Evelyn Stone Bryan Johnson (November 4, 1909 – May 10, 2012), nicknamed "Mama Bird", was the world's oldest flight instructor, and -- at one point -- the pilot with the highest number of flying hours in the world, of any living pilot. She was a colonel in the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

and a founding member of the Morristown, Tennessee Civil Air Patrol squadron.

Biography

Born as Evelyn Stone in

Corbin, Kentucky Corbin is a home rule-class city in Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 7,856. Corbin is on Interstate 75 and US Route 25W, about hal ...

, she was a graduate of

Tennessee Wesleyan College Tennessee Wesleyan University (TWU) is a private Methodist university in Athens, Tennessee. It was founded in 1857 and is affiliated with the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church. It maintains a branch campus in Knoxville, where ...

. As a young woman, she taught school in

Etowah, Tennessee Etowah is a city in McMinn County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 3,613 at the 2020 census. History Etowah was founded in 1906, primarily as a location for a depot on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) line as part o ...

. Later she attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. She married Wyatt Jennings "W.J." Bryan and learned to fly in 1944, while he was serving in the Army Air Corps and the couple was living in

Jefferson City, Tennessee Jefferson City (originally named Mossy Creek) is a city in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 8,419. Histor ...

. She logged 57,635.4 flying hours, and was the oldest flight instructor in the world. She trained more pilots and gave more FAA exams than any other pilot. She was named in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' as having the most flying hours of any woman and the most of any living person. Johnson was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame, the

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

aviation halls of fame and others. She was awarded a bronze Carnegie Medal for rescuing a helicopter pilot after he crashed. Johnson became manager of the

Morristown Regional Airport Morristown Regional Airport (formerly called Moore–Murrell Airport) is a city-owned public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) southwest of the central business district of Morristown, a city in Hamblen County, Tennessee, United ...

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city lies within the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, Ridge and Valley regi ...

, in 1953. She flew into her 90s despite developing eyesight problems and only quit at 96 after a car accident on September 10, 2006, resulted in her undergoing a leg amputation. Even after that, she continued to manage the airport. Johnson's first husband, W. J. Bryan, died on November 11, 1963. In 1965, she married Morgan Johnson, who died in 1977. On July 21, 2007, Johnson was inducted into the

National Aviation Hall of Fame The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

,National Aviation Hall of Fame biography for Evelyn Johnson
/ref> alongside astronaut

Sally Ride Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts V ...

and adventurer

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

, among others. The induction was her sixth such honor. Johnson's scrapbooks, memorabilia, and other papers from the period 1930 to 2002 are housed in the

Archives of Appalachia The Archives of Appalachia are located on the campus of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in Johnson City, Tennessee. Containing books, rare manuscripts, photographs, and audio and moving-image recordings, the archives serve as a resource f ...

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

. Johnson died at age 102 in 2012.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading