It's extremely exciting to announce that The Legend of Pancho Barnes will be the centerpiece of a wonderful event, held on June 21st at the Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado.  "A Celebration of Women's Aviation" is the inaugural event for Air Mail Greetings Presents, a new promotional entity formed by famed aviation artist (and designer of our poster), impresario Joe Jones.  The Celebration will consist of a whole afternoon of events, including a special fund raising screening of Pancho.  Famed pilot, author and former president of the Ninety-Nines Gene Nora Jessen will be in attendance, along with Amanda Pope and myself, and a whole host of famous pilots including original Tuskeegee airman Lt. Col. James H. Harvey.

What's even more thrilling, is that the Celebration coincides with the Air Race Classic.  This all-women's air racing event takes place from June 23-26th, as daring aviatrixes fly from Denver to Atlantic, Iowa.  In doing so, they are not only having a terrific competition, but commemorating the 80th anniversary of the original "Powder Puff Derby" women's air race, which featured Louise Thaden, Amelia Earhart, Marvel Crosson, and yes -- Florence "Pancho" Barnes!  The pilots and crews of the modern-day air racers will be in attendance at the Celebration, and available to sign autographs, discuss the race, and do what they do best -- inspire young men and women to earn their wings.  

 We're honored to be part of this amazing event, and to show the film at a special private screening on the 30th for the race participants, because this event resonates with our project like a well-hit tuning fork.  So thanks are due in advance not only to Joe Jones for having the vision to put together the event, but also to the sponsors of the Air Race Classic which include the EAA and Ninety-Nines.

Did I mention, by the way, that author Gene Nora Jessen who is going to be in attendance, also appears in our film?  Well yes, she does! Did I also mention she is one of the so-called Mercury 13 group of women astronaut candidates?  Well, I just did!  And as it happens, she's also the author of The Powder Puff Derby of 1929, the definitive history of the race that Pancho could have won -- if only fate hadn't intervened (see earlier issues of the Production Journal).  Anyway, those who attend will therefore have an opportunity to meet a real legend in women's aviation, and buy a copy of Gene Nora's book.  (Although, you may be torn if you have a bank account that's low on currency, as Gene Nora also has a new book that's just been printed, The Fabulous Flight of the Three Musketeers.  This memoir is about a flying tour Gene Nora did back in 1962 to introduce the  Beech Musketeer.)

 To read more about the Air Race Classic, click here.  To learn more about the Celebration of Women's Aviation, and purchase tickets, click here. 

The event is by the way in need of additional sponsors.  If you want to help support something truly worthwhile, please use the contact buttons on the Celebration of Women's Aviation website.

We had a terrific fund raising screening in San Diego, with over 200 people in attendance!  Among them were Bill and Claudia Allen of the Allen Airways Flying Museum.  These two wonderful people, along with Jim Kidrick and the staff of the San Diego Air and Space Museum, helped put the whole event together. The venue was the Museum's annex at Gillespie Field, where various airplanes are restored and refurbished.  It was a place that Pancho herself may have visited in days gone by, a possibilty underscored by a display honoring the members of the famed OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Club. Yes, Pancho was an honorary member . . .

The same day we screened the documentary, Bill and Claudia presided over a "fly in" at the Allen Airways facility that involved dozens of historic aircraft.  Many of the pilots were in attendance that evening, and that made it an extra special event.  Here were people who actually understood the difficulties of flying cross country in an open cockpit, in an airplane that was more fabric than metal!  To top it all off, we had three or four past members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels in the room, and a relative of San Diego aviatrix -- and one of Pancho's good friends -- Marvel Crosson.  The guests of honor were also friends of Pancho:  Patrice Demory and Brig. Gen. Robert Cardenas.  General Cardenas, who is one of the few people inducted into both the Commando and Aviation Halls of Fame, stayed late to sign autographs and shake hands.

