Betty Skelton

Betty Skelton was an American aerobatics pilot, test driver and advertising executive who set 17 aviation and automobile records. Born in Pensacola, Florida on 28 June 1926, she soloed at 12 and earned her private licence at 16. She began her professional aerobatic career in 1946, flying a 1929 Great Lakes biplane, and was United States Female Aerobatic Champion in 1948, 1949 and 1950 in a Pitts Special named Little Stinker, which is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum. She set a light plane altitude record of 25,763 feet in 1949, raised it in 1951 and later set a stock car speed record for women at Daytona. Known as the First Lady of Firsts, she died on 31 August 2011 and helped open doors for women in aviation, racing and astronautics.