“This is nothing like New York,” Rhianyn had commented. “Everything’s so spread out in Los Angeles! And you can’t just hop on a subway either.”
So, in 1933, they bit the bullet and bought a Chevrolet Eagle. Lorewyn insisted on nicknaming it “Atropos.” Rhianyn didn’t argue and continued driving the Model A herself for another couple years before trading it in on a Chrysler.
Lorewyn, or Alivia Chambers, was offered a five-year contract with Warner Bros. It was ideal work, a chance to be in pictures, to get some exercise in, and to be essentially incognito and not easily recognized in public… and this was something Lorewyn was far more conscious of after what had happened in New York! She doubled in a number of films, but regarded her favorites as The Dragon Murder Case (1934), doubling for Margaret Lindsay, Lorewyn’s first film with the studio, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935), doubling for Olivia de Havilland, which became a nominee for Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year, The Adventurous Blonde (1937), doubling for Glenda Farrell, The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), again doubling for Olivia de Havilland whom Lorewyn got to know fairly well (the actress found it amusing that she was an “Olivia” while her double on some scenes was an “Alivia”) and which again became a nominee for Best Picture, and The Adventures of Jane Arden (1939), doubling for Rosella Towne, which became Lorewyn’s final Warner Bros. film on account of difficulty negotiating a contract renewal, but one which Lorewyn loved immensely because of the premise of a savvy female reporter (Jane Arden) going undercover to expose a gang of jewel thieves and smugglers… and having to deal with a dangerous mission!
***
Rhianyn’s decade-long career with Hughes Aircraft as a test pilot almost didn’t get off the ground… and it involved something of a dangerous mission in itself! But it was a dream come true for the former Lady Raven. She was using the alias Antonia Blackstone since their move to Los Angeles, initially thinking that it would make for a good stage name, with the idea that she might continue in her singing. But, as she soon found out, the entertainment industry in California, especially when it came to music, was a very different animal compared to the speakeasies and clubs of New York!
“Do you have a record made?” Rhianyn mocked, imitating the question that had been asked of her constantly everywhere she went inquiring about performance opportunities. “And I always say, ‘sure, I did a demo for Columbia once, a cover of Lena from Palesteena.’ Then they ask, ‘So, where’s the record? Did it get produced? What name did you record under?’ And of course that would require me to mention Lady Raven, and they’d end up digging and make the connection, and… ugh.” She sighed. “The past that you’re trying to obscure always finds ways to come back and haunt you… somehow.”
And so, Rhianyn abandoned the idea of singing. Lady Raven was a past act. Her days in the spotlight as an entertainer had come and gone… and she was okay with that. Timing, luck, and Hughes Aircraft, however, gave her the chance to pursue another dream, one she had been thinking about ever since that night when they saw the Graf Zeppelin fly above them over Manhattan.
It was meant to be, perhaps. They still had only one car at the time, and Rhianyn had driven Lorewyn to her job temping at RKO. She was about to just drop her off and be on her way, checking some job possibilities, when she caught sight of Howard Hughes himself. He was clearly frustrated, ranting, and blaming some of his staff for something. Rhianyn paused, curious.
“We need to film the scene with the airplanes next week!” He was yelling to his people. “Not a year from now, not a month, but next goddamn week! I got the planes… see ‘em?” He pointed sarcastically over to the nearby hangar where a handful of Curtiss F8C Helldiver bi-planes were being stored. “But do you know what’s missing…?” He paused deliberately, seeing if anyone would answer, but his staff were afraid to speak. “Does anyone know what’s missing?!”
Rhianyn had gotten out of the car by this point and was walking over to them. She decided to speak up. “Pilots?”
Hughes turned to face her, initially stunned at the sight of a tall beautiful brunette woman approaching… but he took control of the situation again and motioned toward Rhianyn, still addressing his people.
“Well, at least someone knows!” he exclaimed. “And she doesn’t even work for me! Maybe I should hire her instead and fire the rest of you lousy, useless…!”
“I’ll fly one of them,” Rhianyn said, stepping up to Hughes confidently.
The people with him just gazed at her, whispering amongst themselves. Hughes chuckled slightly, looking Rhianyn up and down.
“A woman pilot, huh?” He nodded, as if considering. “Hell, if Ruth Elder could get up there… you got any flying experience?”
Rhianyn just smiled, glancing at the planes in the hangar behind them. “Quite a lot, actually… in both war and peace.”
“War?” Hughes laughed. “What, did they have a squadron for 12-year old girls in the Great War? Nancy Drew vs. The Red Baron?”
This got some snickering laughs from Hughes’ staff. Rhianyn stood her ground.
“Mr. Hughes,” she said calmly, not fazed by his attempts to patronize her. “If you put me in one of your planes, I guarantee I’ll show you flying that will make other pilots you’ve seen look like circus clowns on gliders… as a woman or otherwise.”
