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Pitts S-2E Special [**No File**]

Collection Creator:
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division.  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
Identifier:
NASM.XXXX.1183.A, File AP-607063-NF
See more items in:
National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files: Aircraft
National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files: Aircraft / Series A: Aircraft / Aircraft P / Pitts Aviation Enterprises Inc (Homestead, FL; Afton, WY)
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2bdc584bf-f890-48e4-8cc6-dda68f79026d
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-1183-a-ref81739

Pitts S-1.11B (See: Aviat Aircraft)

Collection Creator:
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division.  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
Identifier:
NASM.XXXX.1183.A, File AP-607085-CR
See more items in:
National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files: Aircraft
National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files: Aircraft / Series A: Aircraft / Aircraft P / Pitts Aviation Enterprises Inc (Homestead, FL; Afton, WY)
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg240aa977a-1f0f-41c6-8165-605df0611cc8
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-1183-a-ref81740

Pitts S-12 (See: Kimball, Jim)

Collection Creator:
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division.  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
Identifier:
NASM.XXXX.1183.A, File AP-607090-CR
See more items in:
National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files: Aircraft
National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files: Aircraft / Series A: Aircraft / Aircraft P / Pitts Aviation Enterprises Inc (Homestead, FL; Afton, WY)
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg23e1e7c36-bfe5-4034-b695-dd245e17acb2
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nasm-xxxx-1183-a-ref81741

Jean Warren (J. W.) Seele Aircraft Photography Collection

Topic:
Jane's all the world's aircraft
Creator:
Seele, Jean W. (Jean Warren), 1924-1993  Search this
Names:
Aero Commander (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Aeronca (Aeronautical Corp of America)  Search this
Arrow Aircraft & Motors Corp  Search this
Beech Aircraft Corp  Search this
Bell Aircraft Corporation  Search this
Bellanca Aircraft Corporation  Search this
Boeing Company  Search this
Bucker (Bucker Flugzeugbau GmbH)  Search this
Callair (Call Aircraft Co)  Search this
Cessna  Search this
Consolidated Aircraft Corp  Search this
Convair (Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp)  Search this
Dassault (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Douglas Aircraft Corp  Search this
Erco (Engineering and Research Corporation)  Search this
Experimental Aircraft Association  Search this
Fairchild Aircraft Corp  Search this
Fleet Aircraft Ltd.  Search this
Ford Motor Company. Airplane Division  Search this
Goodyear Aircraft Corp  Search this
Great Lakes Aircraft Corp  Search this
Grumman Aerospace Corporation  Search this
Hawker Siddeley (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Heinkel (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Jodel (Societe des Avions Jodel)  Search this
Junkers (Junkers Flugzeug Werke AG)  Search this
Lawson Aircraft Corp  Search this
Lawson Airplane Co.  Search this
Lockheed Aircraft Corp  Search this
National Antique Airplane Association  Search this
Pazmany Aircraft Corp (Ladislao Pazmany)  Search this
Piaggio (Industrie Aeronautiche e Meccaniche Rinaldo Piaggio SpA)  Search this
Piper Aircraft Corp.  Search this
Pitcairn (Pitcairn-Cierva)  Search this
Pitts Aviation Enterprises, Inc.  Search this
Porterfield Aircraft Corp  Search this
Republic  Search this
Saab (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget AB)  Search this
