From Birdwomen to Skygirls: American Girls' Aviation Stories

4. Amelia’s Daughters Face Reality: 1930-1940

C H A P T E R 4 Amelia’s Daughters Face Reality: 1930-1940
T he growing public air-mindedness and the appeal of personal aircraft from 1920 onward fueled a dream of the 1930s. This was the dream of an airplane so reliable and so economical that it could be bought and operated as cheaply as an automobile. An air-minded society could ask for no less, and aviation notables encouraged their desire. Both Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, as noted in Chapter 3, spoke of a time when suburban garages would house a family airplane alongside the family auto. Men and women would “do [their] commuting by air,” and the rising generation of young persons would think no more of an outing in an airplane than they did of an outing in an automobile. Alexander Klemin, a respected engineering and aviation historian, doubted the idealistic hope that “within the space of a few years our skies will be darkened with airplanes.”Nonetheless, he affirmed that “a new generation is growing up which will be eager and determined to fly,” and manufacturers, cities, and the populace in general must be prepared to accommodate it.1 The dream gained an added boost from Eugene L. Vidal, Director of the Bureau of Air Commerce within the federal Department of Commerce. A pilot himself and a partner with Amelia Earhart in the operations of the Ludington Line, Vidal sought to popularize general aviation. One way, he believed, would be to develop aircraft that would be within the reach of the average American consumer. Informally labeling these aircraft “poor man’s planes,” he called for the development of an all-metal, two-seated light airplane that would sell for approximately $700. Operating such a craft, he argued, would cost “less than . . . an average-priced automobile,” and “would not require ‘superman’ qualifications to fly it.” Vidal’s call produced several viable contenders: the Hammond Model Y, the highway-compatible Waterman Arrowplane, and Fred A.Weick’s spin-proof Ercoupe. Of these, only the Ercoupe went into production, but all fed the public desire for personal aircraft.2 The growing possibility that aircraft might soon be within reach of an average person adds to the excitement of Edith Lavell’s “Linda Carlton” stories (1931-1933; five titles). This series is the high point of aviation stories for America girls. Its books speak to Earhart’s views on education, they show a young woman preparing herself for a varied career in aviation, they show a youth culture readily embracing air-mindedness, and they offer a heroine who, in her ambitions, is Earhartian through and through. Linda, the daughter of a land investor and rancher living in Spring City, Ohio, is affluent and socially prominent, possessing blue eyes, curly blond hair, and a circle of loyal friends. Among these friends, two stand out: her best chum Louise Haydock, like Linda a member of the Spring City elite, and her steadfast beau Ralph Clavering, son of the wealthiest family in town. Linda is independent and mobile, she and her blue roadster familiar sights in the haunts of the well-to-do, yet her desire for selfdetermination is quickly evident. Whereas her classmates at Miss Graham’s School are aiming at prestigious marriages and lives as the aristocrats of the community, Linda seeks a life on her own terms. Despite the pressures on her to blend into the rituals and routines of Spring City’s social elite, Linda is determined to make her way in a realm traditionally dominated by males—that of aviation . The five volumes of Linda’s adventures are classic series-story fare, combining adventure, peril, a mystery element, and a mod-  From Birdwomen to Skygirls icum of romance to keep their readers engaged. The first volume, Linda Carlton, Air Pilot (1931), introduces eighteen-year-old Linda and her friends, on the brink of graduation from their elite, all-girl private school. Despite a class prophecy that she and Louise Haydock will be Spring City’s next social leaders, Linda has other plans. She takes flying lessons from instructor Ted Mackay and receives an Arrow Sport airplane from her father as a gift. With Louise in tow, she makes increasingly lengthy flights, at last flying from Ohio to Colorado. In addition, she flies a famed surgeon to her ailing father’s bedside and rehabilitates Ted Mackay’s tarnished reputation when he is accused...