Blanche "Betty" Stuart Scott
"Women should wake up and take a serious, intelligent, articulate, practical interest in what makes the world tick." -Blanche Stuart Scott
Blanche Stuart Scott in single-engine Curtiss model D "Pusher" airplane in the Third International Aviation Meet in Los Angeles , September 2, 1910. Image from: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
In 1910, Blanche Stuart Scott was the first American woman to fly solo an airplane and drive a car coast to coast on the only 218 miles of paved road in the U.S. (took more than two months). She was also a stunt pilot and screenwriter. Later in life, she worked for USAF Museum cataloging materials for early flight history and gathered over $1.2 million pieces of vintage aircraft, photos, and memorabilia. Her legacy was making a real place for women in a male-dominated field.
"While American women were fighting for their right to vote, Blanche Stuart Scott asserted her right to fly."-Julie Cummings author of Tomboy of the Air, Daredevil Pilot Blanche Stuart Scott.
Blanche Stuart Scott drives from Pacific to Atlantic coast, July 24, 1910.-San Francisco Call Newspaper
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Aug. 6, 1910: Vassar College student Blanche Stuart Scott caps off a cross-country auto trip with a spin in a Farman biplane.Image from: San Diego News Paper from AP
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Jan 21, 1912 Blanche Stuart Scott "Offical International Aviation Meet post office" Post card. Los Angeles, CA, Aviation Station. Image from: Library of Congress Collection
"Her personality and fervor for flying pave the way for other women pilots to test their wings"-Julie Cummings author of Tomboy of the Air, Daredevil Pilot Blanche Stuart Scott.