Edna Gardner Whyte (November 3, 1902 – February 15, 1992) was an American aviator whose career as a pilot and instructor spanned more than four decades. She was also an air racer who won more than two dozen races.

Biography

Edna Marvel Gardner was born in 1902 in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

. Her father died in a train accident when she was 8, she was raised by her mother. She trained to become a registered nurse, earning her certification in 1924. She took her first flight in 1926, from Renton, Washington. Her first solo was on Jan. 1, 1931,and she received her pilot's license in May 1931. The following year, she joined the

Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by United States Congress, Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-fem ...

in Washington, D.C., and taught flying at several nearby airports. She resigned from the Nurse Corps in 1935, preferring to spend her time flying and teaching flying. Beginning in 1930, she participated in over a hundred air races, winning more than two dozen of them and placing in another dozen. She won the Women's International Air Race four times (1953, 1958, 1960, and 1961). Her last win came in 1967, and her last race was in 1972. She owned and ran the New Orleans Air College at Shusham Airport from 1935 to 1941. During World War II, she trained hundreds of military pilots at Meacham Field and the Spartan School of Aviation. After marrying George M. Whyte, she operated Aero Enterprise Flight School with him in Fort Worth, Texas, until his death in 1970. She then opened Aero Valley Airport in nearby Roanoke, where she continued flight instruction. She received over 80 aviation awards, including the Charles Lindbergh Lifetime Achievement Award and the 1967 Aviation Woman of the Year award from the Women's National Aeronautical Association. She was a charter member (#10) of the

Whirly-Girls The Whirly-Girls, officially known as Whirly-Girls International, are a non-profit, charitable and educational organization that aims to advance women in helicopter aviation. They are an affiliate member of the Helicopter Association International ...

and the first woman to be an honorary member of the Daedalians, a worldwide fraternity of military pilots. She served as president of the

Ninety-Nines The Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, also known as The 99s, is an international organization that provides networking, mentoring, and flight scholarship opportunities to recreational and professional female pilots. Foun ...

from 1955 to 1957. In 1991, at the age of 89, she published her autobiography, ''Rising Above It'' (coauthored with Ann Lewis Cooper). Whyte died the following year. Her papers are held by the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

Partial list of races won

*1930 Closed Course Pylon Race (Racine, Wisc.) *1933 Kate Smith Trophy, National Air Pageant (Long Island, N.Y.) *1934 Annette Gipson Trophy Race (Roosevelt Field, N.Y. *1934 Men and Women Pylon Race (Baltimore, Md.) *1937 Women's Alcazar Trophy Race (Miami, Fla.) *1939 K.K. Culver Trophy Race (Miami, Fla.) *1953 Women's International Air Race (Canada to Florida) *1954 Skylady Derby Efficiency Race (Raton, N.M., to Kansas City, Mo.) *1957 Dallas Doll Derby Efficiency Race (Dallas, Tx.) *1958 Women's International Air Race (Canada to Grand Bahamas) *1960 Women's International Air Race (Florida to El Salvador) *1961 Women's International Air Race (Florida to Bahamas) *1964 U.S.A. Rally, Men and Women (Winter Haven, Fla.) ;Note :Source for partial list of races won.

References

Other sources

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External links

Edna Gardner Whyte collection
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, Edna Gardner 1902 births 1992 deaths American women aviators American air racers Aviators from Minnesota 20th-century American women 20th-century American people