Airplanes

Airplanes, both in general terms and in terms of specific individual aircraft, play a fundamental role in the narrative, and in the lives of the persons upon whom the narrative focuses. Whether it is designing them, flying them, marketing them, riding in them, or crashing them, the activities and identities of the male and female aviation pioneers, as the narrative defines them, were defined by airplanes.

“The Spirit of Saint Louis”

This is arguably one of the most famous airplanes in American history, and in the international history of aviation. It is the name of the plane flown by Charles Lindbergh on his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, the first such flight in history. As such, the plane set the standard of achievement for arguably all the planes flown in the early days of American aviation, including those flown by the female fliers whose efforts are...