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SDDOT / Aeronautics / General Information / South Dakota's Aeronautical History
South Dakota's aviation history is an interesting legacy full of brave, interesting,
and colorful innovators. It will be a labor of love to create a page worthy of our
heritage.
Clyde W. Ice - "Safe and Sane Flying" South Dakota Man
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Clyde Ice beside a Ford Tri-motor plane.
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Clyde Ice beside an early bi-wing.
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Clyde Ice - later in his career.
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Collage of Clyde Ice.
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In 1919 at the age of 30, Clyde bought his first plane. It was a damaged Standard Curtis
Trainer World War I surplus plane. Without ever having flown or worked on a plane before in
his life, he repaired the Trainer's three damaged wings himself and learned to fly it
through experimentation and a lot of good luck. Clyde was a barnstormer in general and flew
a charter flight service out of Rapid City, South Dakota. Rapid Air Lines flight service, a
company that Clyde had helped start, decided to buy a Ford Tri-Motor so they could carry more
people in charter flights. He and his mechanic participated in the construction of his
company's new Ford Tri-Motor at the factory adding his own personal modifications to it.
These modifications were even incorporated by Ford in their later planes. Clyde was always
trying to improve upon his planes to make them more useful for his various needs. In 1927,
a couple of ranchers were snowed in Rapid City and they had to get back to their herds to
get them out of the storm. Clyde knew the snow was too deep to land in with tires so he
built skis for his plane. Although the first ski plane had been built and used in Alaska
earlier, this news had not reached South Dakota yet so he was essentially the first pilot to
have them in the region.
In 1928, Clyde was one of the first people to attempt predator control from the air in the
shooting of sheep-killing coyotes. He brought in a record number of 75 in one month and was
photographed for a National Geographic issue that same year. He would fly supplies and medicine
to snow bound people in the outer reaches of South Dakota and took sick and injured people to
medical facilities during the harsh winters typical of the region. In 1937, Clyde was the first
person in this part of the country to try aerial application of insecticides for crop protection
with a device of his own invention. In 65 years of flying in South Dakota, Clyde was proudest of
his record of "Safe and Sane Flying". With all of the miles or hours he has spent flying, he
bets that he is the only pilot of that time who can say he never drew blood (was involved in a
plane accident) of any of his passengers. Clyde W. Ice died in 1992, 103 years old. He was a
licensed pilot into his 90's.
Source: "Sky Trails - The Life of Clyde W. Ice" by Rhonda Coy Sedgwick
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Eleanor "Nellie" Zabel Willhite - First Deaf Female Pilot
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Nellie Willhite, Our First Lady of the Air
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First Aviatrix, Nellie Willhite
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At the age of 35, Nellie enrolled in aviation school and became the State of South
Dakota's first female pilot and probably the first pilot ever who was almost completely
deaf. Nellie's father bought a plane for her: an open-cockpit Alexander Eagle Rock OX-5
biplane. She christened it "Pard", her dad's nickname. She once said: "Even though I
could barely hear the engine roar, I could tell right away if anything was wrong - just
from the vibrations." She earned a living as a "barnstormer", doing air shows, races and
giving rides to whomever wanted one. She was outstanding in the tight, fast maneuvering
necessary in balloon target racing in which pilots would fly into balloons to burst them.
Nellie worked as a commercial pilot until she was 52. She founded the South Dakota chapter
of the "Ninety-Nines", a group of pioneering women flyers. She was a charter member of the
national organization when Amelia Earhart was the president.
Sources: Web site: http://www.workersforjesus.com/dfi/880.htm
Additionally, there is a 32 page paper, 'Nellie Zabel Willhite: South Dakota's First Aviatrix',
that was read at the Dakota History Conference in Madison South Dakota on April 8, 1988. This
paper was written by Rev. Clayton F. Smith from Sioux Falls, SD. An article in the May/June 1989
(Volume #4, Issue #6) copy of South Dakota Magazine also discusses Ms. Willhite's
accomplishments.
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Charles D. "Sam" Gemar - Astronaut
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Astronaut Gemar
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Astronaut Gemar
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Our SD Astronaut, Lt. Col. Charles "Sam" Gemar.
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Born in 1955, Sam Gemar grew up in Scotland, South Dakota and went into the Army
straight out of high school in 1973. In 1979 he attended West Point Military Academy
where he learned to fly and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. In
June of 1985, NASA selected Sam for astronaut training. Sam got his first space
mission in November 1990 when he was part of the STS-38 crew (STS is an acronym for
Space Transportation System). This first mission lasted 5 days while the crew
conducted Department of Defense operations. He orbited the Earth 80 times traveling
over two million miles. His second mission (STS-48) was aboard the Space Shuttle
Discovery in September 1991. During 81 orbits of the Earth, the crew successfully
deployed the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), designed to study the Earth's
upper atmosphere on a global scale. Sam's final mission was STS-62 in March 1994 on
the Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission lasted almost a full 14 days and was the
first shuttle to fly at the lowest orbital altitude of 105 nautical miles. This orbital
altitude was done to study the effects of atomic erosion or "shuttle glow". Sam Gemar is
now retired from NASA and he is the Director of Test-Flight Operations for Bombardier in
Wichita, Kansas.
Sources: Teen Ink Interviews by Whitney S. - Wichita, KS web site
http://www.teenink.com/Past/2000/June/Interviews/SamG.html
NASA Astronaut Biographical Data web site http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/gemar.html
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Joseph Jacob Foss - 'Ace' Marine Pilot & SD Air National Guard Organizer
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Painting of Joe Foss
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Joe Foss & his F4F
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Joe Foss in Life Magazine
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Joe Foss was born in 1915 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and took his first flying lesson in
1937. From there he went on to become a pilot for the US Marine Corp in World War II. With
26 victories, Joe became America's Ace of Aces, and a hero when the country badly needed one.
His actions with the Cactus Air Force in Guadalcanal earned him the Congressional Medal of
Honor and the cover of LIFE magazine. After Guadalcanal, he served a second tour in the Pacific,
ending the war as second highest scoring Marine ace. After the war, in 1946, Foss helped organize
the South Dakota Air National Guard and created their precision jet flying team, "The Red Devils".
In 1955, the "Joe Foss Field" became the name of the Sioux Falls, SD airport in honor of him and
his contributions to the State of South Dakota and aviation.
Sources: National Aviation Hall of Fame web site http://63.146.164.90/museum.asp?eraid=4§ion=museum
Marine Corps Aces of WWII web site http://www.acepilots.com/usmc_foss.html
Sources: National Aviation Hall of Fame web site http://63.146.164.90/museum.asp?eraid=4§ion=museum
The graphics you have just viewed were selected only because of their immediate availability
at the time this page was created. We apologize for the obvious omissions, and we welcome
any contributions of additional pictures. Please call Jennifer Clements at (605) 773-4430 or
contact her by e-mail with your suggestions.
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Serious history buffs will want to refer to a thesis prepared in 1957 by Robert Dewey Orr
for his masters in the Department of History, at the State University of South Dakota. The
title of his 164 paper is "A History of Aviation in South Dakota". A copy of it resides
with the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame, PO Box 481, Deadwood SD 57732.
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