Sikorsky (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Stearman Aircraft Co.  Search this
Stinson (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Swearingen Aircraft  Search this
Vickers (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Vought (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Waco Aircraft Company  Search this
de Havilland Aircraft Company, Ltd.  Search this
Hughes Aircraft Co  Search this
Seele, Jean W. (Jean Warren), 1924-1993  Search this
Extent:
12.11 Cubic feet ((1 shoebox) (7 slide and card cabinets))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Color slides
Color negatives
Black-and-white negatives
Photographs
Date:
[ca. 1950s-1970s]
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 6000 color slides and over 2000 negatives/prints (a mixture of color and black and white) of civil and military aircraft taken by Seele, circa 1950s-1970s. The shots were taken in the United States, specifically in the Midwest. Aircraft from the following manufacturers are represented: Aero Commander, Arrow, Aeronca, Beechcraft, Bell, Bellanca, Boeing, Bristol, Bucker, Callair, Cessna, Consolidated, Convair, Curtiss, Dassault, de Havilland, Davis, Dart, Douglas, ERCO, Fairchild, Fleet, Ford, Goodyear, Great Lakes, Grumman, Howard, Hawker Siddeley, Hughes, Heinkel, Jodel, Junkers, Lockheed, Ling-Temco-Vought, Lawson, Parsons, Pitts, Pitcarin, Piper, Pazmany, Piaggo, Porterfield, Republic, SAAB, Sikorsky, Stampe, Stearman, Stinson, Swearingen, Taylor, Vickers, and Waco. In June of 2001 the Smitihsonian's Museum of American History transferred an additional shoebox of Seele photography that had been sent directly to them from the widow. This color images included balloon events as well as aircraft shots. The ballooning images are color prints taken mostly around Topeka, Kansas, while the aircraft images are color transparencies of aircraft taken, again, mostly around Topeka.
Biographical / Historical:
Jean Warren (J. W.) Seele (1924-1993) was born in Topeka, Kansas, and spent almost his entire life there. After his graduation from Topeka High School he was enrolled for about one and a half years at the Spartan School of Aeronautics, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although he worked for a few years at Bendix Aviation Corp, Kansas City Division during the 1950s, most of his professional career was spent as an engineering technician for the Kansas Department of Transportation. While he was not directly employed in the aviation field, Seele's hobby was photographing aircraft. Over a twenty year period, Seele photographed aircraft and at various times he was the official photographer for the National Antique Airplane Association, and for the annual fly-in sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association at Rockford, Illinois. Seele's photographs often appeared in the publications of both organizations, and several of this photographs also appeared in Jane's All the World's Aircraft during the 1970s.
General:
Additional materials: photographs taken by Seele of the Kansas countryside, including many of threshing demonstrations, were transferred to the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
Charline Seele, Gift, 2000, 2000-0057, NASM, except for images not taken by Seele.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Airplanes  Search this
Aeronautics  Search this
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States  Search this
Balloons  Search this
Photography  Search this
Genre/Form:
Color slides
Color negatives
Black-and-white negatives
Photographs
Identifier:
NASM.2000.0057
See more items in:
Jean Warren (J. W.) Seele Aircraft Photography Collection
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg238db35a6-d677-42a9-b258-4d94977ef9c8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nasm-2000-0057

