Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-09

- who learned to fly back in 1912
when it was about as safe as the front-line
trenches. Marjorie followed in her sisters foot
steps, winning her license at the Wright School
in Dayton, Ohio, in August 1914 and Jack,
'the baby" qualified a few years later while his
sisters and brother stood by shaking in their
shoes. He was such kid, said they.
The career of this interesting family prac-
tically comedies with the history of American
aviation, and in the making Of that history all
of the Stinsons have played important roles.
This story, however, chiefly concerns Marjorie.
Katherine was the first member Of the fam
lily to take the air, qualifying as pilot at 16.
She went in for exhibition and stunt flying, to
the tune of 81 500 a day, and became famous
almost overnight. Eddie has kept the spot
light by his periodical capture of the coveted
endurance record, his work in designing and
manufacturing airplanes and his long and sue
cessful career pilot, during which he has
spent more than $4,000 hours in the air,
record, it is said, no other pilot has approached.
Jack is making his niche as flying instruc-
tor at his school in Detroit, where brother
Eddie is busy making planes for Jacks pupils
to buy as soon as they qualify. OF Marjorie
less is known, though she well merits the title
dean of woman pilots.
CONSERVATIVE by nature, Marjorie Stin-
- son has been content to let other members
of the family bask In the limelight. Yet Mar
jorie occupies among woman pilots position
similar to that Eddie holds among men. Her
log records more flying hours than that of
any other woman IN the world.
She has more than 2,700 flying hours to her
credit yet never has had serious accident,
though there was that time when her plane hit
a wire and was broken up a bit. She never
carries a parachute and has never been in a
position to use one.
Cool, confident, petite and alluring, almost
too modest-thats Marjorie Stinson, known to
admiring aviators as Marjorie. She seems not
to know the meaning of fear and has a way Of
inspiring confidence in others. Perhaps that Is
why as the only flying schoolma m, she has
been such successful instructor.
1t was Marjorie who taught young Canadians
and a number of American boys to fly Indeed.
If Che truth be known, 1t was Marjorie, the
little sister, who trained the famous Eddie.
Her story goes back to June IS, 1914. On
that day there arrived at the Wright School in
Dayton a sweet-looking little girl in white
ruffled frock and a picture hat crowded over
sunny brown curls that framed roguish face
She clutching a check given her by her
father and she was wearing her longest skirt
hoping to goodness she looked Is, for she had
come up from San Antonio to go to flying
school.
She did not look 10 and, indeed she wasn't.
The astonished instructor was sorry, but she
would have to wire home for mothers permis-
sion. Orville Wright, howew<-, seemed to
understand. He marched her off to see the
planes and, next day, the perrIssion arrived.
Marjorie admits being slightly nervous the
first few days, but not, as you might expect,
over the prospect of leaving the ground in the
unsubStantial looking contraption known
Wright Model biplane. What worried her
was that she had made a wager with cub
reporter back home that she would learn to
fly in six weeks and What with wind this day
and rain the next AMI an instructor that
seemed horribly cautious. she was afraid she
might not make It,
A minute flight on the day after her
arrival netted some instruction regarding the
levers. 1t not Marjorie's first trip, for
she had been up with her sister Katie, but
Katie always afraid to teach Margie for
fear she might hurt herself. The plane was
the so-called pushcr type with 30-horsepower
motor and the pilot perched on f1imsy seat
stuck onto the mi'1le of the lower wing. But
jet her describe II The extract is from her
cuary