About Filmmaker Susan Roe Musacchio

Susan Roe Musacchio is a third-generation aviator, award-winning filmmaker, aviation publisher, and founder of Aviatrix Company. For more than 20 years, she has translated aviation history, STEM education, and emerging aerospace technology into compelling stories for professional and public audiences.

Raised in a family rooted in Detroit’s automotive and aviation heritage, Susan grew up surrounded by stories of innovation, resilience, and the determination to move the world forward. That spirit now guides her filmmaking, connecting historic flight with modern audiences and highlighting women’s grit and enduring impact on aviation’s past, present, and future.

Susan produced the award-winning documentary *Pulitzer Electric Air Race*, which premiered at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Her work also includes a film and publication about women astronauts for The Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots, along with films exploring historic aircraft, electric aviation, pioneering women, and the future of flight. She is also the founder of the Bessie Coleman Aviation Film Festival.

Through *Derby Skies*, Susan combines historical research, interviews, aerial filming, and visits to the airfields along the original 1929 Women’s Air Derby route. Her mission is to document the extraordinary grit of the twenty pioneering pilots, preserve the places that shaped their journey, and bring their remarkable legacy to new generations.