All in all, it was a truly memorable evening.  Thanks to everyone who helped make it a reality, and to everyone who came. 

Those of you who have signed up to be on our email list (and if you haven’t, you should) were the first to hear that The Legend of Pancho Barnes was selected for the NewFest Film Festival in Manhattan.  This prestigious festival, which focuses on films of interest to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, represents our festival debut.  We’re proud to join an international group of films and filmmakers at NewFest, and we know Pancho herself would be happy to be a part of it! 

Pancho was a great friend of the gay community during her lifetime, and was close to many closeted luminaries including actor Ramon Novarro, writer Richard Halliburton and fellow aviatrix Bobbi Trout.  In fact, we’re often asked whether Pancho herself was gay or "swung" that way.  To be honest, it’s impossible to say!  Maybe . . . certainly many people seem to believe she was bisexual.  But at the same time, while she may have impersonated a man on numerous occasions, she was also married four times (!), and a notorious pursuer of the tanned and the handsome.

There’s a wonderful case in point which by co-incidence, represents one of the last times if not the last time that Pancho was in New York City.  It's a great story and I've been dying for an excuse to tell it, so here goes!! 

Back in August of 1934, when the Great Depression was at its height and Pancho’s finances were in disarray, she became obsessed with the plight of suave Latin actor Duncan Renaldo.  The dark-haired, olive-skinned Spaniard, who starred in features such as Trader Horn and The Bridge of San Luis Rey, had been arrested for overstaying his visa not by weeks or months, but by fifteen years.  He'd also supposedly lied about his visa status when returning from Africa after shooting Trader Horn.  Imprisoned and threatened with deportation, his case looked hopeless to nearly everyone but Pancho.  She determined that if she could somehow get back East and lobby on behalf of Renaldo, she’d win his release and perhaps – his heart as well!

But how to afford a flight to the East Coast at the height of the Depression?  It wasn't easy, but according to a video interview conducted with Bobbi Trout by Stan McClain and James Lowe,  Pancho finessed the Gilmore Gasoline Co. into sponsoring the trip.  Whether Gilmore knew they were financing the rescue mission of a Hollywood star is unclear.  The way it seems to have been presented to the executives, Women’s Air Reserve members Col. Pancho Barnes, Lt. Viola McNeil, Capt. Bobbi Trout, Capt. Nancy Chaffee and friends Capt. Mary Charles and Lt. Patty Willis were going to promote the company by flying three biplanes, emblazoned with Red Lion logos, cross-country.  If things worked out, the “Red Lion Flight” would get sponsorship to make the return trip and perhaps even be sent on a barn storming tour.

Things went well for the six women at first, but during a refueling stop in Arizona, a critical mistake was made.  Mary and Patty were flying a airplane neither was very familiar with, and it being the primitive era of early aviation no one knew how long it would fly until the tanks were empty.   “We put in what we guessed was enough,” Trout explained, “and it wasn’t.  They ran out of gas by Meteor Crater and had to set down on some rocks.  That broke the landing gear.”  Pancho and Bobbi flew on, oblivious to their friends’ fate for hours.  When it became clear the plane was too badly damaged to be repaired quickly, the four remaining aviatrixes resolved to press on without their friends.

Despite the accident, the mercy flight continued to Cleveland, and then on to Washington, D.C., where they each made a successful nighttime landing on an unlit airfield.  Aviatrix Phoebe Omelie, who was a good friend of President Roosevelt, met them there.  She had arranged for a police motorcycle convoy, complete with sirens and lights, to escort them to her home.

