Monday Morning Inspiration: Blanche Stuart Scott

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First Woman to Fly

Blanche Scott was the first woman to drive across the United States and the first woman to fly.

Born in 1889, Blanche Scott’s life spanned from the era of airplane invention, to seeing the first man walk on the moon. In an age when women couldn’t vote and their place was considered to be at home, she became the first woman to drive across the US. There were only 218 miles of roads outside the cities.

Photo courtesy Wikepedia: Blanche Stuart Scott seated at the controls of a Curtiss Model D, circa early 1910s.

Some aviation firsts:

  • She became the first woman to take a shot solo hop in the air, when an aircraft she was taxing lifted off the ground.
  • She was the first and only woman to receive flight instruction from Glenn Curtiss.
  • She made her first public flight  in October 1910.
  • She set the women’s long distance record for flight of 10 miles and later 25 miles in 1911
  • She became the first woman test pilot in America,  the first woman stunt pilot or The Tomboy of the Air
  • She played the lead role in The Aviator’s Bride, the first movie about flying
  • She was also the first woman passenger to ride in a passenger jet

March is Women History Month, and Women of Aviation Month.

See Also:

National Women’s Hall of Fame
Smithsonian – Women in Aviation and Space History
Early Aviators