Ruth Elder

Ruth Elder

Ruth Elder (1902-1977) was a pilot and actress.[1][2] She carried private pilot certificate P675, and was known as the "Miss America of Aviation."[3] She was a charter member of the Ninety-Nines.[3]

In 1927 she took off from New York in the airplane American Girl, with her co-pilot, George Haldeman, in an attempt to become the first woman to duplicate Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic crossing to Paris. Mechanical problems caused them to ditch the plane 360 miles from land, but they established a new over-water endurance flight record of 2,623 miles.[4] It was also at the time the longest flight ever made by a woman.[1] She and George were honored with a ticker-tape parade upon their return.[5]

In 1929 she entered the first Women's Air Derby, flying in her Swallow, NC8730, and placed fifth.[1]

She starred in Moran of the Marines (1928) and Glorifying the American Girl (1929).[5] She married six times, lastly to Ralph King, to whom she was married for 21 years and who outlived her.[2] She had suffered emphysema for several years before she died.[2] She had one son, William Trent Gillespie (1940-2008), from her marriage to movie effects pioneer A. Arnold Gillespie.

In 2013 a children's book was published about her, written by Julie Cummins and illustrated by Malene R. Laugesen, titled, Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America's Heart.[6] The Ruth Darrow book series, is said to have been a character based-on Ruth Elder.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The RUTH ELDER Page of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register Website". Dmairfield.com. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ruth Elder, aviatrix, dies at 73". The Free Lance-Star. 1977-10-10. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  3. 1 2 "The Ruth Elder Page of the Parks Airport Register Web Site". Parksfield.org. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  4. ↑ Lynn M. Homan, et al., Women Who Fly (Pelican Publishing, 2004) p46-47; "RUTH ELDER HOPS OFF!", Milwaukee Sentinel, October 11, 1927, p1
  5. 1 2 A Guide to Historic Lakeland, Florida - Steve Rajtar - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  6. ↑ "Flying Solo: How Ruth Elder Soared into America's Heart: Julie Cummins, Malene R. Laugesen: 9781596435094: Amazon.com: Books". Amazon.com. 2013-07-23. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  7. ↑ "Ruth Darrow Flying Stories".
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