Viola Gentry
Viola Estelle Gentry was an American aviator, best known for setting the first non-refueling endurance record for women.
Early life
Gentry was born in Rockingham County, North Carolina. She learned to fly an airplane in 1924, becoming the first woman from North Carolina to fly an aircraft.December 1928 attempt
On December 20, 1928, Gentry flew 8 hours, 6 minutes and 37 seconds, which set the first non-refueling endurance record for women. She flew a Travel Air 9000. This record was broken in 1929 when Bobbi Trout flew from California for 12 hours straight. Following Elinor Smith's thirteen-and-a-half hour continuous flight, creating a new record for female flight, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale rules were regulated stating that endurance records had to be broken by a full hour.July 1929 attempt
In the attempt to reclaim the endurance record, Gentry tried another endurance flight which set out on July 27, 1929. Her aircraft, "The Answer", crashed in a field in Old Westbury, Long Island, New York, killing her co-pilot Jack Ashcraft. Gentry survived the crash with a fractured skull and crushed shoulders. She was rushed to a hospital in nearby Mineola, where she spent more than six months recovering.Upon discharge from hospital in Mineola, Gentry took up residence with friends in Freeport, Long Island, New York. She was unsuccessful in obtaining further work as an endurance pilot although she did return to flying, albeit as a passenger.