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Zoe Dell Lantis Nutter, an American dancer, actress and model who became a promoter, educator, marketer, commercial pilot, and philanthropist, was born on this day in 1915. Her story is nothing short of remarkable. Zoe Dell (1915-2020) rose to fame during the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, held at Treasure Island, where she who worked as a promotional “theme girl” (dressed in a pirate costume, which was a nod to the Treasure Island location) and later official hostess. A theme of the Expo was commercial aviation and she traveled extensively across the country as part of her work. Not content simply to be a passenger, she earned a commercial pilot certificate with multiengine and instrument ratings, and in the early 1960s worked as a spokesperson for Piper Aircraft. She married her husband, Ervin Nutter in 1965; he owned Elano Corporation, an aerospace engineering firm and supplier. Zoe Dell became president of Elano’s small aircraft division and a company pilot. While at Elano, she designed an aircraft manifold that, despite initial rejections by all aircraft engine manufacturers, eventually became standard equipment on many models, adding power, reducing engine maintenance requirements, and enabling a quieter, better-heated cockpit. Zoe Dell was active in the pilot community, helping to organize the Monterey Bay Chapter of @theninetyninesinc in 1965. She and her husband are credited as founding members of @nationalaviation. She served as the Hall of Fame’s first female president and was inducted in 2008 as a Living Legend of Aviation. She also served on the Board of Trustees @treasureislandmuseum and on the Board of the San Francisco Aeronautical Society, our non-profit support affiliate. In a 2004 oral history interview, reflecting upon how her desire to be a dancer led her to a lifelong passion for aviation, she said that dancing and flying were similar: "When you get onstage, and you're waiting for your intro and music, you have the same butterflies you have when you taxi up to get your clearance to fly, especially if it's instrument."
This image was posted on June 14, 2021.
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