Flying Derby News Today

Ruth Nichols wasn’t afraid. Not since her first ride in a biplane in 1919, when the pilot did loop-de-loops to terrify her. She conquered her fear and began a career as an aviatrix with the singular purpose of being the best. In the years following Charles Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight in 1927, courageous female pilots were in a drive to out-fly one another in the race to be the first woman to repeat Lindbergh’s feat. Aviation was still in its infancy. Pilots were daredevils, ...