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Sheila Scott

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Sheila Scott
Before her 1971 record-breaking trip
Born
Sheila Christine Hopkins

(1922-04-27)27 April 1922
Worcester, England
Died20 October 1988(1988-10-20) (aged 66)
London, England
OccupationAviator

Sheila Christine Scott OBE (née Hopkins; 27 April 1922 – 20 October 1988) was an English aviator who broke over 100 aviation records through her long-distance flight endeavours, which included a 34,000-mile (55,000 km) "world and a half" flight in 1971. On this flight, she became the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft. She was also the first European woman to fly solo around the world.[1]

Early years

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Born Sheila Christine Hopkins in Worcester, Worcestershire, England,[2] she had a turbulent childhood and did not do well at the Alice Ottley School, nearly being expelled several times. During World War II, she joined the services as a nurse in a naval hospital.[3][4]

Flying

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In 1943, she started a career as an actress as Sheila Scott, a name she maintained long after she stopped acting. She had a short marriage from 1945 to 1950 to Rupert Bellamy.[5]

In 1958 she learned to fly, going solo at Thruxton Aerodrome after nine months of training. Her first aircraft was a Thruxton Jackaroo (converted from a De Havilland Tiger Moth) G-APAM, which she owned from 1959 to 1964.[6]

In May 1965 the Piper Aircraft company loaned their Piper Comanche 400 European demonstrator N8515P (named Myth Sunpip) to Sheila, enabling her to set a number of European speed records for its class, such as return trips from London (RAF Northolt) to The Hague, Brussels, Dublin, and Belfast.[7][8]

Around the world flights

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In April 1966, she obtained another Piper Comanche, this time a 260B registered G-ATOY (named Myth Too) in which she set many of her records.[9] It was in this aircraft that she made her first solo round the world flight, departing London Heathrow on 18 May 1966 and returning on 20 June 1966, having covered approximately 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometres) in 189 flying hours over 34 days.[10] It was the first solo around the world flight by a British subject, the longest-distance solo flight, and the only third around the world flight by a woman.[11]

In 1969–70, she took part in the London to Sydney Air Race (with G-ATOY), thereafter continuing solo around the world for a second time.[12] She was the only solo female pilot participating in the race, and experienced problems on the course.[13] Scott was plagued by technical problems during the race, and was stranded for several days due to broken navigational equipment.[14] She sold the aircraft in 1971, and some years later it crashed following engine failure.[15] The remains are on display in the collection of the National Museum of Flight in East Fortune, Scotland.[16]

Damaged by a subsequent owner, the unrepaired “MYTH TOO” is now on display in the ‘Fantastic Flight’ building at the National Museum of Flight (part of National Museums Scotland). East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, Scotland.

In 1971, she used a twin-engine Piper Aztec 250 G-AYTO (named Mythre)[17][18] to complete her third solo round the world flight, featuring an unusual route starting at Nairobi, just south of the equator, flying north to London, before continuing on to cross over the North Pole (a first for a light aircraft). She then continued via Anchorage and San Francisco to Hawaii, before crossing the equator again on her way to Darwin, Australia. From here, she began the return to London, with the 'world-and-a-half' circumnavigation taking 55 days.[3] During her flight, she carried NASA equipment as part of an experimental test of satellite communications technology.[19]

Despite winning many records in the flight, Scott later claimed the trip cost her $110,400 and left her heavily in debt.[20]

Mythre was returned to the Piper factory in Lock Haven, PA where it was one of over a hundred planes damaged beyond repair in a flood in 1972.[21]

World Record Flights

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Scott made over 100 world record flights. These include:

  • 1965: London to Dublin #13754[22]
  • 1965: London to Paris #13767[23]
  • 1965: London to Den Haag and return #13762[24]
  • 1965: Den Haag to London #13651[25]
  • 1965: London to Dublin and return #13755[26]
  • 1965: Belfast to London #13347[27]
  • 1966: Scott's Around the World Flight set ten Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed Over a Recognised Course:
    • London to Rome, 258.13 kilometers per hour (160.40 miles per hour) (FAI Record File Numbers 4679, 4680);
    • London to Auckland, 41.42 km/h (25.74 mph) #4660, 4661;
    • London to Darwin, 45.67 km/h (28.38 mph) #4666, 4670;
    • London to Fiji Islands, 34.60 km/h (21.50 mph) #4672; 4673;
    • Lisbon to London, 244.00 km/h (151.62 mph) #4956, 4657.
  • 1967: London to Cape Town
  • 1967: Malta to London #4685[28]
  • 1967: Shannon, Ireland to Ottawa, Canada #4700[29]
  • 1967: Madrid, Spain to London, UK #4683[30]
  • 1967: North Atlantic Ocean
  • 1969: South Atlantic Ocean
  • 1971: Equator to Equator over the North Pole
  • 1971: San Francisco, CA to Honolulu, HI #4626[31]
  • 1971: 3rd Around the World Solo (100th world record)[32]

Affiliations

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She was the founder and the first governor of the British branch of the Ninety-Nines, an association for licensed women pilots which had been created by Amelia Earhart. She was a member of the International Association of Licensed Women Pilots and of the Whirly-Girls, an association of women helicopter pilots.[3][4]

Honours and awards

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Activities beyond flying and later years

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On 20 November 1966, she appeared as a contestant on the American panel show What's My Line.[41] The following year, she appeared as herself on the game show To Tell the Truth where she received three of four possible votes.[42]

In 1971, she passed her automobile driving test, after four failed tries in 12 years.[43] In 1972, she turned her attention to the sea, and looked for sponsors for an around-the-world yacht race, to be held the next year.[44] It is unclear if this race ever took place.

