tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118221657260439091.post2464941936865630018..comments2024-03-22T02:08:47.972-07:00Comments on Los Angeles Morgue Files: Pioneer Aviator Hilder Florentina Smith 1977 Valhalla CemeteryLos Angeles Morgue Fileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09415389181971210363noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118221657260439091.post-71331083864018756312019-12-23T02:03:08.059-08:002019-12-23T02:03:08.059-08:00Hilder (grandma) was allowed by Glenn Martin (oper...Hilder (grandma) was allowed by Glenn Martin (operator of the flying school where Hilder's husband, Floyd, was a flight instructor) to take flying lessons from Floyd after she agreed to be a stand-in making a parachute jump at the ceremonies for the opening of Los Angeles Harbor in the summer of 1914 (presided over by Assistant Sec'y of the Navy, FDR). I asked her at what altitude above the crowd she jumped, and she replied: 600 feet. Astonished, I then asked why, given that a higher altitude would be much safer. "Oh, no; that wouldn't do," she replied. "The crowd wanted to be able to see the fear on your face." Hilder then got her flight instruction and soloed in June, 1914. Behind "Tiny" Broadwick, she was the 2nd woman to make a parachute jump. <br />Favorite Hilderisms: "Shoot him in the pants; the coat's mine" and "She was only the farmer's daughter, but all the horse-men-knew-her." CyNicalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16359101897123016114noreply@blogger.com