Viewing page 102 of 122

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[[image No. 123 - black & white photograph of Elinor Smith and Carl Schneider looking at a piece of equipment]]

[[image No. 124 - black & white photograph of Elinor Smith in front of a biplane]]

[[caption]] Elinor Smith and Carl Schneider, National Aeronautic Assoc. official, holding barograph (123) which registered women's altitude record (125). Previous mark was 23,996 feet. Miss Smith as she appeared in 1930 for her NBC broadcasts of the Chicago Air Races (124). [[/caption]]

[[ newspaper clipping (image No. 125) ]]
[[line]]

MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1930

GIRL UNCONSCIOUS FIVE MILES IN AIR, SETS NEW RECORD
[[short line]]

Elinor Smith, Near Death, Reaches 30,000 Feet Over Roosevelt Field in Successful Attempt to Set Women's Altitude Mark.
[[short line]]

OXYGEN TANK IS DISABLED IN RAREFIED AIR; STRUGGLES FOR BREATH AS CRAFT DRIFTS
[[short line]]

Engine Stalling Near Landing Causes Crowd to Gasp as Flier Barely Misses Wires and Comes Down with "Dead" Stick.
[[/newspaper clipping]]

Elinor Smith

"I made my solo flight without my father's knowledge or consent. Mom sort of gave her blessing beforehand. I had to leave the house before dawn, reach the flying field, and then get to school on time."

Elinor Smith made her solo when she was 15. "Not bad, really, for I was driving a car when I was 11." As a teenager her flights were so sensational, the records established so overwhelming, and the risks encountered so great, that she was an idol of her peers. On one occasion, numbed by cold and fatigue as she was preparing for a record flight, the aviation starlet became lost in the night sky over Long Island. She didn't know where to land, and finally realized there was another plane near hers, lights blinking like a gift from the gods.

"My escort was Jimmy Doolittle. He saved my life." There is a softness in her voice when she speaks of him.

One of the great epics of her life began on a spring-dewed April in 1929 when she climbed beyond the flatlands of Roosevelt Field, Long Island. Upon landing 26 hours, 21 minutes, and 32 seconds later, Elinor Smith established a women's solo endurance record. She was 17, and to pass the time she read an old school book, Tom Sawyer Abroad. The best previous time for a woman was Evelyn Trout's record of 17 hours, and by year's end, the two were teamed in a new effort of staying aloft 45 hours.

[[image - small drawing of a propeller]]

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