Ingrid Pedersen Scrapbook

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Ingrid Pedersen was a commercial pilot and flight instructor who became the first woman to pilot an aircraft over the North Pole in 1963. This collection consists of a scrapbook chronicling the aviation career of Ingrid Pedersen.

Ingrid Pedersen (1933--2012) was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and became a United States citizen in 1985. Pedersen obtained her Private Pilot license in 1957 and continued on to receive her Commercial, Instrument, and Airline Transport Ratings. In 1963, Pedersen become the first woman to pilot an aircraft over the North Pole, with her husband, Einar, as the navigator. Her aircraft on this historic flight was a Cessna 205, the Snow Goose. The flight originated in Fairbanks, Alaska, and was completed in Bodo, Norway. Between 1965 and 1987 Pedersen flew single engine Cessnas from Wichita, Kansas and Anchorage, Alaska, over arctic Canada, Greenland and Iceland, to Norway. As a commercial pilot in the Spitzbergen Islands from 1974-1975, she made successful landings on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean. During 1976-1977, Pedersen was on commission by the Norwegian Polar Institute and made seven landings on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean in order to place meteorological buoys between Spitzbergen, Greenland, and the North Pole. Beginning in 1979 she was a commercial pilot and flight instructor in Alaska and in 1992 she started work at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, where she served as Associate Director. In 1963 she received the Amelia Earhart Medal from the Alaska Chapter of the 99's and she was awarded the Gold Plaque by the Royal Swedish Aero Club in 1964. In 1995 she published a book about her Arctic flying experiences, entitled Perfume and Motoroil.

Identifier

NASM.2000.0042

Creator

Pedersen, Ingrid, 1933-

Date

1960s-1990s

Provenance

Ingrid Pederson, Gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0042.

Extent

0.35 Cubic feet (1 flat box)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a scrapbook chronicling the aviation career of Ingrid Pedersen. The scrapbook contains the following types of material: photographs (black and white, color); correspondence; newspaper articles; programs; and maps. The collection also contains a small amount of loose material including photographs, news clippings, and other documents.

Arrangement note

Collection is in original order.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

Ingrid Pedersen Scrapbook, NASM.2000.0042, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Women in aeronautics
Women air pilots
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States
Aeronautics, Commercial
Aeronautics -- Records
Aeronautics
Cessna 205

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Maps
Clippings
Correspondence
Photographs

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