Caroline duPont Prickett
Multi-engine License, Qualified in Numerous Airplanes, Managed Summit Aviation,
Woman of the Year
Caroline, after high school, went to the Sorbonne University in Paris to study art with the ultimate goal of working at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. Before achieving her ultimate goal, she married
Richard C. (Kip) du Pont who was in aviation as a pilot, mechanic, innovator, and in 1960, founder of Summit Aviation, Inc. and Summit Airline.
Part of Caroline's promise to Kip when they got married was to learn how to fly, fish, and hunt. While raising three children, managing the family farm, and raising Black Angus and American Buffalos, she got both her single and mulit-engine licenses and checked out as Kip's legal co-pilot in their DC-3. She became qualified in numerous other airplanes, and in 1977 she flew a Cessna in the last Powder Puff Derby, an all-female air race, from Palm Springs, CA to Tampa, FL placing fourth in overall efficiency.
When Kip died in 1986 at the age of 49, Caroline was left with Summit and other businesses. She vowed not to close the plant despite the less than promising condition of general aviation. She invested all she had, including her house, farm, and even her jewelry, to keep the business going. She worked long hours to learn the business, took risks, and overcame reverses. Summit became a state of the art FAA certified repair station for airframes, radios, engines, and instrument repairs and upgrades. In 2003 she was named Woman of the Year by the New Castle County Chamber of
Commerce, and again in 2007, The Wall Street Journal named Summit as one of the top 15 Top Small Workplaces in the U.S.
In 1993, Caroline married the late William Prickett, who died in 2014. She sold the business in 2008, satisfied that she had achieved all of her goals. Kip preceded her into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002.
