Jeana Yeager
Jeana Yeager | |
---|---|
![]() Yeager in 1986 in front of Voyager | |
Born | |
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), more than doubling the old distance record set by a Boeing B-52 strategic bomber in 1962.
Early life and career[]
Jeana Lee Yeager was born on May 18, 1952, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Royal Lee Yeager (March 12, 1918 - March 17, 2001) and Mary Frances Yeager (née Dewberry) (March 17, 1920 – November 13, 2017). 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]
Jeana Yeager is not related to fellow aviator and test pilot General Chuck Yeager.[7]
Round-the-world flight[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/VoyagerAircraftAtNASM-common.jpg/250px-VoyagerAircraftAtNASM-common.jpg)
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. Initially unable to find a commercial sponsor, Yeager started 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[]
In recognition of the 1986 Voyager flight, Yeager received both the Harmon and National Air and Space Museum trophies, the FAI De la Vaulx Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Ronald Reagan and the Collier Trophy (becoming its first female recipient). She shared the Presidential Citizens Medal and Collier Trophy with Dick and Burt Rutan. She was also awarded the Edward Longstreth Medal from the Franklin Institute in 1988.[8] In 2013, Flying magazine ranked Yeager (with Dick Rutan) No. 33 on their list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation.[9]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: 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. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: 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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Gathering of Eagles Foundation : Yeager, Jeana L." Gathering of Eagles Foundation. 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.
- ^ "Jeanna Yeager". Franklin Institute. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
- ^ "51 Heroes of Aviation". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
Further reading[]
- 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[]
Media related to Jeana Yeager at Wikimedia Commons
- Jeana Yeager Collection at Texas A&M University–Commerce
- 1952 births
- Living people
- American female aviators
- 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 female aviation record holders