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{{short description|American aviator}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Fran Bera
| image = Fran Bera.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Fran Bera (left)
| birth_name = Frances Sebastian
| birth_date = December 7, 1924 
| birth_place = Mulliken, Michigan
| death_date = February 10, 2018 
| death_place = San Diego, California
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| occupation = Aviator
| years_active = 1945-1985
| known_for = World altitude record for class C-l-d, established in June 1966 in Long Beach, California
| awards = The Elder Statesmen Award for Aviation, Winner of the Palm to Pines All Women's Air Race in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2005
| notable_works =
}}
'''Fran Bera''' (December 7, 1924{{sfn|Welch|1998|p=18}} in [[Mulliken, Michigan]]{{r|NYTobit}} – February 10, 2018),<ref>{{cite web|title=SD99s History|url=http://www.sd99s.org/sd99s-history.html|website=San Diego Ninety-Nines|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303072421/http://www.sd99s.org/sd99s-history.html|archive-date=3 March 2018|language=en}}</ref> was an American female aviator and record setting pilot.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Records {{!}} World Air Sports Federation |url=https://fai.org/records?f%5B0%5D=field_type_of_record:127&f%5B1%5D=field_athlete%253Atitle_field:Frances%20Bera |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=fai.org}}</ref> She is the first woman to fly a [[helicopter]] without a [[tail rotor]].<ref name="Rowley1999">{{cite magazine|last1=Rowley|first1=Betty|title=99 Fran Bera has done it all and she just keeps on going and going and going|url=http://www.ninety-nines.org/fran-bera.htm|access-date=7 October 2016|date=February 1999|magazine=99 NEWS MAGAZINE}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Frances Sebastian was born, in 1924, to Hungarian immigrant farmers in [[Mulliken, Michigan]], the youngest of eight children.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news|last1=Slotnik|first1=Daniel E.|title=Fran Bera, Competitive, Record-Breaking Aviator, Is Dead at 93|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/obituaries/fran-bera-competitive-record-breaking-aviator-is-dead-at-93.html|access-date=16 April 2018|work=The New York Times|date=12 April 2018|page=A28}}</ref> She graduated from high school in [[Lake Odessa, Michigan]], but was then rejected from the [[Women Airforce Service Pilots]] due to her height (4<nowiki>'9''</nowiki>).<ref name=NYTobit/>

She earned her pilot's license at age 16 and became a designated examiner to certify new pilots at age 24.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=2018-04-11 |title=Fran Bera, Competitive, Record-Breaking Aviator, Is Dead at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/11/obituaries/fran-bera-competitive-record-breaking-aviator-is-dead-at-93.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> She was the youngest, and one of the first women pilot examiners.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-05-08 |title=Pilots: Fran Bera |url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2013/august/pilot/pilots-fran-bera |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.aopa.org |language=en}}</ref>

== Career ==
Bera was a test pilot and became the first saleswoman for [[Piper Aircraft|Piper]] and [[Beech Aircraft|Beech aircraft]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearlman |first=Karen |date=2018-03-22 |title=Flyovers to honor Fran Bera, 93, jet-setting aviation pioneer |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/sd-se-obituary-bera-20180320-story.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> Fran was a [[CFII (flying)|CFII]] for over 50 years and administered over 3,000 check ride exams for new pilots and advanced rated pilots. She primarily flew fixed wing and helicopters through much of her life. She stopped logging her flight hours after 25,000. A member of the [[Ninety-Nines|Ninety Nines]], she estimated she had spent the equivalent of three years in the pilot's seat. In 1993, she flew her [[Piper Cherokee|Piper 235 Cherokee]] from California to Siberia "just for the fun of it".<ref name=":0" /> Bera flew her 1966 pink and white [[Piper PA-24 Comanche|Piper Comanche, PA 24 – 260]], with “Kick Ass” printed under the tail section, until she was 91 years old.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearlman |first=Karen |date=2018-03-22 |title=Fran Bera honored by hundreds in El Cajon |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/east-county/sd-se-franbera-celebration-20180322-story.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Records and recognition ==
Bera held a number of aviation records and began winning air races shortly after she began competing in the 1950s. During her race career, she recorded seven wins in the All-Women's Transcontinental Air Races (commonly known as the [[Powder Puff Derby]]) in the 1950s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://awtar.airraceclassic.org/winners-list.htm?EventYear=1951|title = AWTAR 1951 race}}</ref> as well as seven wins in the Palm to Pines All Women's Air Race.<ref name=":0" />

