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painter, and linguist. But what really set her hometown of Beloit, Wisconsin, talking was her return from school in France with two interests - aviation and a French husband. 

Francois Raiche shared his wife's interest in aviation, and they settled in Mineola, New York, where they could gain from the knowledge and experience of the many pioneer aviators living in that area. The Racihes built their first airplane, a Wright type, in their living room, and it was in this frail craft of bamboo and silk, without benefit of prior instruction that Ms. Raiche made her first solo flight.

Her first accident occurred in this same aircraft, on her fifth flight. It was a minor one, but it set her thinking about how her long skirts encumbered her. So she appeared for her next flight wearing riding breeches.

Inspired by the success of their first aircraft, the Raiches built two more, which they sold. Soon they formed the French-American Aeroplane Company and formally went into business. They imported China silk for wing coverings and were the first to substitute piano wire for iron stove wire to save weight. They believed that lightness was the key to making an aircraft fly better.