The original Star Trek actor who had major career U-turn to become air pilot

The original Star Trek series is one of the most iconic and celebrated sci-fi series of all time. However, only loyal fans will know that Gene Roddenberry wrote an unaired pilot episode, "The Cage," which the network rejected. One Hollywood actress in that episode played Star Trek's first-ever captain's love interest and later went on to become an accomplished pilot. Susan Oliver was cast as Vina, who was a dancing green-skinned Orion slave. However, during this major point in her acting career, Susan also splashed out on $625 (£466) for flying lessons that year. After they filmed the episode, she earned her private pilot's license and worked on commercial and instrument ratings, and was always at her local airport.

According to History Net, she wrote, "Always, on film locations or publicity junkets, I'd head to the local airport. My log book began filling up with places like Coonamessett, Atlantic City, Victoria, B.C., Mexico City, and Niagara Falls."

Her pilot career then started to kick off; in 1966 she placed second in the Reno Celebrity Air Race. In 1967, she decided to attempt the New York-Moscow crossing.

She trained for the flight with her boyfriend, Mira Slovak, and decided to use an Aero Commander 200 as she had plenty of experience with it. However, before her flight departure, he told her she wasn't ready for the challenge.

"She had the touch, she had the feelings for it, but she didn't have any experience, and the Atlantic needs a lot of experience," Slovak said in a documentary in 2014.

Oliver became only the second woman to complete a solo New York-to-Europe flight at the time. She was still hopeful of flying to Moscow; however, she wasn't even granted an audience with the embassy in Copenhagen.

"No one in that sad, grey other country will even say why I'm not allowed to fly my pretty Bluebird into their private yard," she wrote.

She passed her final FAA physical in 1976, and her career was far from over. Susan was awarded an honorary doctorate of aeronautical science by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and even gained her only Emmy nomination for playing Amelia Earhart's instructors in a TV movie.

Susan Oliver tragically died in 1990, aged 58, after losing her battle with cancer.