Spartan College Staff and Students Restore Women’s International Aerobatic Championship Plane “Lil Stinker"

Students and staff from Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology are volunteering their time to restore a Pitts Special aircraft. The aircraft is similar to an aircraft famous aerobatic aviator Betty Skelton flew named “Lil Stinker”. Betty Skelton won the Women’s International Aerobatic Championship three years in a row from 1948-1950. She has been inducted into 10 halls of fame and her original Lil Stinker Pitts now hangs in the Smithsonian Museum.  

As a tribute to Betty Skeleton, the Spirit of Flight Museum is working with Spartan College to rebuild a Pitts Special into a replica of Betty Skelton’s Lil Stinker. Watch the video from Chasing Planes to learn more about Skelton’s impact on the aviation industry and see the framework for the project.