Sheila Scott: Record-Setting Pilot

Sheila Scott (27 April 1922 – 20 October 1988) was an amazing pilot who broke over 100 aviation records during her career, and was the first person to fly over the North Pole in a small aircraft as part of her "world and a half" flight in 1971 where she flew 34,000-miles (55,000 kms). A harrowing flight that was completed despite mechanical failures that would have made other pilots turn back.

But her adventurous life began even before she climbed into the cockpit. During World War II she served as a nurse in a naval hospital, while also working as an actor.

But when she took up flying, she dedicated herself to it completely. She learned to fly in 1958, and by the 1960s she was setting world records. She was the founder and first governor of the British branch of the Ninety-Nines, the association of women pilots created by Amelia Earhart and 98 other women in 1929.

In 1966, she completed her first solo flight around the world, starting on 18 May in London, and returning on 20 June, after covering approximately 31,000 miles. Then, three years later, she did it again.

In 1967, she was awarded a Harmon International Aviation Trophy for setting a new light plane speed record.

She was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2014. 

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