Lady Flyer, page 7
“How’s Alison?” she asked her brother, who was tapping out the tune on the steering wheel of “You Can’t Stop Me from Lovin’ You” by Cab Calloway coming through the radio.
“Dreading the upcoming summer weather,” Robert said. “She’s heard all the old wives’ tales about being pregnant during the summer.”
“August will come soon enough, and you’ll be a daddy. Funny to think about.”
Robert grinned. “You’re telling me. I need to get my act together whether I want to or not.”
They both laughed.
As they pulled up to the airfield, Robert released a long whistle. “Would you look at that.”
Up ahead, a gaggle of cars and reporters had gathered, wielding cameras and notebooks. Beyond them stood a stately Great Lakes plane, gleaming in the sunlight.
As they stepped out of the car, one of the reporters called out, “There’s the Flying Freshman.”
Robert chuckled.
“Hush.” Nancy strode forward and shook the hand of each reporter. Nerves tumbled in her stomach, but she forced them away and pasted on a smile for the men in their suits and fedoras and polished shoes.
One of the cameramen stubbed his cigarette, then directed her to stand in front of the Great Lakes plane, where she posed for several photographs. “That’s it, sweetheart,” the cameraman said. “Smile like you stole something and got away with it.”
Nancy laughed.
“Perfect,” the cameraman drawled.
The questions set in.
“Did you always want to be a pilot?”
“What are your future plans?”
“How does it feel to be one of only fifty-six women to hold a commercial pilot’s license?”
“Tell us about the plane crash with John Miller only three weeks ago.”
“Did your brother’s flying inspire you? And what did he think about you rescuing him?”
“Only forty-two women hold a transport license; are you trying to be number forty-three?”
“What does Vassar think about flying students?”
Nancy had to laugh—surely someone had heard about her stunt at Milton. “They require your parents’ permission.”
The reporters laughed.
“But once they have it, they’re very good about it,” she added.
The reporters continued with a few more questions, while Robert paced in the background, his expression amused.
Nancy was relieved when the interview was over and she was back in the car with Robert. “I’m starving.”
Robert grinned as he fiddled with the radio. “Is that all my famous sister can say?”
“I’m not famous,” she said, checking her lipstick that she’d so carefully applied in the car door mirror. “Flying shouldn’t be such an anomaly for women. One of the reporters said that having a woman demonstrate flying shows that anyone can do it.”
“Woo-ee, that’s presumptuous.”
“Right. I didn’t know if that was an insult or a compliment.”
As the scenery rushed by, she slid down in her seat and closed her eyes.
Robert turned down the radio. “You all right?”
“Headache, that’s all.”
Robert’s response changed to one of concern. “You’ve been getting those a lot, Sis.”
She shrugged, keeping her eyes closed.
“Maybe you should take some time off—you know, from school and flying. You’re using up electricity at both ends.”
“Semester’s almost over, then I’ll be home for the summer.”
Robert went silent.
She knew he wanted her to leave now, but she was determined to finish the semester at least. She’d find a way to endure. When her parents drove down to visit, she told them the same thing. She was fine, and she’d last the semester. She told herself that when summer came, she’d focus on her health and hope that her frequent headaches would go away. Strangely enough, over the next weeks, a small section of her hair changed color as it grew, creating a gray streak right at her temple.
But when summer came, the headaches continued. Some of them were crippling enough that she couldn’t fly on those days. Her biggest highlight was befriending Alice Hirschman. Alice was from Detroit and had graduated from the University of Michigan in 1927. Then she’d attended the Curtis-Wright School of Aviation and earned her private pilot’s license last year.
It was refreshing to have a friend who was as obsessed with flying as Nancy. Her friends at Vassar were focused completely on boys, dating, and classes, but mostly boys. They spent late nights talking about dream wedding gowns and how many babies they wanted. Nancy wasn’t opposed to marriage and children, but there was a lot she wanted to accomplish before then because most married women weren’t allowed to hold jobs, and Nancy couldn’t imagine a future without flying. And in order to afford her own plane, she’d have to earn money.
Alice was full of stories about Amelia Earhart—because they were personal friends. Nancy was enamored by the stories, but mostly, Alice made Nancy laugh. More than once, Alice tried to talk Nancy into entering air races. But Nancy knew she wasn’t ready yet. Would she ever be ready? Maybe once her headaches stopped pestering her.
Chapter Eight
“That airplane had no airspeed indicator—your own ears and the singing of the wind in the wires told you how fast you were going. There was an oil gauge and an altimeter on what passed for an instrument panel. The fuel gauge was a wire on a bobber. The Travel Air had no brakes—I found that out when he had me land it. And no tail wheel, just a skid, which was fine because we were landing on grass. You had to learn how to taxi.”
—Teresa James
February–December 1933, Vassar College, Boston
“Fly to Detroit this weekend; it will be great fun,” Alice Hirschman said over the phone.
Nancy flipped through her logbook, half listening.
“Think of the hours.”
