Viola Gentry
Viola Gentry | |
|---|---|
| Born | Viola Estelle Gentry 1894 |
| Died | June 23, 1988 (aged 93–94) |
| Known for | First woman to set the first non-refueling endurance record for women |
Viola Estelle Gentry (1894 – June 23, 1988)[1] was an American aviator, best known for setting the first non-refueling endurance record for women.
Early life
Gentry was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina. She learned to fly an airplane in 1924, becoming the first woman from North Carolina to fly an aircraft.[2]
Aviation record attempts
December 1928
On December 20, 1928, Gentry flew 8 hours, 6 minutes and 37 seconds, which set the first non-refueling endurance record for women.[3][4] She flew a Travel Air 9000.[5] This record was broken in 1929[6] when Bobbi Trout flew from California for 12 hours straight. Following Elinor Smith's thirteen-and-a-half hour continuous flight, creating a new record for female flight,[7] the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) rules were regulated stating that endurance records had to be broken by a full hour.[8]
June 1929
In the attempt to reclaim the endurance record, Gentry tried another endurance flight. On June 27, 1929,[9] she took off with her co-pilot Jack Ashcraft, and they managed to remain in flight over Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York for over nine hours using aerial refueling.[10] However, her aircraft—a Paramount Cabinaire named "The Answer"—crashed in a field in Old Westbury. Ashcraft was killed, but Gentry survived the crash with a fractured skull and crushed shoulders. She was rushed to a hospital in nearby Mineola, where she spent more than six months recovering.[11]
Upon discharge from hospital in Mineola, Gentry took up residence with friends in nearby Freeport. She was unsuccessful in obtaining further work as an endurance pilot although she did return to flying, albeit as a passenger.[11]
December 1933
In 1931, Gentry returned to her previous job as a cashier at a North Carolina restaurant.[12][13] She continued in her attempts to set flying endurance records. On December 10, 1933, Gentry took off from Miami, Florida, in a new attempt to beat the record, supported by co-pilot Frances Marsalis and a refueling ship manned by Jack Loesing and Fred Fetterman. Gentry intended to remain aloft for ten days and thereby beat the then-current record of eight days, four hours and six minutes, set by Marsalis and Thaden at Valley Stream.[14][15]
Later life and death
Gentry continued throughout her life to advocate aviation, promoting it among young women and men.[2] In 1934, Gentry and her husband filed for bankruptcy listing their assets as zero.[16] In 1954, Viola Gentry received the Lady Hay Drummond-Hay Air Trophy in recognition of her efforts on behalf of women in aviation.[17] A long-time friend of the aviator Amelia Earhart, Gentry died on June 23, 1988, at the age of 94.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Viola E. Gentry: The Flying Cashier (1894—1988)". Yes! Weekly. March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
- ^ a b North Carolina Centennial of Flight – Pioneers Archived 2012-12-28 at the Wayback Machine. North Carolina State Archives. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
- ^ "Woman Flier Stays Aloft Eight Hours; Miss Viola Gentry Says She Will Claim World's Record for Duration Flight". The New York Times. December 21, 1928. Page 22. Archived copy retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Flights, Fliers". Time. Vol. 12, no. 27. Chicago. December 31, 1928. p. 19.
- ^ Pelletier, Alain J. (1995). Beech Aircraft and their Predecessors. London: Putnam Aeronautical. p. 28.
- ^ Smith, Elinor (1981). Aviatrix. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 78. ISBN 0-15-110372-0.
- ^ "Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout". womenaviators.org. January 24, 2010. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ Smith 1981, p. 79
- ^ "Miss Gentry is Badly Hurt, Her Pilot Killed in Crash; Rivals in Air Beg for News; View of the Wreckage of Miss Viola Gentry's Endurance Plane. The New York Times. June 29, 1929. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Girl Flier is Near to Death – Miss Viola Gentry, Critically Injured Fights For Her Life; Romance Revealed". New Castle News. June 29, 1929. Retrieved February 5, 2026. (subscription required) "Miss Gentry and Ashcraft had been aloft over Roosevelt Field for more than nine hours in an attempt to set a re-fueling record for light planes when the crash occurred."
- ^ a b "Viola Gentry in Air First Time Since Accident". Schenectady Gazette. July 11, 1930. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Viola Gentry Back at Restaurant Job; Flying Cashier, Hurt in Plane Crashes, Glad to Get Work – Hopeful for Future". The New York Times. September 22, 1931. Archived copy retrieved on February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Viola Gentry Quits Flying; Pilot, Injured Three Years Ago, Will Return to Old Job". The New York Times. September 20, 1931. Archived copy retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Women Aviators in Endurance Hop". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. December 10, 1933. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
- ^ "Start Endurance Flight; Mrs. Marsalis and Viola Gentry at Miami Seek Women's Record". The New York Times. December 11, 1933. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Viola Gentry Bankrupt; Aviatrix and Husband List Debts of $1,651 – Assets Nothing". The New York Times. August 1, 1934. Page 7. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "Viola Gentry Honored; Lady Hay Drummond-Hay Air Trophy Presented to Flier". The New York Times. June 21, 1954. Page 25. Retrieved February 26, 2010.