After a short stay, they flew on to New York City where the two biplanes made a big show of it, circling Lady Liberty wingtip to wingtip.  The celebrity aviatrixes were greeted at Floyd Bennett Airport by an eager crowd of press photographers and reporters, and then whisked to the lavish St. Moritz Hotel, one of the poshest places in the city.  Their suite overlooked Central Park.  “Everyone in the hotel knew Pancho,” recalled Bobbi Trout, “because of her grandfather, Thaddeus Lowe.”  It seemed that Pancho’d really have a chance of lobbying the big wigs on behalf of Renaldo, but she reckoned without the red tape.  After nearly a month, Renaldo was still detained at McNeil Island Federal Prison, and the “Red Lion Flight” was nearly bankrupt.  Nearly all the money given to them by Gilmore was gone – spent on their four star hotel bill!  

Pancho and Bobbi tried one last attempt to free Renaldo, aided in part by Phoebe who was able to supply gas so they could get back to Washington.  Once there, they kept up the offensive, and were met with some success.  But things move slowly in officialdom, and with few financial resources left, the aviatrixes decided it was high time to get back to Los Angeles.  That proved to be extremely difficult.  Gilmore wasn’t interested in supplying more gasoline and according to Trout, attempts to sell their story to the newspapers fell flat.  Eventually, they pieced together enough money to get home – just barely.  Bobbi noted wryly in the biography Plane Crazy that when she arrived home in Los Angeles, her entire life savings amounted to seven cents.

The effort may have been half-baked, and certainly prolonged, but it turned out it was not in vain.  Eighteen months after he’d been arrested, Duncan Renaldo was freed through extraordinary means – a pardon direct from President Roosevelt himself.  Pancho put up a $1500 bond personally on Reynaldo’s behalf, and was there to greet the actor at the airport.  But things did not work out exactly as Pancho’d planned.  While Reynaldo was grateful for all her lobbying on his behalf, he was apparently only interested in friendship.  It must have been terrible disappointing to Pancho -- but by then she was on her way to bankruptcy and within months she'd be forced to leave Hollywood and move to the Mojave Desert. The broken heart, if she had one, would have been only one more tough deal to live with . . .

Renaldo didn't miss a beat.  He quickly returned to his screen acting career and later married. He starred in various serials and movies, including Zorro Rides Again and the similarly titled Lone Ranger Rides Again.  But his biggest career break came in television, when he accepted the starring role as the friendly Mexican caballero on the show Cisco Kid.  It ran from 1950-56.  His sidekick on that show was played by Leo Carrillo and named, ironic isn't it: Pancho !

We're proud to announce that on Saturday, May 16th, we'll be doing a special fund raising screening of "The Legend of Pancho Barnes".  The location is the San Diego Air & Space Museum's annex at Gillespie Field (seen below), and the event starts at 6 p.m.  You'll want to get there much earlier in the day however, as the screening is only part of a much larger "fly in" sponsored by two of our strongest supporters -- the SDASM and Bill and Claudia Allen of the Allen Airways Flying Museum. 

Starting at 9:30 a.m., you'll be able to see some amazing historical aircraft and autos including Osh Kosh winners, Rolls Royce Heritage winners, and more.  Some of the highlights include the legendary Boeing Model 40C mail plane from Spokane -- the oldest flyable aircraft of its type and one which has recently graced the covers of many aircraft magazines.  There'll also be a 1926 Boeing FB-5, a rare 1931 Laird LBC300, 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail and C3R; Ryans, Stinsons, Cubs, Buckers, Boeing Stearmans, Phillips Skylark, etc.  

The "Pancho" event will include dinner, and be hosted by Jim Kidrick, the director of the SDASM.  We may also have another important guest or two!  This is a wonderful opportunity to get a peek at the film, meet the filmmakers, and hear a little bit about how the film came to be made.  Tickets are $35, with proceeds benefitting the film.  To purchase tickets, visit this link.  Tickets are limited, and it's all first-come, first-served, so I advise you to call early.

Incidentally, directions to the Annex and more information about the SDASM can be found at this link. The Allen Airways Museum (click here for more information and a map) is located nearby, on North Marshall Avenue across from the Gillespie Trolley Station at Cuyamaca.

If you can't make it on Saturday, the fly in continues on Sunday from 9-3.