Pearl Laska Chamberlain
American pilot / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pearl Laska Chamberlain (born Lelia Pearl Bragg; April 29, 1909 – November 22, 2012) was an American woman pilot. She learned to fly in a Kinner Fleet bi-plane in 1933 and held a pilot’s certificate until she was 97.[2] Prior to World War II, the federal government established the Civilian Pilot Training Program, a back-door method to train pilots for military service.
Pearl L. Chamberlain | |
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Born | Lelia Pearl Bragg (1909-04-29)April 29, 1909 Chestnut Mountain, Summers County, West Virginia, U.S. |
Died | November 22, 2012(2012-11-22) (aged 103)[1] Richland Place Nursing Home, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.[1] |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Pilot |
Spouse(s) | Lewis Lincoln Laska Ed Chamberlain |
Children | Lewis L. Laska (born 1947) |
One of eight children born to John W. and Lanie C. Bragg, she joined the WASPs during WWII and was honorably discharged.[3] In 1944, following her dream to be a full-time pilot, Pearl moved to Nome, Alaska and worked as a flight instructor and bush pilot. Her adventures as a pilot involved everything from Powder Puff Derbies to filling her tank with water instead of gasoline. [4] The next year she became the first woman to solo a single-engine airplane (a 1939 Piper J-4) up the Alaska Highway. The FAA recognized her achievements as a pioneer Alaska aviator in 2006.[5] Scorning the belief that Alaska Natives were unable to learn flying, she taught many, including Holger Jorgensen, who became the first Native hired as a pilot by a scheduled airline.[6]
She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Alaska in 1955, and her master's degree from Miami University of Ohio in 1959.[1] In March 2006, she received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.[7]