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LOCATES A PLANE-Mrs. Blanche Stewart Scott, the nation's first woman pilot is in Wichita searching for aviation relics which would be suitable for display in the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. She confers with Col. C. O. Moffett, acting wing commander of McConnell.

Aviation 'Relic' Found-It's a B-47

America's first woman pilot is in Wichita attempting to locate aviation relics for the air force . . . And she found one- a B-47.

The senior pilot, Mrs. Blanche Stewart Scott, who soloed September 6, 1910, Wednesday visited Col. C. O. Moffett, acting wing commander of McConnell Air Force Base, who has located one of the first models of the B-47 which is now inactive.

"I'll take the number," Mrs. Scott said. "It's be an historical piece by 1965."
Mrs. Scott has long been interested in aviation and still is one of its greatest backers.

When one has been in the business for 45 years, it's easy to see why she travels by air. "I fly every place I go," she says. But admits riding a train last year- the first time in 12 years.

Mrs. Scott is on a "treasure hunt." She's seeking those items in aviation for the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. "It's one of the finest museums in the world," she reports. "And it's open to the public now."

Not only does Mrs. Scott hold the distinction of being the nation's first woman pilot. But she's also the first to drive an automobile across the country.

It was in 1910 that Mrs. Scott drove an Overland car from New York to San Francisco. It was a publicity stunt, she admits. And her advance man gained a lot of publicity for her thruout the nation. "But when I got back, I was no longer in the news, I was just a slip of a girl at the time." She needed more publicity, she thought.

One day, she recalls, "I was talking to Lynn Curtiss (Curtiss Aviation) and he asked if I wanted to fly." As it developed, Curtiss was her instructor. And she flew professionally for some six years.

Mrs. Scott no longer holds a pilot's license. But she's quick to add, "I passed my physical last year," which would make her eligible for a license.

Mrs. Scott knew the late Clyde Cessna, founder of Cessna Aircraft Company, and was well acquainted with the late Walter Beech, founder of Beech Aircraft Corporation. "Walter was probably the greatest designer we ever had," she said.

While in Wichita, Mrs. Scott plans to meet with officials of Beech and Cessna, and Boeing-Wichita as well.

She's interested in locating all those old planes, props, landing gear and the like for the museum. "I'm really interested in finding a Curtiss pusher that hasn't been souped up. I'm also looking for a Jenny."

"It's a funny thing," she relates, "the old timers never saved anything. I often wonder what has happened to all of those old planes."

Before joining the Air Force Museum a little more than a year ago, Mrs. Scott was in television and radio. She has worked thruout the country in publicity work. And spent nine years in Rochester, N. Y., in television and radio.

While in Wichita, Mrs. Scott is a guest of the Allis Hotel. That will be her air force "procurement headquarters" with regard to aviation relics.


The Wichita Beacon Thursday, Sept. 22, 1955