James earned her pilot’s license at the age of 18, and became the first woman pilot in Kansas to earn Airline Transport Pilot rating. She won national aerobatic championships in 1957, 1960, and 1965. She ferried airplanes throughout the U.S. and also delivered a Beech Baron to Australia. She was employed as a demonstration pilot for the Cessna 150 Aerobat and Cardinal RG, promoting the Cessna Pilot Center Program. For Beech, she demonstrated the Bonanza model to potential buyers, and became the first woman on the  test pilot team for Beech Baron and King Air models. James was one of three pilots selected to do a nationwide tour to introduce the new Beechcraft Musketeer. She later qualified as an air traffic controller at Beech Field. In 1986, James was hired by the F.A.A. as a safety inspector, then a Principal Operations Inspector at the Wichita Flight Standards District Office.