Arlene Palsgraff Davis

Arlene Palsgraff Davis

Arlene Palsgraff Davis, Baldwin Wallace - Gamma Alpha, left her mark on aviation in the earlier days of flying. She recorded many firsts as she entered and won national air races. Though at the start she admitted that she “didn’t know a sparkplug from a monkey wrench,” her accomplishments and awards made her the foremost aviatrix of her time. She won the first all-women’s air race in 1934 and was the first woman to receive the rating authorizing her to fly the largest land and water planes. After piloting a jet in 1954, she became one of the first members of the Air Force Jet Clan and the same year became one of 17 women in the world licensed to fly a helicopter. Arlene Davis was awarded the honor of Woman of the Year in Aviation by the Women’s National Aeronautical Association in 1953. She was Delta Zeta's Woman of The Year in 1960.