military Air School on her father's orders. After receiving her flight licenses she decided to become a war pilot. She trained for six months in the First Air Regiment in Eskişehir. In 1937 she took part in military operations during the Dersim Rebellion and became the first female combat pilot in the Turkish Air Force. The following year she was appointed head coach of the Türkkuşu Flying School. She was a flight instructor for 16 years, trained four new aviators. She became a member of the executive board of the Aeronautical Association. In 1996, she was selected as the only female pilot for the "20 Greatest Aviators in History" poster published by the United States Air Force.