Scott was a published author as well as an aviator. She wrote I Must Fly in 1968 and On Top of the World in 1973, the latter being published in the U.S. as Barefoot in the Sky in 1974.[32]

During one of her races, her London flat was burgled, and she never recovered financially.[45] Before her death, Scott lived in a bedsit in Pimlico in poverty. She was diagnosed with cancer and died at age 66 at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, in 1988.[3][4]

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References

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  1. ^ Bishop, Edward (2002). The Daily Telegraph Book of Airmen's Obituaries. London: Grub Street. p. 193-6. ISBN 978-1-902304-99-1. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  2. ^ General Register Office index of births registered in April, May, June 1922. Name: Hopkins, Sheila C. Mother's Maiden name: Kenward. District: Worcester. Volume: 6C. Page: 239.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Sheila Scott 1. Data File". soloflights.org. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e Lomax, Judy (29 October 1988). "The High Deeds of Sheila Scott". The Spectator. p. 24. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Sheila Scott (1927–1988), Pioneer Aviatrix". Aviation Pioneers : An Anthology. CTIE. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  6. ^ "UK Register of Civil Aircraft – register entry – G-APAM-1" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  7. ^ Scott, Sheila. "List of FAI records". FAI.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  8. ^ Scott, Sheila (10 October 2017). "Speed over a recognised course, Class C-1b, London - Den Haag, round trip, 19 May 1965". FAI.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  9. ^ "UK Register of Civil Aircraft – register entry – G-ATOY" (PDF). Civil Aviation Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  10. ^ Swopes, Bryan R. (18 May 2015). "Piper PA-24-260B Comanche". Women in Aerospace History. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  11. ^ "18 May 1966–20 June 1966: Sheila Scott | This Day in Aviation". 18 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  12. ^ Meunier, Claude. "List of solo flights around the world". Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Sheila Scott Reaches Darwin". The New York Times. 29 December 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  14. ^ Times, Robert Trumbull Special to The New York (5 January 1970). "London-Sydney Air Race Ends As 59 Planes Land in Minutes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Accident description; G-ATOY, 6 March 1979". Aviation-Safety.net. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  16. ^ "List of aircraft at East Fortune Museum". National Museums Scotland.ac.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  17. ^ http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AYTO.pdf Archived 10 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  18. ^ "CAA Register Entry for G-AYTO" (PDF). CAA.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Sheila Christine Hopkins Scott Journey Log Book | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  20. ^ Krebs, Albin (6 August 1971). "Notes on People". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  21. ^ Swopes, Bryan R. (11 June 2015). "11 June–4 August 1971: Sheila Scott, OBE". Women in Aerospace History. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  22. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (13754) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (13767) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (13762) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  25. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (13651) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (13755) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (13347) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  28. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (4685) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  29. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (4700) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (4683) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Sheila Scott (GBR) (4626) | World Air Sports Federation". www.fai.org. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Sheila Scott | Biography, Records, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  33. ^ "No. 44484". The London Gazette. 1 January 1968. p. 14.
  34. ^ "Harmon Winners for 1967 Are Named". The New York Times. 10 September 1967. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  35. ^ "BWPA Jean Lennox Bird Trophy winner is now RAeC Britannia Trophy Winner". British Women Pilots' Association. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  36. ^ Sheila Scott at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  37. ^ "Women in Aviation honoured by AIRDAT". AIRDAT –. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Blue plaque unveiled for Worcester pilot Sheila Scott". Worcester News. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  39. ^ "Simulation and Skills - University Of Worcester". www.worcester.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  40. ^ "University of Worcester Clinical Skills & Simulation Centre Sheila Scott Building" (PDF). University of Worcester. Retrieved 26 April 2018.[permanent dead link]
  41. ^ "What's My Line IMDb episode listing". IMDb. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  42. ^ "To Tell the Truth". CBS. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  43. ^ "Sheila Scott, 61, British Aviator". The New York Times. 21 October 1988. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  44. ^ "Interest Fanned For World Race". The New York Times. 23 January 1972. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  45. ^ emaleebeddoes (13 January 2017). "Sheila Scott by Ernest Waldron West". Research Worcestershire. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  46. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Sheila Scott". BBC. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  47. ^ "Sheila Christine Hopkins Scott Journey Log Book | National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  48. ^ "Records | World Air Sports Federation". fai.org. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

Sources

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  • Hahn, Michael (31 October 2002). "Sheila Scott". Great Images in NASA. Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 23 March 2006.