Hughes was still looking at her, but his expression had changed some. A portion of the smug arrogance was fading. He simply nodded and turned back to his people.
“That’s one!” he called out, referring to Rhianyn. “Now, get me five more by yesterday!” He gave a dismissive wave of his hand toward the group, and they scattered like mice. He faced Rhianyn again.
“Be here tomorrow morning,” he instructed. “We’ll see what you can do.”
Rhianyn’s news to Lorewyn that night at home was a bit of glad tidings to be sure… if not somewhat precarious. She had brought home a stack of books with her from the Los Angeles public library.
“What’s all that?” Lorewyn asked.
“I need to study up as much as I can on modern aviation, piloting, and the Curtiss Helldiver series of planes,” she replied. “The Raven is returning to the skies tomorrow morning… and these wings aren’t like those of a Giant Owl!”
They had both skipped reverie that night, staying up til dawn studying, Lorewyn helping Rhianyn prepare.
“Reading isn’t necessarily the same as doing,” Lorewyn had reminded her wife, “but I’ve seen you fly in the aerial cavalry. I’ve flown with you. You’ll do fine.”
Rhianyn did a test flight on one of the Helldivers and aced it, of course. It took her a minute to get acquainted with the mechanics of the plane and adjust to a non-living craft, but once she had the “feel” of the design, it all came back to her quite naturally. She actually loved it, and didn’t want to land!
But she got the job, and Hughes did in fact manage to find a handful of other pilots… all men. And so, that was Rhianyn’s initiation into test piloting for Hughes Aircraft… her first job being on loan to RKO studios to fly a plane in a scene involving the Empire State Building and a gigantic gorilla… models, obviously. But the take-off scene and shots showing the planes in flight and maneuvering were live and genuine!
And with Lorewyn doubling for Fay Wray in a similar scene… True, she earned a number of stunt roles in the years that followed, and some of those films were indeed favorites of hers. But she would occasionally remind Rhianyn that her absolute all-time favorite moment of working in Hollywood during her career was the “big ape” movie that she got to be in with her wife… both of them uncredited and barely visible on screen.
CHAPTER 10
Howard Hughes broke new ground in the field of aviation when on September 13, 1935, at Martin Field near Santa Ana, California, he personally flew his newly designed H-1 Racer in its maiden test flight, breaking the previously-held landplane speed record and getting the H-1 up to 352 mph. It was a daring and historic flight, but Hughes crashed the plane in a be
et field. Neither he nor the H-1 were seriously damaged, but he was adamant that it was only the beginning.
“We’ll fix her,” he had stated. “She’ll go faster!”
Rhianyn had been on the scene for the first test. Hughes was determined to make the maiden flight himself, but he soon after realized that a number of additional tests and improvements would have to be made on the H-1 if it were to do what he was really hoping for… making a non-stop transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to New York, and setting a speed record.
And so, Hughes met with his number one aviator in early 1936.
“Tanya, I’m gonna need you to test the H-1 when we get those new longer wings finished on it,” he explained. Rhianyn’s actual alias was Antonia, of course, but Hughes hated calling her that and had given her the nickname “Tanya.” The longer wings were an experiment, the idea being to give the plane a lower wing loading.
“What’s the course?” Rhianyn asked, knowing his ultimate goal of a transcontinental flight. She knew that her boss would make that trip himself, obviously. But in her mind, she wished and dreamed… the idea of flying into New York, doing it right, descending with the Empire State Building, now complete, in plain view, seeing the Statue of Liberty below her…
“And you always say I’m the romantic one!” Lorewyn had teased her when Rhianyn had mentioned it to her.
Hughes showed her on a map of California. “Here’s our turnaround point.” His finger fell somewhere between Bakersfield and Fresno. “Close to Pixley. It’s south of Tulare a bit. Nothing special about it, except it’s 150 miles as the crow flies. Round trip 300 miles. That’s what I’m shooting for. Over the mountains for an altitude check… it’ll have to clear 8,000 feet… then straight out into the San Joaquin Valley, open land below. Flip a 180 at the mark, then back again. We’ll fly her out of the Motordrome.”
Rhianyn looked surprised. “Isn’t the Motordrome abandoned?” she inquired.
“It sure is,” Hughes grinned in response. “Ever since I flew the H-1 a few months back in Orange County, Douglas has been sniffing around, trying to get leads, to steal my innovations! He’s expecting an upgraded test any day now, but he’ll be checking the fields further south or out toward Pomona. He won’t consider something so close to his own headquarters in West L.A. It’s like we’ll launch her right under his nose and he won’t even know it!”
The day came for the test flight. Lorewyn was between films at the time and was sure to be present to support her wife.