“Are you spying on me?” Nancy asked with a laugh. She and Alice had spent a lot of time together over the past several months, but with classes at Vassar, Nancy’s time was severely limited now. Alice also had her commercial license and used it mostly to socialize, but she’d entered the closed-course race for women in Michigan.
Nancy was happy to have a good time, too, but she wasn’t interested in racing. At her father’s insistence, she’d taken off the fall semester at Vassar to recover from her frequent headaches that hadn’t eased after her crash with John Miller. Yes, the time off school had helped, but her headaches were still present. So now she was a semester behind in school, and she wanted to use her spare time to log more flight hours. It would take 200 to qualify for a transport license, and she’d achieved only eighty-seven when she’d received her commercial license the year before.
Over the past couple of months, other students at Vassar had started taking flying lessons from Jack Ray.
“It will be for your birthday,” Alice continued into the phone. “Come to Detroit, and we’ll take a couple Kinner Birds into Macomb County for lunch.”
“Just like that?” Nancy asked.
“Just like that,” Alice said, a smile in her voice.
“I feel like there’s more, Alice. Am I right?”
Alice released a small sigh. “Of course there’s more. Johnny Hammond will be in town with some of his buddies. They’re all nice boys.”
“Oh, that’s what this is about. Not my birthday after all,” Nancy teased. “You’re sweet on Johnny and want me to date one of his friends.”
Alice laughed. “Well, you know me—I don’t want my friend Nancy to be a lone woman.”
Nancy scrunched up her face and turned away from a student passing through the residence hall lobby. She lowered her voice. “I’m not lonely. I’ve gone on plenty of dates, you know.”
“Plenty? Is that what you call two dates in two months?”
“Hush, I’ve been busy,” Nancy said. “All right, I’m coming. Hanging up and booking a plane now.”
“See you tomorrow,” Alice said, her voice giddy. “Oh, and happy birthday.”
Nancy hung up with a smile. She’d be turning nineteen, and well, going on a flying excursion could be the fun she needed right now. She wouldn’t see her family until the semester break, so she was on her own.
It turned out that the flight to Detroit was perfect and spending time with Alice even better. Except Nancy felt like the third wheel with Alice and Johnny making lovey-dovey eyes at each other. She pinned her hopes on enjoying the rest of the group, but that didn’t work out as she’d hoped.
The other boys in the group were nice, but they were just that . . . boys. Not that Nancy was any older, but her more serious outlook on life, with a set of concrete goals, with aviation as her career, made her feel a lot older.
Alice had an easy manner with the boys, almost as if she were one of them. Her short wavy hair had managed to stay perfect, even after wearing a flight helmet. And her smile was quick, her laugh quicker. It wasn’t that Nancy was shy around boys—she had plenty of male friends, and she was always around them at the airfield—but today had started out with one of her doggone headaches, and she would have preferred to spend alone time with Alice.
“You’ve been quiet,” Thad, one of the boys in the group, said when they were about halfway through their lunch meal at a café in Macomb County. His blond hair was cropped so short that she could see his pink scalp beneath. Nothing else stood out about him. Nothing sparked her interest.
“I’m enjoying the atmosphere,” she said as popular swing music played at the jukebox.
Tom’s chin tilted. “Alice tells us you started flying when you were sixteen.”
“That’s right.”
Tom’s blue eyes flickered with interest. “And your hair—the gray streak right there? Alice said it’s from when you were in a famous plane crash.”
“I don’t know about it being famous,” Nancy said, sipping at her iced lemonade, though most of the ice had melted, weakening the flavor. Her premature gray patch of hair had grown out over the past year, becoming more prominent. At first, she’d tried to figure out ways to dye it but had eventually given up and decided it was distinguished.
But she didn’t feel like talking about herself. “Do you like flying?”
“Oh, sure.” Thad tapped his fingers on the table. “You’ve got it all going on though. Flying. College. What are you majoring in?”
“French and French history.”
The dark center of his eyes flared. “Well, that’s pretty much perfect.”
“Perfect for what?”
Thad nudged her knee with his. “You know.”
Nancy drew her leg about as far away from Thad as possible, and she turned to Alice. “Gotta go.”
Alice’s thin brows rose. “You sure?”
Nancy flicked her gaze to Thad, then back to Alice.
Johnny caught it. “Everything all right?”
“Sure, but I’m headed out. Thanks for this.” She motioned to the table. Standing, she pulled out some coins to add to the collection in the middle of the table, but Alice waved her away.
“It’s your birthday—my treat.”
“Well, thank you.” Nancy offered a smile she didn’t feel.
Everyone said goodbye, and as she left, she felt some regret making the trip. She loved spending time with Alice, and she was happy to get more flight hours, but she knew things were getting tighter financially at home. Oh, her parents hadn’t said anything directly, but she had heard more than one conversation through closed doors. Taking off the fall semester had been a financial relief to her father.
Like most of America, her father had lost money in the stock market crash a few years back, and extras were getting harder to justify. At least Nancy was paying for her own flight lessons now by giving others rides.
