July 11, 2023 The Beauty of a Sherman Tank

The Liberty Gazette

July 11, 2023

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Okay, gals, this one’s for us. Mike and I were discussing the recent news about a certain P51C Thunderbird, and while it’s worthy that we should tell you all about it eventually, there’s one part that surprised me. 

This P51, serial number 2925, was co-owned and flown by former Air Force Brigadier General and Academy Award winner Jimmy Stewart. The other pilot-owner was Joe De Bona, who flew it to win the Bendix Trophy Race in 1949. At the end of that year, Stewart sold the plane to Jackie Cochran “for $1.00 and other considerations.” Jackie’s aviation success was phenomenal. She once said, “To live without risk to me would be tantamount to death.” Chuck Yeager called her “a Sherman tank at full steam.” 

Jackie was the first female pilot in the U.S. Air Force and set world records in flying from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. I was familiar with her flying fame, but in researching this P51C, I learned that she was also a savvy business executive. 

Jackie’s life before flight was spent largely in salons, doing up hair and make-up. She had worked her way up to a New York salon with highfalutin clients. In a casual conversation at a party, she mentioned to a new acquaintance that she was tired of being chained to the salon with fussy customers and wanted to get out, create her own brand, and travel the country selling it. The man to whom she said this gave her this piece of advice: You’ll have to cover a lot of territory. You’d better get your pilot’s license. 

It was 1932. Jackie promptly started flight training and had her license in three weeks. She had discovered a new passion. Flying would not simply be a vehicle for her business ventures. She would experience every opportunity flying presented while building her line, Wings to Beauty. What she could do better than her competitors was represent her brand for women on the go, women with an active lifestyle who wanted to look good but needed the products to be easy to travel with and quick to use. 

Jackie’s company made all the typical cosmetics: blush, eye shadow, lipstick, and the like. Advertisements and powder tins are now valued collectors’ items you might be lucky enough to find on eBay. The one that impresses me the most is this stick of sorts. It’s a slender cylinder broken into compartments that notch together. In each compartment is one element of a make-up bag. Perfect for female pilots who fly three- or four-day trips. So small, it fits easily in an evening clutch or pocket. No need for a bulky make-up bag. Genius!

Jackie took Jimmy Stewart’s P51C to France to blast out two more world speed records, then sold the airplane back to him “for $1.00 and other considerations.” When she passed away in 1980, she held more speed, distance, and altitude records than any other pilot. I can’t wait to tell you more.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com