Flygirl

When Ida and Lily arrive in Birmingham, they’re told that they will be flying a new experimental plane called the B-29 bomber. It is the biggest plane the women have ever seen, “big enough to fit a platoon of elephants” (229). Ida and Lily spend three days preparing for the flight. On the day of the flight, around 60 men gather to watch. Ida and Lily overhear one of the men call the plane a “Widowmaker” (232). Three other men will be riding in the plane with Ida and Lily, which they realize is so that the men can take over if the women can’t handle it.

The plane is heavy, and the takeoff is wobbly, but Ida manages to get it to cruising altitude. They circle the base twice. The women prepare to land, but the plane lurches and they realize they’ve lost one of the four engines. Then, another engine catches fire. Captain Hank, one of the men aboard, tries to convince Ida that he should take over, but Ida insists that she can handle it. Ida and Lily radio in and request that fire trucks be waiting on the ground just in case. Another engine fails, and the plane drops in the sky. Ida and Lily prepare to land but the nose of the plane hits the ground. They use all their strength to keep the plane from rolling, and finally, the plane comes to a stop, and they are safe.

Ida and Lily confidently get off the plane and go to the colonel’s office. He tells Ida and Lily that WASP had something to prove, and that the flight was just to prove a point, that if women can fly a plane like that, so can the men: “How can I be so proud at succeeding and feel so insulted at the same time?” (242). Lily is angry and says that the military doesn’t care about the WASP, they’re just using them to do the dirty work: “Lily’s just finding out what I’ve been living with my whole life. She’s never known what it was like to be hobbled by somebody else’s rules” (243). However, the women are still proud of their accomplishment, and Lily takes Ida out to a steak dinner to celebrate.

After dinner, Ida and Lily have letters waiting for them, ordering them to Delaware. Lily also has a telegram from her fiancé. He will be in Pennsylvania for a short time and wants them to get married before he goes back overseas. Ida and Lily decide to take a detour to Pennsylvania on their way to Delaware for the wedding. The wedding has been arranged at a military base and will be ordained by the base chaplain. It is not the fancy wedding Lily had originally planned, but she is thrilled to be getting married. That night, Lily and her husband stay at an officer’s house while he is out of town in order to celebrate their wedding night.

Eighteen hours later, Ida and Lily head to Delaware where they test newly repaired planes. After almost two months, they receive orders to report to officers’ training school in Florida. Ida is excited, thinking this means the military will finally recognize women officers. Ida and Lily think that maybe they can even give Patsy a military burial. However, Lily reveals that she missed her period and is pregnant. This means she won’t be able to continue as a WASP. Ida is sad that she won’t be able to see Lily anymore, especially since she still isn’t speaking to Jolene. Still, Ida congratulates Lily and makes plans to go to Florida alone.