Pancho Barnes
Pancho Barnes | |
---|---|
Born | Florence Leontine Lowe July 22, 1901 |
Died | March 30, 1975 | (aged 73)
Other names | Pancho |
Known for | Racing pilot, Proprietor |
Spouses | |
Children | 1 |
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (July 22, 1901 – March 30, 1975) was a pioneer aviator and a founder of the first movie stunt pilots' union. In 1930, she broke
Early years
She was born as Florence Leontine Lowe on July 22, 1901, to Thaddeus Lowe II (1870–1955) and his first wife, Florence May Dobbins, in
In 1919, Florence married Reverend C. Rankin Barnes of South Pasadena, California, and they had a son, William E. Barnes.[5] Her mother died in 1924.
Aviation career
Having spent four months abroad in Mexico, getting caught up with revolutionaries and escaping the attention of authorities, disguised as a man, she began to use the nickname "Pancho" around this time.[when?][7] Barnes returned to San Marino, California, with an inheritance bequeathed to her on her parents' death. In 1928, while driving her cousin Dean Banks to flying lessons, she decided to learn to fly, and convinced her cousin's flight instructor, Ben Catlin, a World War I veteran, of her desire that same day.[7] She soloed after six hours of formal instruction.[5]
Barnes ran an ad-hoc
After her contract with Union Oil expired, Barnes moved to Hollywood to work as a stunt pilot for movies. In 1931, she started the Associated Motion Picture Pilots, a union of film industry stunt fliers which promoted flying safety and standardized pay for aerial stunt work. She flew in several air-adventure movies of the 1930s, including Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels (1930).[9]
Barnes had extensive connections in Hollywood. Her early close friend
Barnes lost most of her money in the
The Happy Bottom Riding Club
On her land, Pancho Barnes built the
After successful flight trials, the Muroc and Edwards test pilots often enjoyed some good times at the Happy Bottom Riding Club. As proprietor, Barnes would offer them a customary free steak[14] dinner for breaking the sound barrier.[15]
A change of command in 1952, however, contributed to Barnes getting into a conflict with the United States Air Force (USAF). The USAF was planning for the future of aviation, and decided it needed to build a new, super-long runway to accommodate new aircraft that were being planned to run on atomic power. That new runway would run directly across her ranch. The USAF originally offered her a price for her ranch, land, and facilities that was very close to the cost of undeveloped desert land. She requested a fair appraisal to better reflect the actual cost of replacement of her land and business, but in the midst of getting a re-appraisal, the base leadership accused her of running a house of ill-repute on her ranch. The effect of even the hint of impropriety resulted in her ranch and business being put off-limits to military personnel, and the value of her business plummeted.[2]
Barnes then filed a lawsuit against the USAF to, as she put it, "Roust out the scoundrels in the government who would perpetrate such an injustice." She knew that if she filed a lawsuit, she would have the opportunity to depose under oath the various leaders and personnel on base, and the truth would come out and clear her name. During the height of the intense court battle, in 1953, her ranch burned in a fire of mysterious origin. After the fire, the value of her ranch and business further plummeted to a level more closely reflecting the original buy-out offer from the USAF. Nonetheless, the court battle continued. Barnes was determined to receive fair value for her land and business, and to clear her name. A main contention of her case was: "My grandfather founded the United States Air Force." On that argument, the court found in her favor and she was awarded $375,000 remuneration for her property and business. Also, her name was cleared. As it turned out, the proposed runway was never built.[2]
After the government bought her out, she moved to Cantil, California, in hopes of restarting a similar dude ranch business there. It never happened. It was not until the late 1960s that Barnes once again became a commonplace figure at the base and began to be referred to as the "Mother of Edwards AFB." The wounds began to heal as Barnes reconnected with many old-timers. The officer's mess at Edwards was renamed the Pancho Barnes Room.[2]
Death
Barnes suffered from breast cancer, likely the ultimate cause of her death. She was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Antelope Valley Aero Museum's annual "Barnstormers Reunion" on April 5, 1975. However, when a friend called on March 30, 1975, she could not reach her. Her son Bill found her dead in her home, and the coroner determined that she had died nearly a week earlier.[16][3][5] Bill obtained special permission, which was granted from the United States Air Force, to spread her ashes over the site of the Happy Bottom Riding Club. He then flew an aircraft over the site, but a crosswind came up, sweeping the ashes back into the small Cessna aircraft, to be carried aloft again. "Even in death Barnes still loved a good joy ride."[2]
Legacy
Her fourth husband, Eugene "Mac" McKendry, continued to live in Cantil and survived Barnes for many years.
