# Nancy Hopkins (aviator)

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/wiki/page_0078
> Last updated: 2026-07-18T22:20:37.554Z

[Template:Short description](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Short_description&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:More citations needed](/mw/index.php?title=Template:More_citations_needed&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:Infobox person](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Infobox_person&action=edit&redlink=1)

**Nancy Hopkins Tier** (May 16, 1909 – January 15, 1997) was an American aviator. She was the president of the [International Women's Air and Space Museum](/mw/index.php?title=International_Women%27s_Air_%26_Space_Museum&action=edit&redlink=1) and a member of [United Flying Octogenarians](/mw/index.php?title=United_Flying_Octogenarians&action=edit&redlink=1).

## Contents

- [1 Early life](#Early_life)

- [2 Career](#Career)

- [3 Personal life](#Personal_life)

- [4 Timeline](#Timeline)

- [5 References](#References)

- [6 Further reading](#Further_reading)

- [7 External links](#External_links)

## Early life

She was born as **Nancy Hopkins** on May 16, 1909 in [Washington, D.C.](/mw/index.php?title=Washington,_D.C.&action=edit&redlink=1) Her father was Alfred Francis Hopkins I (1879–1955), who was born in [Wayne, Pennsylvania](/mw/index.php?title=Wayne,_Pennsylvania&action=edit&redlink=1) and worked as an antique salesman. Alfred was said to be related to the Hopkins family that founded [Johns Hopkins University](/mw/index.php?title=Johns_Hopkins_University&action=edit&redlink=1); Alfred's father was from Maryland, and his mother from Maine. Nancy's mother was Anne DeWolf Gibson (1877–1963). Nancy had a brother, Alfred Francis Hopkins II (1914–1988), an illustrator, and two sisters, Frances and Betty. She was a niece of Lady [Nancy Astor](/mw/index.php?title=Nancy_Astor&action=edit&redlink=1), and her uncle, [Charles Dana Gibson](/mw/index.php?title=Charles_Dana_Gibson&action=edit&redlink=1) (1867–1944), was the creator of the [Gibson Girl](/mw/index.php?title=Gibson_Girl&action=edit&redlink=1).

## Career

In November 1927 she had her first flight from [Hoover Field](/mw/index.php?title=Hoover_Field&action=edit&redlink=1) in [Arlington, Virginia](/mw/index.php?title=Arlington,_Virginia&action=edit&redlink=1), and in 1929 she received limited commercial license #5889 at Roosevelt Field in New York. In 1930 she listed her occupation as "aviation air pilot". That same year her father was working as an "antique salesman", and her mother was not listed as living in the household.

In 1930, she entered the [Women's Dixie Derby](/mw/index.php?title=Women%27s_Dixie_Derby&action=edit&redlink=1), a 2,000-mile air race from [Washington, District of Columbia](/mw/index.php?title=Washington,_D.C.&action=edit&redlink=1), to [Chicago, Illinois](/mw/index.php?title=Chicago,_Illinois&action=edit&redlink=1). She flew her Viking Kitty Hawk B4 biplane, NC30V. That same year she was one of four women in the 5,000-mile [Ford National Reliability Air Tour](/mw/index.php?title=Ford_National_Reliability_Air_Tour&action=edit&redlink=1), and the only woman pilot.

During a flight in the winter of 1931, her plane entered a [flat spin](/mw/index.php?title=Flat_spin_(aviation)&action=edit&redlink=1) and nearly crashed. She climbed out of the cockpit preparing to parachute, but her weight on the wing tilted the aircraft enough to take her out of the spin. She climbed back into the cockpit and regained control at 200 feet.[Template:Citation needed](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Citation_needed&action=edit&redlink=1)[1] This led to a job at Viking as a spokeswoman. In 1931 she also received her transport license.

She participated in several air races including:

- 1930 Ford Reliability Tour

- 1930 Women's Dixie Derby

- 1932 Meridien Aviation Pylon Race

- 1971 New England Air Race

Hopkins joined the Connecticut [Civil Air Patrol](/mw/index.php?title=Civil_Air_Patrol&action=edit&redlink=1) in 1942 and rose to the rank of Colonel.

## Personal life

She married Irving Vanderroest Tier (1902–1978) on February 24, 1931 in Connecticut.[2]

Hopkins died in [Sharon, Connecticut](/mw/index.php?title=Sharon,_Connecticut&action=edit&redlink=1) on January 15, 1997.

## Timeline

[Template:Prose](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Prose&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:Div col](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Div_col&action=edit&redlink=1)

- 1909 Birth

- 1927 First flight from Hoover Field in Arlington, Virginia

- 1929 Limited commercial license #5889 at Roosevelt Field, New York

- 1929 Charter member of [Ninety-Nines](/mw/index.php?title=Ninety-Nines&action=edit&redlink=1)

- 1930 [Ford National Reliability Air Tour](/mw/index.php?title=Ford_National_Reliability_Air_Tour&action=edit&redlink=1)

- 1930 Women's Dixie Derby

- 1931 Transport license

- 1931 Marriage

- 1931 Plane in a spin

- 1931 Connecticut Speed Champion

- 1932 Meridien Aviation Pylon Race

- 1933 Flew coast to coast

- 1942 [Civil Air Patrol](/mw/index.php?title=Civil_Air_Patrol&action=edit&redlink=1)

- 1963 Flew the first day covers for the Amelia Earhart stamp from Atchison to New York City

- 1971 New England Air Race

- 1976 C.W. Post University award

- 1983 [Wings Club](/mw/index.php?title=Wings_Club&action=edit&redlink=1) award

- 1986 President of the [International Women's Air and Space Museum](/mw/index.php?title=International_Women%27s_Air_and_Space_Museum&action=edit&redlink=1)

- 1992 Pioneer Women in Aviation Hall of Fame

- 1992 (circa) Honorary member of US Air Force's 38th Strategic Missile Wing

- 1994 resigns as president of the [International Women's Air and Space Museum](/mw/index.php?title=International_Women%27s_Air_and_Space_Museum&action=edit&redlink=1)

- 1997 Death

[Template:Div col end](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Div_col_end&action=edit&redlink=1)

## References

[Template:Reflist](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Reflist&action=edit&redlink=1)

## Further reading

- George Vecsey and George C. Dade; *Getting off the Ground*

- New York Times; August 29, 1930, page 03; "Lindberghs hailed by air race crowd"

## External links

- [Nancy Hopkins](http://www.earlyaviators.com/etier.htm) at Early Aviators

- [National Air Tour website](http://www.nationalairtour.org)

[Template:Authority control](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Authority_control&action=edit&redlink=1)

1. [↑](#cite_ref-1) [Template:Cite news](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_news&action=edit&redlink=1)

1. [↑](#cite_ref-2) [Template:Cite news](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_news&action=edit&redlink=1)

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nancy Hopkins (aviator)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hopkins_(aviator)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Hopkins_(aviator)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.