Liz Whitney in the 1930s

Liz Altemus Whitney in the 1930s

Colonel C. J. Tippett’s aviation pioneering life is eloquently described, primarily in his own words, in the book “When No One Else Would Fly“, now available on Amazon.com.

The final chapters of the book describe how the Colonel, known as Tip, met Liz, who was not yet a Tippett at that time. She was visiting friends at the Cabo Blanco Fishing Club, and Tip was in a particularly well placed position to help her with a problem.

Tip’s own manuscript, which forms the heart of the book, ends before he married Liz, so he does not describe how he met her, or how their lives developed after 1960. So I ended Tip’s aviation story there as well. The next part of his life, spanning over thirty years, is a very different kind of rollicking adventure as he left civil aviation leadership and took up with Liz’s high society racetrack lifestyle.

Tip and Liz went on to make as many, if not more, headlines than Tip made in the cockpit. Liz had spent her life before Tip in a high profile series of marriages and adventures, and left her own mark in the margins of our American royalty.

Liz was a remarkable woman who was ahead of her time in independence, and who grew up in a time of American history where some, very few, women were pushing the assumptions regarding a woman’s role in society, politics, and industry. I believe that she did what she wanted, without a lot of deep consideration of the cultural consequences – and she followed her passions. She was strong, fractious, and didn’t follow… anyone. She was fascinating, intimidating, and valued her privacy enormously.

Tip was Liz’s fourth, and last, husband. Liz was Tip’s second wife, and their marriage lasted until Liz died in 1988. Their lives together tell a great story – which is in the works. For information on the progress of the book, sign up for our newsletter!

 

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