After my adventures flying in the WW One Curtiss Jenny and aerobatics in the 1941 Stearman I caught the “flying bug” and at age 55 when had retired and was determined to learn how to pilot an airplane to enhance my writing of She Flew Bombers.
I found flying lessons in the yellow pages at Dragon Aviation at the local airport and took my handy-dandy clipboard and camera and headed out to Dragon Fly Aviation. In the tiny-cluttered building I met the owner, Bob Archibald, a former U.S. Air Force pilot with service in both the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Bob was a friendly talkative man, and I took notes as he chatted away. He founded Dragonfly Aviation school in 1981 which offered a range of flight training services. I signed up for just one costly one-hour lesson of a hundred dollars. The following week I met with my instructor, a good-looking young man who brought me out to the tarmac to board his plane. It was a small Cessna 150E and was so cute in size as compared to the large Stearman and the long Jenny.
This pilot was in love with flying and talked non-stop as I got in the side-by-side passenger seat. Up we went as I was filled with butterflies during the ascension but once we leveled off, I was enchanted by the beautiful scenery of Sonoma County as vineyards and a long windy river floated below me.
The instructor pointed and named each control and its functions. I became so distracted by the scenery below me that I couldn’t remember what the pilot said, nor could I take any notes! The short hour flew by as we landed back at Dragonfly. I shook hands with the pilot who said, “Hope to give you another lesson soon.” Once home my mind reviewed the amazing experience but realized I learned absolutely nothing! I calculated that to become a pilot I had to pay for 20 hours of flight training with an instructor then perform 10 hours of solo flights. The amount of money this would cost did not set well with me plus if I became a pilot, I certainly couldn’t afford to buy an airplane or even rent one! Still feeling bitten by the aviation bug, I fantasized about joining the Air Force then I could learn to fly for free. This naïve thought was a short-lived as I was over the age limit of 42 years old.
Thankful for the one flying lesson I worked longer hours to complete the She Flew Bombers manuscript. I called up my editor as I neared the finishing line and she told me that I needed an experienced pilot go over all the flying parts for accuracy before she could edit it for grammar, coherence, chapter and bibliography organization.
A light bulb went off and I immediately contacted former WASP Florence Wheeler, pilot instructor, and asked if she could edit the flying sections of the manuscript.
Stay Tuned, Next Time: The amazing Florence Wheeler, Editing She Flew Bombers