Jeana Yeager
Jeana Yeager | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Yeager in 1986 in front of Voyager | |
| Born | May 18, 1952 |
| Spouse(s) | Jon A. Farrar (1971–1976) William Z. Williams (1992–1994) Dale A. Rinehart (1994–1996)[2] |
| Awards | Presidential Citizens Medal Harmon Trophy FAI De la Vaulx Medal Collier Trophy Edward Longstreth Medal |
| Aviation career | |
| Famous flights | The first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world with Dick Rutan |
| Flight license | 1978 |
Jeana Lee Yeager (born May 18, 1952) is an American aviator. She co-piloted, along with Dick Rutan, the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft from December 14 to 23, 1986.[3] The flight took 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds and covered 24,986 miles (40,211 km), almost doubling the old distance record set by a Boeing B-52 strategic bomber in 1962.
Early life and career
[edit]Jeana Lee Yeager was born on May 18, 1952, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Royal Leland "Lee" Yeager (March 12, 1918 – March 17, 2001) and Alice Evaree Snider (née Harris; October 21, 1924 – February 5, 2013). As a child, she and her family variously lived in Garland, Texas, Oxnard, California, and Commerce, Texas.[4] Following graduation from high school, Yeager, at age 19, married a police officer; they divorced five years later.[1] She then worked as a draftsman and surveyor for a geothermal energy company in Santa Rosa, California. In 1978, Yeager obtained her private pilot's license while still living in Santa Rosa.[5]
Yeager worked for Robert Truax while he was developing a reusable spacecraft. She met Dick Rutan in 1980 and they soon both set distance records in the Rutan VariEze and Long-EZ planes, designed by Dick's brother Burt Rutan. In early 1982, Yeager set a new women's speed record for the 2,000-kilometer closed course and in the fall of 1984 using the VariEze, she set the open-distance record of 2,427.1 statute miles.[5][6]
Despite both being aviators and sharing the same last name, Jeana Yeager is not related to the late Chuck Yeager.[7]
Round-the-world flight
[edit]
Yeager and Dick Rutan decided to attempt to fly around the world without refueling. They formed Voyager Aircraft, Inc., and Burt Rutan began designing the aircraft. Unable to find a commercial sponsor, Yeager created the Voyager Impressive People (VIP) program which became the major source of money to build, test, and fly the aircraft. By mid-1986, Voyager was ready for the flight. Yeager flew as co-pilot on the 216-hour flight and set a world absolute distance record. This was the first time a woman had been listed in an absolute category.[citation needed]
Dick Rutan and Voyager sued Yeager in 1995, alleging that she had misappropriated memorabilia and funds from Voyager. The lawsuit was dropped in 1996.[2]
Awards
[edit]- 1986 Harmon Trophy
- National Air and Space Museum Trophy, shared with Dick Rutan
- FAI De la Vaulx Medal, shared with Dick Rutan
- 1986 Presidential Citizens Medal, shared with Dick and Burt Rutan
- Collier Trophy (first female recipient), shared with Dick and Burt Rutan
- 1985 Society of Experimental Test Pilots Jack Northrop Award,[8] shared with Dick Rutan
- 1987 Society of Experimental Test Pilots Iven C. Kincheloe Award, shared with Dick Rutan[9]
- 1988: Franklin Institute Edward Longstreth Medal[10]
In 2013, Flying magazine ranked Yeager and Dick Rutan No. 33 on their list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Jeana Yeager: All you should know about the first woman to fly around the World Non-stop : Worldly Science". India Today. October 23, 2015. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ a b "T.C. Memo. 2003-109" (PDF). United States Tax Court. April 18, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2009. Retrieved Oct 23, 2015.
- ^ Onkst, David H. "Dick Rutan, Jeana Yeager, and the Flight of the Voyager". U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02.
- ^ "Jeana Yeager Was Not Just Along for the Ride". Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1986. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- ^ a b "Gathering of Eagles Foundation : Yeager, Jeana L." Gathering of Eagles Foundation. Archived from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ "Records - World Air Sports Federation". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ^ "Women in Aviation and Space History - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "Jack Northrop Award Recipients". The Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Iven C. Kincheloe Award Recipients". The Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Jeanna Yeager". Franklin Institute. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
- ^ "51 Heroes of Aviation". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
Further reading
[edit]- Yeager, Jeana; Patton, Phil; Dick, Rutan (February 1989). Voyager. HarperCollins. p. 416. ISBN 0060971975.
- Baldwin, Louis (1996). Women of strength : biographies of 106 who have excelled in traditionally male fields, A.D. 61 to the present. Jefferson, NC [u.a.]: McFarland. p. 254. ISBN 0786402504.
External links
[edit]
- Jeana Yeager Collection at Texas A&M University–Commerce
- Round the world flight at National Air and Space Museum
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1952 births
- Living people
- Aviators from Texas
- Harmon Trophy winners
- Collier Trophy recipients
- Flight distance record holders
- People from Fort Worth, Texas
- Presidential Citizens Medal recipients
- American aviation record holders
- American women aviation record holders
- Women aviation pioneers
- 21st-century American women
- American aviation pioneers