Betty Skelton Collection

Creator:
Skelton, Betty, 1926-  Search this
Names:
Fellow Lady Astronaut Trainees (FLATS, "Mercury 13")  Search this
Pitts Aviation Enterprises, Inc.  Search this
Pitts S-1 Special, Little Stinker  Search this
Project Mercury (U.S.)  Search this
Extent:
8.21 Cubic feet (10 legal document boxes, 4 flatboxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Advertisements
Clippings
Date:
circa 1920-2005
Summary:
In 2002 Betty Skelton donated a collection of materials outlining her career as an aviatrix and race car driver to the National Air and Space Museum. The donated material consists primarily of news clippings, pamphlets, magazines, photographs, and scrapbooks covering the span of Ms. Skelton's career.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists primarily of news clippings, pamphlets, magazines, photographs, and scrapbooks covering the span of Ms. Skelton's career.
Arrangement:
The collection has been divided into three series. The first series contains information on Betty Skelton's personal life, including birth and wedding announcements and family photos. The second, pertaining to her professional life, spans a broad range of materials covering the various careers pursued by Ms. Skelton. The third series consists of oversized items such as scrapbooks and large format magazines. Each series is further divided by format (i.e. news clippings, brochures, and photographs) and then chronologically.

SERIES I: Personal

News clippings; Photographs

SERIES II: Professional

News clippings, Programs and Pamphlets; Correspondence; Magazines/Press Releases; Photographs; Negatives

SERIES III: Oversized Materials
Biographical / Historical:
Betty Skelton Frankman, noted aviatrix, automobile test driver, race car driver, and business woman, was born in 1926 in Pensacola, Florida. Her interest in aviation was kindled at a young age while watching Navy stunt pilots practice. Soon, she and her parents began taking flying lessons and Betty soloed for the first time at age 12, four years before the legal age. As soon as she was legally able, age 16, Betty got her pilot's license. At age 19 she joined the Civil Air Patrol while also working as a flight instructor at her father's aviation school. She began a professional career as an aerobatic pilot in 1946, flying a 1929 Great Lakes 2T1A biplane. In 1948, while flying that aircraft, Betty won her first International Aerobatic Championship for Women. She would repeat this achievement in 1949 and 1950 while flying a Pitts-Special S-1C that she nicknamed "Little Stinker." By 1951 Betty realized that she had gone as far as a woman could go in aviation and retired.

Through a chance meeting with Bill France, the founder of the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), Betty began a second career as a test and race car driver. She set multiple land speed records and two transcontinental speed records. Her work with Dodge and Chevrolet led her to her next career as an advertising executive for Campbell-Ewald Advertising Agency, the firm that handled Chevrolet advertising.

In 1959, Betty was given the opportunity to train with the original Mercury 7 astronauts. She completed the same physical and physiological tests as the astronauts, but knew a woman was not destined to be the first American in space. The experience resulted in only a cover story in LOOK magazine (Vol. 24 No. 3 Feb. 2, 1960). In 1965, Betty married Donald Frankman and, eventually, the two moved to Florida and started a real estate business.

Betty held more combined aviation and automotive records than any other person. Her aviation achievements included: a world speed record for piston engine aircraft (unofficial), two light plane altitude records, and three international aerobatic championships. Her achievements in the automotive field included a women's closed course speed record (144.02 mph), a speed record for 200-249 cubic inch piston displacement (105.8 mph), a 24-hour stock car endurance record, a transcontinental record New York to Los Angeles (56 hrs 58 mins.), four land speed records, a South American transcontinental auto speed record, and multiple Bonneville Speed and Endurance Records.

She was also inducted into many halls of fame including, the International Aerobatic Hall of Fame, the NASCAR International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Corvette Hall of Fame, the Tampa Sports Hall of Fame, and the Florida Women's Hall of Fame. In 1985, Betty and Don donated her Pitts Special "Little Stinker" to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum (NASM). It currently hangs at the entrance to NASM's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles, Virginia. Betty and her second husband, Dr. Allan Erde, retired to The Villages, Florida, a popular retirement community where many residents use golf carts to get from place to place. But Betty, in keeping with her moniker as the "fastest woman on Earth," drove a bright red Corvette convertible. She died at her home on August 31, 2011, at the age of 85.

The following timeline covers key events in Skelton's life, as well as in the aerospace and automotive industries. Events involving Skelton are shown in normal type while those of the latter are shown in italics.

Timeline of Betty Skelton

6/28/1926 -- Betty is born in Pensacola, Florida

May 1927 -- Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo west to east transatlantic flight

May 1932 -- Amelia Earhart becomes first women to solo across the Atlantic

1937 -- Amelia Earhart and Captain Fred Noonan go missing

12/7/1941 -- Bombing of Pearl Harbor forces American entry into World War II

1942 -- Officially soloed and received pilot's license at age 16

1944 -- Women's Airforce Service Pilots program ends

1945 -- Joins the Civil Air Patrol, eventually achieving rank of Major

May 1945 -- End of War in Europe

August 1945 -- Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki followed by Japanese surrender and end of World War II

1946 -- Begins career as aerobat at Southeastern Air Exposition in Jacksonville, Florida

1947 -- The United States Air Force becomes an independent military service Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier becoming the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound

1948 -- Becomes International Aerobatics Champion for women Buys "Little Stinker" Orville Wright dies at age 76 Berlin Airlift begins operation NASCAR is formed

1949 -- Pilots the smallest plane to cross the Irish Sea Represents United States in RAF Pageant – Belfast, Ireland Sets World Light Plane Altitude Record (~26,000 ft) First non-stop round the world flight is made by Capt. James Gallagher Represents United States in International Air Pageant – London, United Kingdom Unofficially sets world Speed Record for engine aircraft (426 mph) Retains title as International Aerobatics Champion for women

