Elinor Smith was a daring and defiant pilot during the 20s and 30s when women were not known for their flying expertise. She was known as the Flying Flapper of Freeport, and she flew most of her life, even landing an experimental flight at 89. She made her fame at age 16 when she was already working as a pilot, ferrying passengers between Long Island and Roosevelt Island. A few male friends of hers dared her into taking off on her own. She flew west, then south, dipping under the Queensborough, the Williamsburg, the Manhattan and the Brooklyn bridge. The next day the Times reported that “Miss Smith was informed by the Department of Commerce that they might ‘ground’ her for her stunt, but she said that she would rather take that chance than disappoint a number of persons who had expected her to carry out her plan. http://nycaviation.com/2010/03/29/elinor-smith-aviatrix-of-the-golden-age-of-aviation-gone-west/
Now who does not love a defiant Aviatrix!
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