Sort of like the original barnstormer she’d flown with . . . She didn’t do any stunts, of course, but it seemed that life had moved full circle. Once she had her transport license, she could find a real flying job. And maybe she could pay back some of her tuition to her parents.
Later that afternoon, when she returned to the Poughkeepsie airfield and taxied the plane toward the hangar and parked, she went in search of Jack Ray.
Finding him in his office, sleeves rolled up, pencil behind his ear as he read the newspaper, she walked in and braced her palms on his desk. “I have a plan to make us both some money.”
His brows popped up as he set down the newspaper and folded his arms.
“What if I bring you more students? You pay me a commission or something.”
Jack gave a thoughtful nod. “I like the idea, but you know times are tough for a lot of people nowadays.”
“Yes, but a lot of the students at Vassar are still well-off, and their parents are the ones who can afford flying lessons.”
“You make a good point, Harkness, but not many girls are like you.”
She smiled. “They might not be like me, but they might still be interested. I’ve decided to start a flying club. Everyone wants to join a club, right?”
Jack chuckled. “You might be onto something.”
“Get ready to schedule some students.” She walked out of the office, and as soon as she reached Vassar, she went straight to Rachel’s room to tell her of her plans.
“I’ll come to the meetings,” Rachel said, leaning back on her desk chair. “I don’t know if I want to sign up for lessons though.”
“Not required,” Nancy said. “But if the most popular girl in the school is part of the club, then maybe others will follow.”
“And other clubs might partner with yours,” Rachel predicted, her smile appearing. “You’re already a trendsetter. How did it go with Alice?”
“Swell,” Nancy said, biting off telling her about Thad. There was really nothing to tell, and Nancy didn’t want to waste time thinking about him anyway.
As she turned to go, Rachel said, “Happy birthday!”
“Thank you.”
In her own room, Nancy drew up a flier to post at the residence hall, coming up with the most enticing and energetic language possible.
“There’s a phone call for you,” a woman said, knocking on Nancy’s partly open door. It was the housemistress, who Nancy was sure eavesdropped at doors. She always seemed to know everything going on.
Nancy hurried to the phone to answer the call from her parents.
“Happy birthday, my dear,” Father said.
“Happy birthday,” her mother added.
So she told them about her plans to start a flying club and how she could earn extra money once she got her transport license.
“You should be focusing most of your time on school,” Mother said. “Flying jobs are scarce right now—for men. Women would be the last pick.”
Before Nancy could answer, her father cut in. “What gives you the idea that you need to be spending so much time coming up with ways to earn money?”
Nancy paused, then decided to confess. “I’ve heard a few of your conversations. I didn’t mean to overhear, but we all know a lot of people are struggling. I wanted to help out with whatever I can.”
Their pause was so long that Nancy wondered if they were covering the phone to have a whispered conversation.
Finally, Nancy added, “If Vassar is too expensive, I can drop out.”
“No, Nance, that won’t be necessary,” her father said quickly, maybe too quickly.
“You don’t need to worry about tuition,” Mother said more firmly.
But Nancy had heard the doubt in her father’s voice. Their pride might not allow them to admit that tuition was too steep right now, but she would prepare if that became the case. She’d be ready. Right now, her opinions were a mile or two apart from her parents’, but that could change.
A few weeks later, Jack Ray thanked her before one of their lessons started. “I’ve had three new students so far.”
“That’s great.”
And it was great, but it wouldn’t be enough. Nancy knew this. Things at home had changed too. The types of meals her mother served. Father had sold one of their cars. Robert and Alice’s second baby would be born in July, and he was busy with his job at the Marrimax Chemical Company of Cambridge. As it was, he had pretty much given up flying, though he had found a new and cheaper sport this past winter: skiing.
Nancy wasn’t too interested in skiing, so she’d turned down his invitations. Besides, traveling would cost her more money.
And when she passed the test for her transport license in August, she wasn’t interested in celebrating much. There was too much to do. Fall semester was busier than ever, with her packing in the schoolwork and balancing her time to fly as she continued building her flying club and earning commission.
“Come with us,” Robert said over the phone one winter day in December while Nancy perched on the corner of the hall table down the corridor from her dorm room. “I’m taking a short skiing break before my house fills with in-laws and Christmas activities.”
“Ah, baby Charles keeping you awake?”
“It’s more like the toddler is keeping us on our toes, but my mother-in-law is coming in town early to help, and Alice told me it was my one chance for a day of skiing.”
Nancy loved spending time with her brother, but the fall semester would end shortly after the Christmas break, and she wanted all her free time reserved for flying. So she was making sure every assignment was caught up. “Can’t.”
“Sis . . .”
“Have fun. I’ll see you at Christmas.”
“All right, all right.” Robert’s words came out as an amused rumble. “With the rate you’re going, you’ll be the top pilot in the US.”
“Hardly. I’m no daredevil, record-setting Amelia Earhart.”
