CoolPix: Pitts Special As Art! Betty Skelton's 'Little Stinker' At Udvar-Hazy
Monday, February 18, 2013 at 11:10AM 
(click pic for hi-res) Betty Skelton's Pitts Special on display at the NASM/Udvar-Hazy
I'm trying to find the time and energy to get a boatload of pix from the recent AirPigz National Air and Space Museum MeetUp posted, but my day job as a ceramic tile installer is more-than-full-time these days... plus I'm trying to develop an all new biz to produce a wildly successful packaged food item so my life as an underpaid ceramic tile installer can come to an abrupt end. That abrupt end is also where my career as a smiling-ear-to-ear aircraft owner is supposed to begin! But the bottom line right now is that there just aren't enough hours in the day.
Anyway, I have found the time today (early before work and then over my lunch break) to post a CoolPix of a fabulous little airplane that was flown spectacularly by an amazing woman back in the late 40's. Betty Skelton won first place in three consecutive International Feminine Aerobatic Championships in '48, '49 and '50. The airplane in her first championship year was her 1929 Great Lakes, and the last two years were in this exact airplane, the Pitts Special that she had named 'Little Stinker'. However, that winning streak might not be too surprising when you realize that she actually made her first solo flight at age 12 in a 40hp Taylorcraft! Of course that wasn't legal, but it does appear to have been well within her capabilities. This woman was meant to fly, and nothing was going to stop her. When she met Curtiss Pitts and his little Pitts Special in 1948, the airplane had met the woman who would make it famous.
It's especially interesting to note that this is the second Pitts Special ever built! The airplane is hanging upside down in the entrance to the Udvar-Hazy facility of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly Virginia. It's easy to not take much notice of the airplane as you enter in, but I hope when you get to the Udvar-Hazy (the next time or on your very first time), you'll take some time and really contemplate what that little red and white airplane represents. There's so much amazing history wrapped up in that little package... and it also makes for an awesome piece of classic art!
Betty in N22E, the second Pitts Special ever built by Curtiss Pitts (photo: NASM)
Betty had a massive amount of experience and opportunity to fly, to race cars, and to do all kinds of amazing things thru the 50's and 60's. Just as impressive as the fact that she had mad skills operating machines that move, Betty also had an incredible ability to remain a classy woman all along the way. She wasn't out to prove anything specific for the woman's movement, she just wanted to fly and to go fast. Rather than use her femininity to force her way or manipulate opportunities, Betty used her excellent skills to open the doors for her. She had a peaceful patience believing that the opportunities for women in flying would come in due time, and of course she was right. Betty Skelton was one amazing human being. She also spent many years in the advertising business working closely with GM, especially on the Corvette.
The amazing Betty Skelton passed away at age 85 on August 31, 2011.
Back in 1999, Betty sat down for almost a 90 minute interview at the time when Eileen Collins was about to become the first female pilot (and first female commander) of the Space Shuttle on STS-93. This interview covers Betty's amazing life and it puts her graceful attitude on beautiful display. Click the video screenshot of Betty below to go to the video interview in the C-SPAN video library.
Click the screenshot to go to the 1999 84 minute C-SPAN interview with Betty Skelton
You can expect more Betty Skelton history to come as I find the time to dig much deeper into the unique life of this very special woman.
Reader Comments (2)
I remember as a youngster meeting Betty Skelton and watching her fly a show in Virginia. At the time most airshow biplanes were Stearmans, Wacos, etc., so seeing such a wee thing as the Pitts was quite novel. I, too, soloed at the age of 12, but not in a Taylorcraft...it was a Luscombe 8A. Funny how nowadays some people thinks it takes some kind of a super pilot to fly a Luscombe, much less a wee lad whose feet weren't big enough to use the rudder pedals and brakes at the same time!
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