First woman to solo a Hughes Model 269A helicopter

In 1961, Betty Miller became the first woman to solo a Hughes Model 269A helicopter, a notable barrier-breaking milestone in rotary-wing aviation. The sources provide the year but not the exact day, so the achievement is recorded here as a year-dated event. Even without a precise calendar date, the accomplishment stands out as an early and highly visible example of women entering specialized helicopter operations.

The Hughes 269A was part of a new generation of helicopters that broadened the practical and professional possibilities of rotary-wing flight. For a woman to solo such an aircraft in the early 1960s was historically important because helicopter flying was still associated with military, industrial, and male-dominated technical work. Miller’s solo flight challenged assumptions about who could master complex aircraft and helped normalize women’s competence in advanced aviation.

This achievement also mattered because it preceded her later record-making Pacific flight. It showed that Miller was not a one-time publicized pilot but a steadily advancing aviator with the training and confidence to operate demanding aircraft. In the broader context of women’s history, the solo signaled that barriers in aviation were being contested not only in fixed-wing flight but also in the newer and more technically intimidating world of helicopters.