Hard to believe that stunts such as these used to be accomplished frequently. Does anyone recall the air-to-air refueling of one biplane to another using a long hose? Those people had to be either fearless or just “plane crazy.”
This woman has more guts than a sausage factory. Take a look at this film. Fabulous footage, although grainy due to time and bad equipment in those days compared to today, but what nerve this gal had.
Gladys Ingles was a member of a barnstorming troupe called the 13 Black Cats in the 1920s. Ingles was a wing walker; in this film, she shows her fearlessness in classic barnstorming fashion to save an airplane that has lost one of its main wheels.
Ingles is shown with a replacement wheel being strapped to her back and then off she goes as "Up She Goes," a duet from the era, provides the soundtrack. In the film, Ingles transfers herself from the rescue plane to the one missing the main landing gear tire.
She then expertly works herself down to the undercarriage only a few feet from a spinning prop. It's certainly a feat many mechanics wouldn't even try on the ground, with the engine running.
She died at age 82. Click on below...
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