On July 16, 1966, she set the record for the highest altitude in a normally aspirated aircraft (40,154+ feet in a [[Piper Aztec]]) in Long Beach, California. This record remains current as of May 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Records {{!}} World Air Sports Federation |url=https://fai.org/records?f%5B0%5D=field_type_of_record:127&f%5B1%5D=field_athlete%253Atitle_field:Frances%20Bera |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=fai.org}}</ref>

=== Additional awards and honors ===

* 2005 - Livingston Award, presented by the [[Whirly-Girls]] for contributions to women in helicopter aviation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Achievement Awards – Whirly-Girls International |url=https://whirlygirls.org/achievement-awards/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2006 - The Elder Statesman Award for Aviation, presented to her in Washington, D.C. by former Senator Bob Dole<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-26 |title=NAA: National Aeronautic Association |url=http://www.naa.aero/html/awards/index.cfm?cmsid=63 |access-date=2024-05-22 |archive-date=2007-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626092704/http://www.naa.aero/html/awards/index.cfm?cmsid=63 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* 2006 - Women In Aviation (WIA) award for outstanding female aviator
* 2006 - Inductee, [[Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearlman |first=Karen |date=2018-03-22 |title=Flyovers to honor Fran Bera, 93, jet-setting aviation pioneer |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/sd-se-obituary-bera-20180320-story.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2006 - FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pilots - The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Awards - FAA - FAASTeam - FAASafety.gov |url=https://www.faasafety.gov/content/masterpilot/ViewRecipient.aspx?id=87 |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=www.faasafety.gov}}</ref>
* 2008 - Inducted into the [[International Air & Space Hall of Fame]] at the [[San Diego Air & Space Museum]].<ref>Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. {{ISBN|978-1-57864-397-4}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=San Diego Air & Space Museum - Historical Balboa Park, San Diego |url=https://sandiegoairandspace.org/newsletters/article/honoring-legendary-aviator-fran-bera |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=sandiegoairandspace.org}}</ref>
* 2011 - The Katharine Wright Award for over 50 years in aviation with no aviation accidents or incidents<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jetpack |title=Katharine Wright Trophy |url=https://naa.aero/awards/awards-trophies/katharine-wright-trophy/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |language=en}}</ref>

== External links ==

* "[https://www.pbs.org/video/hearts-above-clouds-zha04q/ Hearts Above Clouds]" an aviation documentary about women pilots, featuring Bera.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jensen |first=Cheantay |date=2022-05-24 |title=Long Beach women aviators are the focus of new documentary airing on PBS |url=https://lbpost.com/hi-lo/long-beach-women-aviators-are-the-focus-of-new-documentary-airing-on-pbs/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=the Hi-lo |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [https://fai.org/records?f%5B0%5D=field_type_of_record%3A127&f%5B1%5D=field_athlete%253Atitle_field%3AFrances%20Bera C-1d altitude record] from [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Welch|first=Rosanne|title=Encyclopedia of Women in Aviation and Space|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo00rosa|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-87436-958-8}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bera, Fran}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:American women aviators]]
[[Category:People from Eaton County, Michigan]]
[[Category:Aviators from Michigan]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian descent]]

{{Aviation-bio-stub}}
[[Category:American test pilots]]
[[Category:Flight instructors]]
[[Category:Aviation record holders]]
[[Category:Aviation records]]
[[Category:Air racing champions]]
[[Category:Air racers]]
[[Category:Hall of fame inductees]]
[[Category:Women helicopter pilots]]

Fran Bera - Revision history

Admin: 1 revision imported

wikipedia>Cornmazes at 05:03, 9 February 2025