Son Bill Barnes died piloting a North American P-51 Mustang flying near Fox Field in Lancaster on October 4th, 1980 along with aviation mechanic Clifton Hellwig. In 1940, she had founded Barnes Aviation of Lancaster, which Bill operated in his adult years. It remains in the general aviation business today.[17]
Her life and personality were portrayed in the 1983 epic film
Barnes'
The Happy Bottom Riding Club historical site is the location for the annual USAF Test Pilot School/Edwards Air Force Base Pancho Barnes Day celebration (established in 1980). A barbecue is held and drinks are served, along with dancing and live music in remembrance of this aviation pioneer and friend. Family hour extends until approximately 9 pm, after which it is an adults-only party, perhaps in remembrance of the raucous old days of Happy Bottom Riding Club.[19]
Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Flying Club are visited by a young Hal Jordan in the comic series DC: The New Frontier.
In the 2019 film Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel’s fighter pilot bar is called Pancho’s Bar, which is a reference to Barnes’s nickname “Pancho”.[20]
References
Notes
- ^ Barnes encouraged Hurrell's photography and often posed for him. In the photo for her pilot's license, Hurrell had her strike "a masculine pose, complete with cigarette and grimy fingernails".[10]
- Moye Stephens and travel-adventure writer Richard Halliburton. Pancho quickly formed friendships with other stars such as Susan Oliver and Richard Arlen.
- ^ Paul Mantz had later purchased the aircraft and used it extensively in film work. Years later, Barnes bought it back in an auction where other pilots made sure nobody bid against her.
Citations
- ^ Oliver, Myrna (January 19, 2001). "Eugene McKendry; Ran 'The Right Stuff' Club". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Foulkes, Debbie. "Pancho Barnes (1901–1975): Pilot, Proprietor, Partier". Forgotten Newsmakers, 2011. Retrieved: August 3, 2013.
- ^ a b c Hume, Ellen (March 30, 1975). "'Pancho' Barnes, Woman Pilot, Dies". Los Angeles Times. p. B5.
- ^ "Florence "Pancho" Barnes – A digital history of Mount Lowe". Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes". Centennial of Flight Commission. 2003. Archived from the original on September 5, 2005. Retrieved December 25, 2010.
- ^ Gibson 2013, p. 137
- ^ a b Gibson 2013, p. 138
- ^ Pelletier 2012, pp. 177, 178, 183–185
- ^ Gibson 2013, pp. 136–137
- ^ a b Postrel, Virginia. "Starlight and Shadow. George Hurrell's brilliantly orchestrated photographs helped define Hollywood glamour in the 1930s." The Atlantic, July 1, 2007. Retrieved: December 25, 2010.
- Sheldon Concert Hall. Archived from the originalon April 3, 2005. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
- ^ "Mach Match | Air & Space Magazine". www.chuckyeager.org. February 2, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
- ^ "Happy Bottom Riding Club." Archived October 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Happybottomridingclub.com, November 24, 2012.
- ^ "Lassie Visits Pancho". Edwards.af.mil. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ^ "Pancho". www.chuckyeager.org. June 24, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- New York Times. March 31, 1975.
- ^ Spark, Nick (January 31, 2010). "The Story of Pancho Barnes ... and Her Happy Bottom Riding Club (Originally appearing in Airpower magazine)". Legend of Pancho Barnes. Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
- PBS. Archived from the originalon May 23, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
- ^ "Test Pilots Celebrate Pancho". Edwards.af.mil. Archived from the original on April 22, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ^ Losey, Stephen (March 7, 2019). "'Captain Marvel' pays tribute to Air Force history — and a fallen Thunderbird". Air Force Times.
Bibliography
- Gibson, Karen Bush (2013). Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-540-3.
- Pelletier, Alain (2012). High-Flying Women: A World History of Female Pilots. Sparkford, UK: Haynes. ISBN 978-0-85733-257-8.
External links
- Website for the Estate of Pancho Barnes
- Website of the documentary film, The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club
- Pancho's story on Chuck Yeager's personal site