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Winifred Evelyn Spooner (11 September 1900 – 13 January 1933)〔(Early Aviators. From The Great Encyclopedia of Aeronautics of Luigi Mancini, Milan, 1934, Courtesy of Giovanni Giorgetti, 112-10-05 )〕 was an English aviator of the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of the Harmon Trophy as the world's outstanding female aviator of 1929. She died aged 32 from pneumonia. Winifred Spooner was born in Woolwich in Kent. She attended Sherborne Girls in Dorset. She received a pilot's licence No. 8137 from London Aeroplane Club in September 1927,〔(''The Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom – official notices to members'' ) in Flight, 29 September 1927, p. 689〕 and then she became active competitor in sports aviation. She became only the 16th woman to receive a licence.〔(Hendon Air Museum )〕 She also received an Aviators's Certificate in the USA. This is dated 21 August 1931 and is signed by Orville Wright. Winifred's brothers, Tony and Frank, had leased some farmland and stables near Folly Court in Wokingham where they schooled and sold polo-ponies, hunters and steeplechasers. They called their enterprise The Polo Farm. During the First World War Frank had served as a cavalry officer in India, and from 1917 to 1918, had been the head of the equestrian school. Fortunately there was a field on the farm big enough upon which to land a light aircraft so Winifred built a wooden hangar and moved her Moth from Stag Lane. During this period Winifred, Hugh and Frank resided at No. 4, South Drive in Wokingham. Winifred continued her Air-Taxi Service, charging £4 an hour or one shilling a mile, covering Britain and France, and gave flying lessons. She also purchased a car. Wokingham locals recall her being one of the first woman drivers in the area. Some time later she moved to Scott's Farm near Bearwood, now part of Woosehill. == Achievements == In July 1928 she took the 3rd place in the seventh King's Cup Race and won the Siddeley Trophy as the first Aeroplane Club aviator to cross the line (flying DH.60 Cirrus I Moth).〔(''Flight'', July 26, 1928, p.636 )〕 In 1929 she finished fifth in the King's Cup Race, and won the Harmon Trophy as the world's outstanding female aviator. She also took 10th place in the International Tourist Plane Contests ''Challenge''. In 1930 she was a member of the British team at the International Tourist Plane Contest Challenge 1930 between 16 July and 8 August in Berlin, Germany, finishing the rally seventh overall in her De Havilland Gipsy Moth. She completed the whole contest on a high 4th position.〔 Krzyżan, Marian. Międzynarodowe turnieje lotnicze 1929–1934, Warsaw 1988, ISBN 83-206-0637-3〕 In late August of the same year she was fourth in the handicapped race ''Giro Aereo d'Italia'' in Italy.〔(''Circuit of Italy'' ) in Flight, 5 September 1930, p.991〕 On 5 December 1930, accompanied by Captain Edwards, she set out to prove that South Africa could be reached within 5 days by flying day and night. Unfortunately after 16 hours while Captain Edwards was flying the aircraft and Winifred was asleep, the plane crashed into the sea off the coast of Belmonte Calabro in complete darkness. Captain Edwards could not give a reason for the plane steadily losing height without his knowledge. As Captain Edwards could not swim Winifred left him sitting on the wooden fuselage and swam ashore "6 strokes at a time". She was about 2 miles offshore. She then alerted local fishermen who set out to rescue Captain Edwards and the plane. 〔(Winifred Spooner – London to Cape Town at Earlyaviators.com )〕 〔(BBC Radio 4 – Clare Walker ''Women with Altitude, A History of Early Pioneer Women Aviators'' )〕 〔(''Women with Wings: Female Flyers in Fact and Fiction'' by Mary Cadogan )〕 She participated in three out of four F.A.I – International Tourist Plane Contests – Challenge 1929, Challenge 1930, Challenge 1932, as one of only two women; being one of top contestants and taking the 10th place in 1929 and 4th place in 1930. In 1932 she occupied the 4th position after technical trials, but she decided to withdraw after a forced landing, caused by a sabotage on her fuel.〔 In 1931, she took the fifth place in the King's Cup Race and became the first British woman to earn her living as a private owner's personal pilot flying air racer and MP, Sir William Lindsay Everard, all over Britain, Europe, Turkey and the Middle East.〔(BBC Radio 4 – Making History ).〕 She is reported to have crashed an aircraft in Cleator Moor in Cumberland, UK. The date is unknown but the plane was taken to the Mill Yard, and Spooner is reported to have suffered no more than tattered stockings. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Winifred Spooner」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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