Viola Gentry - North Carolina's First Licensed Pilot

Author Jennifer Bean Bower has recently published her new book “North Carolina Aviatrix Viola Gentry The Flying Cashier.” Viola was North Carolina’s first licensed female pilot. She flew under both the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and went on to set the first officially recorded women’s solo endurance flight record. She became friends with all of the well known early pioneers of aviation and was a great promoter of women in the field.

Jennifer Bower contacted IWASM as part of her research and used many of the photos and letters from our collection in her book. She located Viola’s niece and the story of this remarkable woman began to take shape. The book paints a vivid story of this determined lady and her aviation adventures using quotes and excerpts from her own writings, newspaper clippings from the time and photos from her collection.