One early morning, the phone rang, A man asked if I wanted to go up in Frank Schelling’s Jenny. With apprehension I answered, “Today?”
He said, “Frank only flies the Jenny once a year, if you want to go you’ll need to be at the airport before 8 AM.” The scary flight in the 1941 Stearman crossed my mind, but I bravely said, “OK, I’ll be there.” I threw on some clothes then phoned up my best friend of 30 years, Sivani, I asked if she could take photos of me flying in the Jenny. She enthusiastically said, “Sure that’s so cool you get to fly in one!” I sped 80 mile an hour to the airport while looking cautiously for the CHP. I got there just in time and there was my best friend of 30 years, Sivani, with her big, dimpled smile waiting to share the new adventure with me.
We joined a small crowd of men to watch the yearly launch of the Jenny. A handsome young man came up to me and asked, “Are you ready to go up?” I replied, “I think so.” He said, “I’ll help you in the Jenny, I’m the pilot, names Robin Reid.” With a shaky voice I replied, “Isn’t Frank the pilot?” “He doesn’t have a commercial license like I do.” He scanned my distraught face saying, “No need to worry, I fly commercial Boeing 747 airplanes out of the Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose. I’ll give you a very safe flight.”
I calculated that the Jenny was an 89-year-old airplane. Did I have the guts to follow through with this? Pilot Robin gave me a helmet and goggles to put on as he helped me into the cockpit of the Jenny. Frank turned the propeller and up we went. It was heavenly as we soared across the patch-work land and up into the clouds as the wind drifted joyfully in my face. I felt free as a bird. The Clack, Clack, Clacking sound it made that brought the reality of how old this plane really was.
The flight was too short as I fell deeply in love with the Jenny. Much to our surprise, the pilot asked Sivani if she wanted a flight in the Jenny. She exuberantly agreed. Once the Jenny was airborne, I saw there was another small airplane that followed it. After another person went up Frank announced that the rides were over due to not enough gas! After both planes landed, I asked about the second airplane and was introduced to the pilot, Roger Cain. Roger told me he was a professional aerial photographer based in San Francisco and conducts air-to air photo shoots from his vintage aircraft. I told him I was writing a manuscript about the Women Airforce Service Pilots, and he said he would send me the photos he had just taken of the Jenny!
You can see his photo on the cover of She Flew Bombers.
Before I left to go home, Frank proudly told me there were only 10 Jenny’s in the world that were still airborne. It dawned on me that I had just experienced an amazing once in the lifetime event.
If you’re interested in viewing more of Roger Cain’s aerial photography, you can explore his photo gallery here!
Next Time: A Motorless Flight With my Amazing, Adventurous sidekick