2001 Pioneer Hall of Fame

Mary Barr

Mary Barr learned to fly in a piper club in 1946 in Lorain, Ohio. She worked nights in a factory to pay for flying lessons. Barr then moved to New York to attend aircraft mechanic’s school and worked on planes during World War II. Barr has had a varied career including serving as a FAA Pilot Examiner and Accident Prevention Counselor, and in a variety of positions within the U.S. Forest Service, including the first woman pilot and smokejumper. In 1964, Barr became one of the first four women to compete in the Reno Air Races. Barr holds several FAA certificates and ratings including: Commercial, Airline Transport Pilot, Flight Instructor, Instrument, and Glider. She is also a Ground Instructor and Airplane and Power plant Mechanic. At the age of 75, Barr continues to fly for pleasure. She currently resides in Janesville, CA.
 

Ann Baumgartner Carl

Ann Baumgartner Carl learned to fly in 1940 and entered Women Air force Service Pilots (WASPS) training during World War II. She was assigned to tow a target squadron at Camp Davis, NC, flying Curtiss A-25s. She was transferred to Wright Field in Dayton, OH, where she became the first and only female test pilot. It was there she became acquainted with Orville Wright, a frequent visitor at the field. On October 14, 1944, Carl became the first women to fly a jet aircraft, the Bell YP-59A. A partial list that Carl flew during her WASP service include: AT-7,AT-17,AT-10,C-45,C-47,A-24, A-25,B-25,B-26,B-17,B-29,P-38,P-40,P-47,P-51,YP-59A as well as foreign-made Avro Lancaster, DeHavilland Mosquito, Spitfire, Junkers Ju-88 and the Canadian C-64. After the WASP disbanded in December 1944, Carl returned to flight instruction and writing for the New York Times and other publications. She is the author of more than 2,000 newspaper columns and magazine articles on science and the environment. Carl is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She resides in both Kilmarnok, Virginia and Abaco, Bahamas.

Elizabeth (Betty) Pfister

Elizabeth (Betty) Pfister learned to fly in 1941 and ferried U.S. Army aircraft for nearly two years during World War II as a WASP. Since the war, Pfister has had a varied career including: service as a flight instructor, a pilot for several nonscheduled airlines, a stewardess for Pan Am. Airways, and an FAA Accident Prevention Specialist. Pfister served on President Nixon’s Women’s Advisory Committee on Aviation from 1969 to 1972. She was also a member of the U.S. Helicopter Team, competing in the World Championships in 1973 and 1978. Pfister has been instrumental in many Aspen, Colorado, aviation efforts including: convincing the FAA to provide a control tower, founding and organizing first hospital heliport; and founding and serving as the first chairman of the Aspen Chapter of the Ninety- Nines. A graduate of Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, Pfister presently lives in Aspen Colorado.

Elinor Smith

Elinor Smith was a record breaking pilot who did everything with a flourish. Smith soloed at the age of 15 and three months later set an altitude record of 11,889 feet in Waco 9. In 1927, she became the youngest licensed pilot at the age of 16. In 1930, at the age of 18, she became the youngest pilot, male or female, granted a transport license by the U.S. department of Commerce. Other records Smith set include: an endurance record of 13.5 hours in a Burner –Winke biplane in 1929, only to break that record later that year with 26.5 hours in a Bellanca CH monoplane and the women’s world speed record 190.8 in Curtiss military airplane. Also in 1929, smith and Bobbi Trout set a new women’s refueling record of 42.5 hours. In 1930, Smith was selected by licensed American pilots as the "Best Women Pilot In America," During the Depression, Smith was a stunt pilot for movies, air shows and fundraisers for the homeless and needy. Smith now lives in Santa Cruz, CA, where she is a consultant to local and national museums.