This eagle who soared far above her mate touched Oregon but once. Skipping off its wet surface like a flat rock off a lake, she left barely a trace which quickly disappeared, then flew on. Surely any mere place lost its magnetic attraction for this marvelous woman when it slid down off the horizon to spin the wheels or slap the hull of her lifelong journey to faster.
Born after the last unexplored place had shed its innocence of Europe to the mizzen of a sailing ship or the boots of the wanderer, she found unlimited new destinations in distance divided by time -- the infinitely renewable frontier of speed. Her life sends a message to all of us. Don't believe it when they say you can't. Go ahead and give it a try. There are no barriers for those who simply will not quit trying. -- OMED (Illustration is a hotlink to a summary of early aviation adventures.)
A Woman Of Her Times
by Peggy Whitcomb
What really is the story of someone who had the determination to do what most pleased her, at costs we can only imagine? Whatever it is, it's a very common story for people who live in free societies -- Peggy Whitcomb
She once drove a race car for seventy hours straight, singledhandedly, to take 6th place in the 1927 Monte Carlo Rally. She started at the northernmost tip of Scotland, and along that 1700 mile route she battled heavy fog, a blizzard, icy mountain roads and sleepiness. When she finally pulled up in front of the casino, she lay her head on the steering wheel and slept. (Photo: race refueling.)
Mrs. Victor Bruce, born in 1896, was a British woman of her times. The world was in love with speed and record setting race cars, motorboats and airplanes. Mrs Bruce raced them all. She begged the loan of 'hotted-up' cars from auto factories, and motor boats from wealthy sportsmen. She was provided fuel by oil companies who used her name in advertising. (Photo: An early racing boat. The outboard engine on it was used by Mrs. Bruce on a previous craft, named "Snotty," to set the speed record for crossing the English Channel.)
She enjoyed the camaraderie of the racing world; exchanging tips about
The first 'flying' she did was on her brother's motorcycle at age 15, setting an early record: that of being the first female called into the Bow Street (London) police court for speeding. Fifty-five or sixty miles-an-hour in 1911 was very like breaking the sound barrier today.
Women today aren't inspired to fly, as Mary Bruce (OMED: sometimes referred to as "Mildred") was -- by the astonishing sight of an airplane in a London shop window. This was June of 1930. It was a tiny, open-cockpit biplane whose wings could be folded. She bought the airplane, spent a month planning a round-the-world trip, got an extra fuel tank installed on the side-seat, accumulated maps and packed a meager kit for herself that nevertheless included an evening dress. She chose taking a dictaphone over a parachute, and took along her husband's treasured pocket compass. At that point she decided it was time to take flying lessons. She'd never been up in an airplane before.
She soloed after a week of lessons, had her pilot's license by the third week of September and her flying experience now included solo flight up to forty miles from the airport. She took off in 'Bluebird' on a misty September morning in 1930. She would fly to Japan, take a steamer across the Pacific, fly across America, sail on to France, and from there she would return to London by plane. It was a journey with enough adventures and mishaps to satisfy an Amundson. (Photo: Mrs. Bruce in what the caption describes as "Korea, Japan.)
When reporters had clamored for her itenerary, she refused them, and was gleeful when they dubbed her plans a 'mystery flight'. This way, she figured, if she got lost they'd never know it. They'd think she intended to go wherever she landed. Her skill at locating airports from the air posed an initial difficulty, but in Europe there were always golf courses or stadiums, and she had smoke bombs to drop to warn people away. Europe was still a
colonial presence in the world at that time; British and French officials in Syria, Thailand, French Indo-China, India and Shanghai, by prearrangement, supplied fuel, lodging when needed, and occasional rescue. Foreign Office dispatches to London kept the government, her family and the press apprised of her progress.
She danced every night aboard the ship that carried her and 'Bluebird' from Tokyo, Japan to Vancouver, British Columbia. She was relieved not to be flying for a while, or having to look for ground to land on, or battling intense heat and tropical rainstorms, or placating desert nomads, or repairing her plane yet again. But the mobbing by reporters and long speeches by
politicians in Vancouver and Seattle soon sent her on her way, now headed for California. How could any foreigner visiting America pass up the opportunity to see California? An oil company executive arranged for a Stearman (a brand of airplane) to carry her accumulating luggage and to accompany her flight down the coast from Seattle.
At this point there is a mystery. Mrs. Victor Bruce left Seattle in 'Bluebird' with her escort on December 17, 1930 and arrived in Medford, Oregon on December 24, 1930. She was in Medford for a week, having her plane repaired because she tipped it upside-down on landing. The mystery is, where was she for seven days between Seattle and Medford? No record, so far, has been found. Airplanes, especially two of them together, were still an
unusual sight overhead in 1930; someone surely noted their passing. She very likely landed somewhere in Oregon before Medford. But, where?
Her arrival in California was greeted again by the press, parades and city officials, but by this time she was anxious to finish her journey. She flew across the vast continent of America, and wrecked her plane for the last time in Baltimore, then laughed through her tears to see she had done so across the street from an airplane factory. Wonderful luck! The plane was repaired in time for her to circle the Empire State Building in New York City, and to endure more festivities before she and 'Bluebird' sailed for France.
Her round-the-world flight set no records; she had no other competitor than her own fortitude, skills and commitment. 'Bluebird', with its wings and body covered with signatures and messages from people around the world, was displayed for a time in a London subway station, but sits in no museum today. Mrs. Bruce turned her energies to business, developing an air freight and airline company; her planes were the first to carry air hostesses, and made the fastest flights between London and Paris. Her fleet of airplanes and pilots were critical in developing air defenses over London as war in Europe loomed again.
Mrs. Victor Bruce never lost her love of speed. At age 81, she drove a Ford Ghia Capri once around a racetrack at 110 mph, her best time ever; and at age 83 flew aerobatics in a small Havilland Chipmunk airplane. She said that going slow always made her tired.
No comments:
Post a Comment