The Old Lady flies

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The Old Lady flies by Raoul Whitfield is a pulp aviation short story written in the early 20th century. It follows a loyal stunt pilot and his aging “Jenny” biplane as tensions in a flying circus lead to a risky movie-job gambit, testing pride, friendship, and the value of an old aircraft.

When the Brooks’ Flying Circus downsizes, boss Bob Brooks tries to drop pilot Russ Healy’s battered Jenny. Russ quits on the spot, vowing to prove the “Old Lady” still has life by doing hazardous film work for a war picture director named Conant. Brooks and the crew race to stop him, but Russ and Conant outmaneuver them: the circus ships are drawn into an impromptu aerial battle shoot, and Russ, with Brooks trapped in the rear cockpit, puts the Jenny through sharp stunts before executing a controlled crash into a sand-filled shell hole for the cameras. No one is badly hurt, Conant pays generously for the footage, and Brooks concedes the point. The Jenny will be repaired and kept in the act—the old lady flies.