It was Betty’s late husband Kent who first introduced her to the world of flying. A WWII veteran, he had flow in Europe during the war with the 8th air force. Married in 1944, Kent and Betty came to Lexington in 1951 where he would practice dentistry and Betty would work as his assistant and office manager.

Kent wanted to get back into flying but at first, Betty was not at all interested. After some encouragement from Kent, she decided to at least learn to land and takeoff a small aircraft. She ended up loving it! She soloed in December 1968 with only 10 hours. Now she really wanted to become an accomplished pilot! They flew to the piper aircraft company & ordered their Single Engine piper Cherokee 140. They picked up the “Smitten Kitten” from the Piper factory in May of 1969. She soon had her instrument rating and also became a member of the Ninety-Nines (International Women Pilots’ Association) and a member of the Kentucky chapter of Blue Grass Ninety-Nines.

Betty had dreams of flying in the world famous Powder Puff Derby and in 1971 she started preparing for it. The race was to start in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, terminating in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On next to the last leg of the 2,700 mile race, Betty heard a mayday call from the Louisiana’s entry in the race. She answered her call and she informed Betty that she was lost & low on fuel. Unable to make radio contact with the ground, Betty interrupted her own flight in order to relay radio instruction from ground controllers. The lost pilot was guided and landed safely. In helping another racer to safety, she forfeited her own chance in the air race. Betty was honored for her action in preventing an accident by the FAA which awarded Betty their second highest award for distinguished service.

From the moment she started flying, aviation safety was most important to her! In 1972, the FAA in Louisville appointed her to be an accident prevention counselor, an Appointment she held for a number of years, speaking at Aviation seminars, promoting flight safety.

She was appointed to the women’s advisory committee on Aviation in Washington in 1972. They met several times a year to confer & advise the FAA on matters relating to civil Aviation. She was one of 27 women in the United States to serve on this committee, and served 5 years.

In 1972, Betty served as chairman for Kentucky’s first Aviation Week. It was while she was doing this work that she meet General Richard Frymire (KAHF 2006), who was the head of the Kentucky National Guard. She said that she would love to fly with the guard in one of their supersonic jets. Frymire called Washington and permission was granted. After several weeks of training in emergency and cockpit procedures, she was ready to fly the supersonic RF-101 Voodoo. On October 18, 1972, she went to Standiford Field in Louisville, KY where she meet Col. Carl Black who would serve as her pilot. She became the first female to fly in a combat jet in Kentucky.

In February of 1973, she was awarded the 99’s news award and her picture climbing into the Kentucky National Guard Supersonic jet before her takeoff in the flight, graced the Cover of the magazine.

In 1991, Betty was asked to serve on the board of trustees for the National Aviation Hall of Fame. She is a life member of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky where she also serves on the Advisory board. She also is a Museum volunteer. In 2005, she was one of three women in the United States to be honored by AOPA for her contributions to general & civil aviation.

She is still actively flying her “Smitten Kitten” and she currently has 2,000 hours.