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148
THE FUN OF IT

onstrates this theory for she is secretary for an aviation school, and gets in considerable flying by just being on hand.

As to those who earn money for their flying in totally different fields, their occupations range all the way from selling real estate to acting. The names of several school teachers now appear on the pilot’s list and bookkeepers and stenographers, too. One girl I know of waited on table in a restaurant to gain her license, and another won a scholarship to a private pilot’s rating. Still another sold the idea to business men of her home town that they should underwrite her training. More than one newspaper woman has used her writing ability to pay for a course of instruction.

As well known as any of this plucky band is Viola Gentry. She was a cashier in a Brooklyn cafeteria and saved enough to get a license. After this she toiled to promote and prepare a refueling flight with another pilot. Through no fault of hers the plane cracked up and she was painfully injured. It has taken her many long months to recover sufficiently to return to her job, and it will be longer still before she can regain her license.

Bobby Trout, co-holder of the women’s refueling record, is another pilot who has worked hard for what she has accomplished. She owns and operates a service station in California.

Now and then, girls marry into flying and be­ come wives of men who can and do teach them. That is one way to get the coveted lessons, but