Move Over, Miss Earhart
A photo gallery of Pancho Barnes, the other, more charismatic 1920s aviatrix.
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A Born Aviator
Florence Lowe Barnes was born to a socially prominent family in San Marino, Calif., the wealthy town adjacent to Pasadena. Her grandfather, Thaddeus Lowe, had started the balloon corps for the Union Army during the Civil War and encouraged his granddaughter to dream of flying.
All images © Pancho Barnes Trust Estate Archive and reprinted with permission.
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From Florence to Pancho
Pancho got her nickname after she ran away to Mexico, disguising herself as a man and signing onto a banana boat that turned out to be running guns. After she jumped ship, she spent four months traveling throughout Mexico during its revolution. She learned to fly after she returned to California.
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The First Women's Air Race
Participants pose at the 1929 Women’s Air Derby, which Will Rogers nicknamed the “Powder Puff Derby.” The transcontinental race from Santa Monica to Cleveland garnered enormous press coverage. Marred by crashes, mechanical difficulties, accidental side trips to Mexico, and fatalities, the race was won by Louise Thaden.
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Charisma and Glamour
Pancho Barnes with Amelia Earhart at the first transcontinental Women’s Air Derby in 1929. The two aviators were friends, although Barnes did not like Earhart’s promoter husband, G.P. Putnam. She complained that he belittled his wife and pushed her to do stunts beyond her skills.
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The Fastest Woman in the World
Pancho poses with her Travel Air “Mystery Ship.” In 1930, she set a speed record of 196.19 mph, displacing Amelia Earhart as the fastest woman pilot. After losing her money in the Depression, Pancho had to sell her plane in 1934 and give up flying. When the plane came up for auction in 1968, no one bid against Pancho so she could buy it back.
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A Fighter
When the federal government sought to seize her ranch to expand Edwards Air Force Base, Pancho fought a long, bitter court battle, charging that the price she was offered under eminent domain was about a tenth of the ranch’s value. During the fight, the ranch burned down under suspicious circumstances.
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Pancho in Profile
Though never a glamorous figure, the young Pancho Barnes was one of the most memorable characters in early aviation. Her charisma and first-hand understanding of the excitement and perils of experimental flight later made her beloved among jet-age test pilots. Despite many reversals over her long life, she managed to reinvent herself.