1950 -- Retains title of International Aerobatics Champion for women Becomes hostess of radio program "Van Wilson's Greeting Time"

1951 -- Four monkeys become the first living creatures to travel in space Retires from Flying Sets World Light Plane Altitude Record (~29,000 ft)

1953 -- Jacqueline Cochran becomes first women to fly faster than the speed of sound Stars in a movie short about motor boat jumping Meets Bill France and takes first ride in pace car

1954 -- Sets Stock Car Flying Mile Record (105.88 mph) Sets new world women's closed course record (144.02 mph) Sets new world women's closed course record (143.44 mph) First woman to drive an Indy Car

1955 -- Participates in Stock Car Endurance Run

1956 -- Becomes an advertising executive for Campbell-Ewald Participates in Stock Car Endurance Run First successful launch of a Chrysler Redstone Rocket from Cape Canaveral Sets new land speed record (145.044 mph) Sets transcontinental record New York to Los Angeles (56 hrs 58 mins)

1957 -- Sputnik 2 carries first dog into space Participates in Mobilgas Economy Run Sputnik is launched by the Soviet Union

1958 -- United States launches Explorer 1, the first US satellite to enter Earth's orbit National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is established South American Transcontinental Auto Speed Record (41hrs 14 mins)

1959 -- Trains with Mercury 7 astronauts

1960 -- Participates in Mobilgas Economy Run

1961 -- Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space Participates in Mobilgas Economy Run Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in space

1962 -- Cuban Missile Crisis Participates in Baja Run

1963 -- John F. Kennedy is assassinated Valentina Tereshkova becomes first women in space

1965 -- Sets new land speed record (315 mph) Marries Donald A. Frankman

1967 -- An accident during testing of Apollo 1 kills Virgil Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Edward White

1969 -- Successfully lobbies to end discrimination against female pilots in air racing Becomes Vice President of Campbell-Ewald's new Women's Market and Advertising Department Apollo 11 is launched with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, making Neil Armstrong the first man on the moon

1970 -- Explosion onboard Apollo 13 First scheduled service of the Boeing 747

1972 -- The last manned mission to the moon, Apollo 17 is completed President Nixon announces funding for the building of a reusable space shuttle

1974 -- Charles Lindbergh dies at age 72

1975 -- Apollo/Soyuz Test Project and Soyuz 19 successfully dock in Earth orbit

1977 -- Begins working for First Florida Realty Publishes book Little Stinker British Airways and Air France begin regular Concorde service from New York's JKF Airport National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launches Voyager I & II

1980 -- Jacqueline Cochran dies at age 74

1981 -- Space Shuttle Columbia launches for the first shuttle mission

1983 -- Sally Ride becomes first American woman in space

1985 -- Donates Little Stinker to NASM

1986 -- Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on take off Soviet Union launches Mir Space Station

1988 -- Inducted into International Aerobatic Hall of Fame (1st woman)

1989 -- Destruction of the Berlin Wall

1993 -- Inducted into NASCAR International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1st woman) Inducted into Florida Women's Hall of Fame

1997 -- Inducted into Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame Mars Pathfinder lands on surface of Mars

2001 -- Space Station Mir ends its 15 year life in space Inducted into Corvette Hall of Fame (1st woman) Donald A. Frankman dies

2003 -- Concorde service between the United States and Europe ends Inducted into International Council of Air Shows Foundation Hall of Fame

2005 -- Marries Allan Erde Inducted into National Aviation Hall of Fame

2008 -- Inducted into Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

8/31/2011 -- Betty dies at her home in The Villages, Florida
Provenance:
Betty Skelton, Gift, 2001
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topic:
Pitts S-1 Special  Search this
Pitts aircraft  Search this
Aeronautics -- Competitions  Search this
Airplane racing  Search this
Women air pilots  Search this
Women in aeronautics  Search this
Stunt flying  Search this
Automobile racing  Search this
Aeronautics  Search this
Licenses  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Advertisements
Clippings
Citation:
Betty Skelton Collection, NASM.2002.0002, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NASM.2002.0002
See more items in:
Betty Skelton Collection
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2b042e943-f87d-46e2-ad47-4d2ad6077728
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nasm-2002-0002
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