One afternoon in 1918, a sixth-grader walking home from school heard an unfamiliar sound. Growing louder to a roar, the noise came from overhead. She looked up and exclaimed, "An Aeroplane!" She rushed home to describe what she had seen, to her sweet Aunt declaring, "Someday I'm going to fly an aeroplane." At age 12, Evelyn Trout had made up her mind to become a flyer. Born on January 7, 1906 in Greenup, Illinois, Evelyn had her first flight at age 16. Between then and the last time she piloted an airplane in 1984, she became one of the nation's most illustrious female aviators--breaking numerous records and becoming very much a part of aviation history.
About 1928, screen star Irene Castle had her hair "bobbed"-cut short. It became the rage, and Evelyn decided that was the right hairdo for her. When friends teased her about the new look, she said, "Just call me Bobbi." She has been Bobbi ever since. (It was about this time Marlena Dietrich, Pancho Barnes, and Bobbi Trout were setting the style for slacks.) Bobbi saved all she could and accumulated $2,500. She had heard about Burdett Fuller, who owned an airport on South Western Avenue in Los Angeles where he operated Burdett Airlines, Inc., School of Aviation, offering flying lessons for $250. Bobbi went to Burdett and proudly wrote a check for her instruction. She was up at first light on New Year's Day 1928, excited and eager for her first flying lesson.
On April 30, 1928 she soloed and received her solo certificate. In the spring of 1928, Bobbi's mother bought her an International K-6, a four-place biplane. Bobbi received her pilot's identification card from the U.S. Department of Commerce on the first day of September 1928. Bobbi soon began to look for business ventures to fund her flying expenses. Her airplane, part of a May Company aviation exhibit, was the most popular in the show. That exposure brought an offer from the Sunset Oil Company to provide aircraft fuel and oil in exchange for permission to paint its logo on the side of her airplane. She accepted. That recognition brought another opportunity.
A short time later when she landed the Jenny after a flight, Bobbi saw a man walking toward her. He was R.O. Bone, builder of the Golden Eagle monoplane, and he needed a good pilot to show the Golden Eagle around the country. Bone offered Bobbi $35 a week plus expenses--a dream come true. She soon flew the Golden Eagle to a first-place finish in an air race at the dedication of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport, now Van Nuys Airport. Before dawn on January 2, 1929, Bobbi took the Golden Eagle on a flight that was not to end until dark. Twelve hours and eleven minutes later she brought the aircraft in for a smooth landing. At only 22, she had just set a new solo endurance record for women, topping the previous record by four hours and made her first night landing. Los Angeles newspapers' headlines read: "AVIATRIX BREAKS WOMEN'S ENDURANCE FLIGHT MARK."Elinor Smith beat Bobbi's endurance record by one hour. Bobbi then prepared to make a second try at the solo endurance record. At the end of that flight, 17 hours later at 5:10p.m. on February 10, the press, newsreel cameras, movie stars and even Will Rogers were there to greet her. Newspapers proclaimed "SKY GIRL SETS MARK--Flies for 17 Hours." A Chicago Special EXTRA Night edition declared "GIRL SETS 5 NEW AIR RECORDS." Bobbi accepted a Richfield offer of $1,000 and all the oil and gasoline she would need on future flights for advertising Richfield on the side of her record-breaking airplane.
The first recorded women's pylon race was featured at Glendale's Grand Central Airport opening on February 22, 1929--two laps from the new Glendale field to Metropolitan Airport in Van Nuys and return. Bobbi's 60-horsepower Golden Eagle was no match for the larger competing airplanes. She placed third.
Four months after her second endurance flight, Bobbi took off in the new 90-horsepower Golden Eagle Chief to set a new altitude record for light-class aircraft. She broke the record, reaching 15,200 feet. Bobbi and the Golden Eagle Chief, lauded with parties and banquets, made the worldwide news. Shortly after that record altitude flight, she met Louise Thaden, who had just set a 156-mile per hour speed record in her Travel Air biplane. Louise proposed a try for the first women's refueling endurance record. Bobbi's employer R.O. Bone said "No, positively no." A couple of months later Bobbi met Jack Sherill, who was looking for a promotional venture. The idea of managing and promoting a women's refueling endurance flight appealed to him. Bobbi accepted his offer with the provision that she waited until after the first Women's Transcontinental Air Derby, scheduled for August 1929. R.O. Bone, builder of the Golden Eagle high wing monoplanes, had promised that she could fly his just-completed and licensed Golden Eagle Chief in the Derby. She did not want to jeopardize the opportunity to fly the new Golden Eagle Chief. When Bobbi went to the starting point of the race, Clover Field in Santa Monica, to finalize her entry in the race, she saw her friend Amelia Earhart. Bobbi was looking for another woman with whom to make a refueling flight. Amelia was interested, but she was booked and would be unable to join Bobbi in the refueling flight. Then came time for that First Woman's Transcontinental Air Derby. A newspaper headline proclaimed "20 WOMEN FLIERS TO RACE" and featured photos of the contestants. On August 18, 1929, Bobbi made last minute checks and taxied to her takeoff position. Her Golden Eagle Chief with its 100-horsepower engine was capable of 120 miles per hour--the fastest in the light plane class. With a roar they were off on the first leg of the flight to Cleveland. Bobbi was eight minutes ahead of the competition at the Imperial Airport check-line, but nearly in sight of Yuma, Bobbi was forced down in a plowed field. The Golden Eagle flipped and wound up on its back, suffering significant wing damage. The Bone factory sent mechanics and parts, and the plane was hauled to Yuma for repair. Three frustrating days later, Bobbi took off for Kansas City. Despite being grounded once more, Bobbi arrived at Cleveland before two other entrants. Although she completed the course, she was not the winner. The laurels in the light plane CW class went to Phoebe Omlie, with Louise Thaden winning the heavier DW class.
