Page 82 of Plane Passion

As Millie climbed into her plane, the roar of the crowd deafened her. She could do this. She’d done it hundreds of times before—maybe thousands. But never had so much depended on her performance—the future of the airmail, women pilots, and the love of her life.

“It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you our announcers for this performance, Evelyn Carnegie and Beth Rodgers!” Aunt Alva stepped aside, making way.

Millie couldn’t hold back her grin as she watched Beth sashay up to the podium along with a petite brunette who must have been Miss Carnegie.

“Thank you, Mrs. Belmont for the wonderful introduction,” Miss Carnegie said, kissing Mrs. Belmont on the cheek as she descended from the podium. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the show of a lifetime?”

“I know I sure am,” Beth quipped, and the crowd hooted their agreement. “Well, then, ladies. Let’s give the people what they want. Pilots, start your engines!”

Deep breaths. Ignore the crowd. It’s time to fly.

Millie signaled to the mechanic standing by to swing her propeller as she opened the throttle. The buzz of the engine drowned out the roar of the crowd as she taxied out onto the green runway and took off.

Airborne at last, she let all her worries fall away and reveled in soaring above the grounds as the other ladies took off one by one.

She couldn’t hear the announcers or the crowd. Up here, it was just her, her fellow pilots, and the rumble of her engine.

And the beep of the radio telegraphing instructions in Morse code. Rory had arranged for the experimental devices to be installed so that they could stay coordinated in the air. Millie could only imagine how it would improve safety for airmail pilots if the planes were equipped with radios like this. No doubt, Mr. Burleson would have balked at the expense, but she hoped they would find a way. It would save lives if they could communicate.

The four of them circled above the airfield, aligning themselves into formation for a fly-by. Leading the others, Millie swooped down, flying low over the crowd and making all the men clutch their hats. She laughed to herself as she pulled up and glided over the trees. It was fun to give those congressmen a bit of a thrill.

The knot in her stomach loosened a bit as she settled into the rhythm of their act. She soared up, up, up into a death-defying loop-the-loop, playing with gravity like it was at her personal command and not an inexorable force of nature. She pushed higher, harder into a corkscrew. The other ladies followed her lead, duplicating her tricks one after another.

So far, everything was going swimmingly. But the hardest part was yet to come. They’d invented a stunt they called “The Mail Drop,” which they had practiced over and over for hours on end in the lead-up to the show. It was a tricky maneuver, and it only worked about half the time, but she hoped against hope that they would pull it off today.

Following the commands of the radio tones from the ground, she and her friends moved from one feat of derring-do to another. With each trick, her confidence rose, and the cloud that had settled over her since she broke things off with Ernie lifted a little bit more. She could only hope the crowd was properly awed by the skill and speed of their acrobatics. Would it be enough to save the airmail, give women a chance at pilot jobs, and salvage Ernie’s job? Only time would tell.

The signal came for “The Mail Drop,” and her stomach clenched. Sitting next to her in the cockpit were five canvas sacks about the size of small handbags with “Mail” printed on them. They were filled with beans for weight. Blue scarves were tied to each of them to make them easy to see. Down on the field, there were three white circles painted on the grass. To start with, they each had to drop one bag in each of the circles.

Easy as pie. In theory. Fortunately, it wasn’t a windy day. She dropped her first bag, and it landed in the intended circle, if a little shy of center. She would have to try harder on the next run. The other ladies took their turns one at a time, and all the blue flags landed in the circle. Hot dog! One down, two to go. And then things got more difficult.

On the second round, just as she was about to drop her bag, she hit an air pocket, and her plane jolted. The bag dropped before she intended, and she watched its descent with a sinking stomach. This was the easiest part of the trick. If they messed this up, what would Mr. Burleson think?

The bag landed just inside the circle. It had been a close call, but she made it.

Letting out a sigh of relief, she determined to do better on the next one.

Think of Ernie. Think of my fellow lady pilots. I can do this for them.

It was time for round three. Biting her lip, she dropped her bag, and…another bull’s-eye! Millie smiled to herself as she watched the others drop their bags. Katherine’s landed a bit to one side. Gertie’s landed right on top of it. Rory dropped hers last, and Millie held her breath. It landed in the center, right next to hers. Thank God!

Millie laughed out loud in relief. They’d made it through part one without a hitch. Now, things were going to get interesting. It was time for the grand finale, and it had to come off without a hitch.

Angling upward, Millie slowed down until she was right above Katherine’s plane. Only about ten feet separated them. On a signal from the radio, Katherine held out a net. Millie dropped a bag as close as she could manage to the center of the net. Her heart thundered in her ears as she watched it fall. For a moment, she thought she’d missed. Then Katherine reached out and caught it, bringing it into her cockpit, the blue scarf fluttering.

If that didn’t impress the audience, she didn’t know what would. She angled her plane upward and watched as Katherine repeated the maneuver with Gertie. The bag dropped…Gertie missed it.

“Oh, for crying out loud! We were so close,” she yelled even though no one could hear her.

But Katherine still had her back-up bag. She positioned herself over Gertie’s plane once again, and Gertie put out her net. This time it landed right in the center.

“Come on, Gertie! Come on, Rory!” Millie yelled at the sky as she watched Gertie position herself over Rory’s plane. The final drop.

A flash of blue fell from Gertie’s plane, and…

Breathe, Millie. Breathe.

Rory caught it! They did it! Now all Rory had to do was land it in a target.