While a student at Bennington College in 1940, whe was smitten by the urge to fly during an airshow; despite remonstrances by her dad not to fly, she paid her dollar " and squished into the seat" for a chance to fly on a small plane.
She cut a deal with her dad that if she stayed in college, he would pay for her flight lessons.
After graduation she joined the WASPs. Male pilots were sent overseas, so an opportunity arose for her; she began to ferry planes from factories to airports or ports where they would be shipped overseas.
Betty Haas Pfister with her P=39 Fighter
After the war she worked as an aircraft mechanic; then, with over 1000 hours of flight time, she became a stewardess with Pan American.
In 1950, she won the All Women's International Air Race from Montreal to West Palm Beach Florida; then, in 1952, she again won the race in a flight from St. Augustine, Florida to Welland, Ontario.
She was very proud of her P-39 a surplus fighter airplane that she named Galloping Gertie. She later earned her helicopter license and said she would rather fly "an hour in a helicopter than 100 hours in an airplane."
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