Betty Skelton Frankman

Betty Skelton Frankman began flying at an early age and soloed "legally" on her sixteenth birthday. She became internationally famous after winning acrobatic championships, races and setting records. She worked for Eastern Air Lines while also obtaining her commercial, flight instructor, single-engine land and sea, and multi-engine ratings. Active in the Civil Air Patrol since its beginning in the early forties, she held the rank of Major. She became a test pilot, occasionally flew helicopters, jets, blimps and gliders. In 1948, Betty purchased a Pitts Special experimental bi-plane, a single-seater open cockpit airplane weighing only 544 pounds. Her air race victories resulted in her plane, Little Stinker , becoming the most famous acrobatic aircraft in the world. It is now displayed in the National Air and Space Museum. She died on August 31, 2011.