During her mishaps en route, Bobbi lost her luggage and was forced to attend the festivities in flying togs, with a white shirt borrowed from Elinor Smith who was to become Bobbi's partner in the first refueling endurance flight for women. On the flight home, Jack Helm, a Golden Eagle distributor who was flying the plane, accompanied Bobbi. When they ran into a blinding rainstorm, Helm attempted to land. The Chief ground-looped and stuck nose-up in the mud. Although neither was hurt, the beautiful red and gold Chief was left lying crumpled in a muddy field.
For Bobbi and Elinor's endurance refueling flight, promoter Jack Sherrill arranged for use of a Sunbeam biplane, with 300 horsepower Wright Whirlwind engine. Both were eager to make trial runs to ensure everything was in order to fly and to receive fuel and supplies necessary to remain in the air for a month. Fuel and supplies were to be lowered from a Curtiss Carrier Pigeon. The flip of a coin determined that Elinor would pilot the Sunbeam. They took off on November 27, 1929. The plane was to be refueled in early morning and before sunset. Refueling went well. With shifts of four hours each, two days passed. By Thanksgiving Day, they had been up for 39 hours. While refueling, the Pigeon began trailing black smoke. Bobbi quickly tossed the fueling hose over the side, as Elinor maneuvered away from the ailing Pigeon. It landed, and the fliers emerged safely. The Sunbeam had enough fuel to stay up until early the next morning. Elinor landed the plane after 42 hours, three and a half minutes, the first refueling endurance flight ever made by women--a New World record.n those glory days of aviation, Bobbi won several air races, including the Women's Air race at the 1930 Memorial Day weekend opening of the nation's first multi-million dollar United Airport--later Lockheed Burbank Airport and now the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport. Joseph Martin, an investment broker, told starlet Edna May Cooper that if she could get another woman with more experience to go with her, he would sponsor another women's refueling flight--to gain publicity for Martin. Edna May got in touch with Bobbi, who agreed to participate. Martin bought a used Curtiss Robin Challenger monoplane. The airplane was made ready for the endurance flight. Their takeoff was another media event, with the Louis B. Mayer starlets, champagne, flowers and well-wishers galore. They took off at 4 p.m. on January 1, 1931. But despite repeated attempts, the crew could not get the Pigeon's engine started. Bobbi and Edna May circled the airport until dark when Bobbi landed the airplane.
Four days later, on January 4, Bobbi and Edna May again took off. The next two days and nights went smoothly. By then they had already broken Bobbi's first refueling record. At dawn on January 9th, the engine began to cough and spit oil and run erratically. By dark, they could no longer maintain altitude and were forced to land. They had set new women's refueling endurance record--122 hours and 50 minutes. In recognition of that outstanding achievement, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale awarded Bobbi its highest honor, the Federation's Medallion. A representative of King Carol of Romania presented another highly prestigious award, a Royal Decree and The Aviation Cross for pilots who made record flights. King Carol gave out only three of these awards; the other two went to Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.
Through the mid-1930's, Bobbi's flying was intermittent because of the Depression. Financing was difficult, and Bobbi was unable to make her planned Honolulu-to-Los Angeles flight. In 1931, she became an instructor at the Cycloplane Company Ltd. In Los Angeles. In 1937 and 1938 flying jobs were still scarce, so Bobbi became a photographer and received her commercial photographer's license.
Bobbi learned that aircraft companies were scrapping thousands of unused rivets every day. It was too expensive to sort them, so Bobbi invented a sorting machine and established the Aero Reclaiming Company. Three years later she sold out and moved on to develop deburring equipment for smoothing out the edges of machined metal. Bobbi was credited with enough inventions to earn her Certificate of Achievement from the Inventors Workshop International.She never ran out of ideas, ventures and ingenuity. In 1949, Bobbi got her real estate broker's license and opened a real estate office. In the next several decades, she tried her hand at offset printing and later opened a life insurance and mutual funds office. In 1976, Bobbi bought her present condominium in North San Diego County. Later, in 1976, the OX5 Aviation pioneers presented Bobbi with the Outstanding Women's Award. In 1977, she participated in a film record of aviation history sponsored by the American Hall of Aviation History. In 1984, the OX5 Club of America again honored her as a member of the OX5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame, and in 1989, she was awarded the Elder Statesman Award and traveled to Washington, DC to receive that honor. In 1993, she became a member of the Women in Aviation's Hall of Fame. On January 18, 1996, Bobbi became the first woman to receive the Howard Hughes Memorial Award for her lifetime contributions to aviation.
On February 11, 1984, she celebrated the 55th anniversary of the "First Woman To Fly All Night." Bobbi celebrated her 80th birthday on January 7, 1986, being interviewed while hovering over the Golden Gate Bridge in a helicopter.
Also in 1986, Bobbi was honored on May 28th at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama during the "Gathering of The Eagles," where she ranked prominently among the world's most highly honored aviation luminaries, adding to her list of awards, certificates and recognitions for her many achievements. A Los Angeles TV station, KTLA, recently recognized the 65th anniversary of the opening of the United Air Terminal at Burbank. A special TV interview featured Bobbi Trout--the winner of the women's air race held 65 years ago in connection with the airport's opening.
During her 95 years, Bobbi set an impressive number of aviation records, and in July of 1999, Bobbi received a proclamation from the city of Los Angeles for her 70 years promotion and advancement of aviation. Bobbi has also been recognized as an accomplished inventor. The only living participant in the first Women's Air Derby of 1929, Bobbi Trout still reflects the strength, enthusiasm and courage that took her to the peak of her chosen profession--truly, a living legend.
