Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottoms Riding Club

hankrausch

Pre-takeoff checklist
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GoodbyePOA
This ia now on Amazon Prime and a great watch. When did we stop referring to women pilots as Amazons of the Air? Surely we have lost something.
 
A small corner of the foundation of the Happy Bottom Riding Club (the building) is still visible but you need access to Edwards AFB.
 
Just watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it. What an extraordinary and interesting person she was.

Loved the part about buzzing her minister husband's church in Pasadena!

Afterward, I went to Google Earth to see exactly where the ranch was located relative to Muroc/Edwards.
 
Have not seen the film but read a biography of her. Certainly a flamboyant and notable character, though not particularly admirable in my opinion.

Dissipated several small fortunes on extravagant parties, unfaithful to her husband, could never make a profit out of several promising business opportunities.

Once flew a plane around the LA area illegally looking for an instructor to solo her, with several friends on board, but couldn’t find one. Returned to the home airport with so little fuel, that upon subsequently starting and taxiing for fuel, the engine quit from fuel starvation.
 
A small corner of the foundation of the Happy Bottom Riding Club (the building) is still visible but you need access to Edwards AFB.
There use to be a side bar in the EDW O Club that had a ton of memorabilia that was (IIRC) salvaged from her place.

Nauga,
SPORTy
 
Dissipated several small fortunes on extravagant parties, unfaithful to her husband, could never make a profit out of several promising business opportunities.

Yeah, but the life stories of straight-arrow goodie-goodies rarely make for compelling biographies.
 
Yeah, but the life stories of straight-arrow goodie-goodies rarely make for compelling biographies.

True generally. My impression was her behavior was more reprehensible than merely not being a straight arrow goodie goodie though.

There are many admirable individualistic interesting people. She did not impress me as one of them.
 
True generally. My impression was her behavior was more reprehensible than merely not being a straight arrow goodie goodie though.

There are many admirable individualistic interesting people. She did not impress me as one of them.

But she knew a lot of them and they seemed to like her.
 
I found her story poignant and rivetting. No one will be making documentaries of any of us.
 
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