“Few women can claim to be a dancer, model, huntress, aviator, philanthropist, and a pirate. Zoe Dell Nutter is one of them.”
— First Lady, Laura Bush ’06
with fellow pilot & admirer
We would hazard a guess that Zoe is the ONLY women who can claim all of those roles!
Many of us aspire to lead lives as rich, adventuresome, courageous and generous as that Zoe Dell Lantis Nutter. She goes by Zoe Dell (pronounced Zo-dell) and even at 95 years old, she is a force to be reckoned with!
“Get out there with what you’ve got, because you never know how you’ll get to use it.” — Zoe Dell
'Treasure Island Pirate Girl'
Much has already been written about our Treasure Island Pirate Girl, who flew 100,000 air miles between 1939 ~ 1940, and became known as “The Most Photographed Girl in the World.” During her years promoting and working at the San Francisco World’s Fair, she also became a spokesperson for commercial flying. Apparently the nascent years of commercial aviation had an uphill battle trying to attract travelers. What a difference 80 years makes!
Because of her extensive experience flying, and her fearless demeanor, Zoe Dell took on becoming a pilot herself and has flown in competitive air races and became the only woman in the Civil Air Patrol in Ohio.
As a matter of fact, she was instrumental in lobbying Washington to create the National Aviation Hall of Fame, located in Dayton Ohio – birthplace of the Wright Brothers. Her whole career in aviation has earned her not one, but two prestigious awards – the Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award and the First Lady of Aviation.
To learn more about Zoe Dell Lantis Nutter, read this extensive article by Carol Osborne for Airport Journals, or see her interviewed in person by the talented folks at Inventive Productions. (the video is a little over 7 ½ minutes)
“The most dangerous part of flying is the trip to the airport.” — Zoe Dell
