{"id":289,"date":"2019-11-06T23:58:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T23:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pimaair.wpengine.com\/?post_type=hall_of_fame&#038;p=289"},"modified":"2019-12-30T11:26:58","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T18:26:58","slug":"irene-leverton","status":"publish","type":"hall_of_fame","link":"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/irene-leverton\/","title":{"rendered":"Irene Leverton"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Irene Leverton<\/h1>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame<\/strong><br \/><strong><em><span style=\"color: #2387c3;\">Enshrined 2004<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Irene Leverton, a resident of Chino Valley, Arizona since 1988, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1927. Irene was probably born several years early because as a little girl, she played with model airplanes instead of dolls. She dreamed of being a fighter pilot, and of flying international ferries. In the \u201940s, \u201950s and \u201960s, in a man\u2019s world, those dreams would prove difficult to fulfill. Nevertheless, flying has been Irene\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>She started as a duster and sprayer pilot, and then became a wartime flight instructor, teaching primary, advanced and aerobatic courses.<\/p>\n<p>Later she instructed in gliders. Irene ferried aircraft, flew air ambulances, charters, and operated her own taxi service and flight school. She has flown as an executive pilot, scheduled commuter captain and for the Forest Service. For 14 years Irene was an FAA-designated pilot examiner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Irene-Leverton.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>She was part of the Mercury 13, a group of women who volunteered and passed the Mercury Space Program\u2019s basic medical tests for becoming an astronaut. Irene has frequently been involved with the Civil Air Patrol as a volunteer since 1944. She keeps her airline transport and flight instructor certificates current. Irene Leverton has been flying for 60 years and has accumulated 25,490 pilot hours in that period. She is also a motivational speaker, writer, and an accomplished artist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- {\"name\":\"Hall of Fame - Layout\",\"type\":\"layout\",\"children\":[{\"type\":\"section\",\"props\":{\"style\":\"default\",\"width\":\"default\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"title_position\":\"top-left\",\"title_rotation\":\"left\",\"title_breakpoint\":\"xl\",\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\",\"header_transparent\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\"1-1\",\"breakpoint\":\"m\",\"fixed_width\":\"large\",\"column_gap\":\"\",\"row_gap\":\"\",\"width\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"headline\",\"props\":{\"title_element\":\"h1\",\"title_style\":\"\",\"title_decoration\":\"divider\",\"title_font_family\":\"\",\"title_color\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"Irene Leverton\"}}]}]},{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\",\",\"breakpoint\":\"m\",\"fixed_width\":\"large\",\"column_gap\":\"\",\"row_gap\":\"\",\"width\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"text_style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"text_size\":\"\",\"column\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p><strong>Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame<\\\/strong><br \\\/><strong><em><span style=\\\"color: #2387c3;\\\">Enshrined 2004<\\\/span><\\\/em><\\\/strong><\\\/p>\"}},{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"text_style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"text_size\":\"\",\"column\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>Irene Leverton, a resident of Chino Valley, Arizona since 1988, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1927. Irene was probably born several years early because as a little girl, she played with model airplanes instead of dolls. She dreamed of being a fighter pilot, and of flying international ferries. In the \\u201940s, \\u201950s and \\u201960s, in a man\\u2019s world, those dreams would prove difficult to fulfill. Nevertheless, flying has been Irene\\u2019s life.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p>She started as a duster and sprayer pilot, and then became a wartime flight instructor, teaching primary, advanced and aerobatic courses.<\\\/p>\\n\n\n<p>Later she instructed in gliders. Irene ferried aircraft, flew air ambulances, charters, and operated her own taxi service and flight school. She has flown as an executive pilot, scheduled commuter captain and for the Forest Service. For 14 years Irene was an FAA-designated pilot examiner.<\\\/p>\"}}]},{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"middle\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"image\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"image_svg_color\":\"emphasis\",\"link_target\":\"\",\"image_border\":\"rounded\",\"image_box_shadow\":\"\",\"image_hover_box_shadow\":\"\",\"image_box_decoration\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"center\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"image\":\"wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/Irene-Leverton.jpg\"}}]}]},{\"type\":\"row\",\"props\":{\"layout\":\"1-1\",\"breakpoint\":\"m\",\"fixed_width\":\"large\",\"column_gap\":\"\",\"row_gap\":\"\",\"width\":\"\",\"width_expand\":\"\",\"height\":\"\",\"margin\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"column\",\"props\":{\"image_position\":\"center-center\",\"media_overlay_gradient\":\"\",\"vertical_align\":\"\",\"style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"padding\":\"\"},\"children\":[{\"type\":\"text\",\"props\":{\"margin\":\"default\",\"column_breakpoint\":\"m\",\"text_style\":\"\",\"text_color\":\"\",\"text_size\":\"\",\"column\":\"\",\"position\":\"\",\"position_z_index\":\"\",\"maxwidth\":\"\",\"maxwidth_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align\":\"\",\"block_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"block_align_fallback\":\"\",\"text_align\":\"\",\"text_align_breakpoint\":\"\",\"text_align_fallback\":\"\",\"animation\":\"\",\"visibility\":\"\",\"content\":\"\n\n<p>She was part of the Mercury 13, a group of women who volunteered and passed the Mercury Space Program\\u2019s basic medical tests for becoming an astronaut. Irene has frequently been involved with the Civil Air Patrol as a volunteer since 1944. She keeps her airline transport and flight instructor certificates current. Irene Leverton has been flying for 60 years and has accumulated 25,490 pilot hours in that period. She is also a motivational speaker, writer, and an accomplished artist.<\\\/p>\"}}]}]}]}],\"version\":\"1.22.2\",\"props\":[]} --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":130,"template":"","class_list":["post-289","hall_of_fame","type-hall_of_fame","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","lastname-leverton"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Irene Leverton - Pima Air &amp; Space<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pimaair.org\/hall-of-fame\/irene-leverton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Irene Leverton - Pima Air &amp; Space\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Irene Leverton Arizona Aviation Hall of FameEnshrined 2004 Irene Leverton, a resident of Chino Valley, Arizona since 1988, was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1927. 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