“How long do you expect to be airborne?” Lorewyn asked. She was very confident in Rhianyn’s flying ability, but she was also trying to mask the concerns she had about things that could go wrong… that even Rhianyn couldn’t predict or control. Lorewyn trusted flying mounts such as Giant Eagles and Owls more than she trusted mechanical aircraft! Of course, in this world, such giant mounts didn’t exist.
Rhianyn understood her wife’s concealed apprehension. “If all goes well, only a couple hours,” she reassured her. “Once I get to cruising speed and altitude, it’s smooth sailing until I hit the mountains. I’ll have to coax the plane higher than it’s gone before, and likely compensate for increased wind, but then it’s smooth sailing again over the valley, a quick turn, then flying straight back.”
“You have a working radio in that plane, right?” Lorewyn asked.
Now Rhianyn laughed. “Aye, aye, Captain Yellowfeather!” she exclaimed, but discreetly took her hand and gave it a loving squeeze. “I’ll be fine, trust me,” she whispered to her. “If I can take down Garynshyn alone, I can handle this no sweat.”
Lorewyn nodded, smiling, feeling more relieved and took her place at the Motordrome as Rhianyn geared up. Hughes had made sure a photographer was there for pictures… for Howard Hughes, it was all about the vanity! He had already taken photos with himself and the plane, himself and Rhianyn and the plane, just himself without the plane…
Rhianyn had her flight jacket on and was about to don her helmet. The photographer had noticed Lorewyn and Rhianyn talking earlier.
“Hey!” he called out. “You want a photograph with your friend before you take off?” He motioned to the camera.
Rhianyn nodded, delaying the helmet and walked back over. She beckoned Lorewyn to join her. “She’s my cousin,” she explained to the photographer, “but yes, we’d love to have a photograph taken!”
Lorewyn stepped up to her, moving in behind her, and placing her arms around Rhianyn’s shoulders, like a reverse casual embrace. They both smiled, facing the camera together, as the photographer took the picture.
The first part of Rhianyn’s flight had gone without incident. Before long she was flying over Newhall and beginning her ascent over the San Emigdio Mountains. She and Lorewyn had driven over the Rockies together on their drive to California from New York in late 1930, but the last time she had actually flown over mountains like this was back in Cordysia ages ago, when she and Pypp would traverse the Crescent Peaks.
It was February and still cool, especially at the altitude she was reaching. The mountains had snow on them. Snow-capped mountains, just like she remembered! Yellowfeather, I really wish you were here with me right now to see this! She couldn’t help but think. It was a beautiful sight.
She checked her fuel. Looking good so far. The wind began to pick up, but this was expected. The turbulence increased, and Rhianyn found herself gripping tighter on the stick. But the longer wings were doing their job.
Rhianyn continued ascending, the air getting colder and the wind stronger. It was becoming difficult to keep the plane steady. Come on, she thought to herself, trying to lighten her mood. I am a Daughter of the Wind, am I not?
But she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the summits passing under and on the side of her. She could drop altitude some. The plane’s engine made a slightly different sound as Rhianyn pitched, maneuvering the H-1 in a downward slant. She was on the north side of the peaks now, the flat, bowl-shaped vista of the Central Valley, surrounded by mountains, starting to come into view. She continued to drop lower a bit more… then lower… then lower…
She leveled out as the mountains soon became hills, then an open expanse of farmland and grazing pasture. Her keen eyes caught the outline of the newly-paved two-lane U.S. Route 99, winding through the village of Grapevine at the base of the northern slopes from its trek across the pass, then shooting straight out and northward into the southern end of the valley, heading toward Bakersfield and beyond.
Rhianyn was now at barely 2,000 feet altitude and was cruising comfortably over the valley floor. She was watching for the mark below, estimating her turnaround velocity and angle. She was passing over McFarland, then Delano… she was close now. It was time to make the turn.
She went into the turn confidently… this was pretty routine, and the plane was over level terrain. Low wind speed… everything was fine, until…
The plane began to stall. This wasn’t too unusual. The extended wings… yes. Rhianyn would have to compensate. She adjusted the angle of the turn, increasing altitude and speed slightly. The engine made a peculiar noise, then cut out.
“No, no, no!” Rhianyn said to herself, reaching for the ignition switch on the console. If she could spark the engine while the propeller was still rotating, it might catch again. Otherwise, the only way to re-ignite would be to manually turn the propeller blades, stimulating the voltage necessary to spark. And of course, being airborne… and in the cockpit… She toggled the switch assertively for a moment, but nothing happened. The connection must’ve been shorted out.
Dammit! She cursed in her mind, thinking for just a brief second how adept she had become over the years living in this realm at learning how to curse in the Human languages, especially English. She was alone. No risk in causing suspicion. Rhianyn kept her hand on the console and activated a minor cantrip, sending a small charge of electrical energy into the plane. It just might do the trick.
The current shot from her hand and into the console. Th
ere was a burst of sparks, enough to cause Rhianyn to shut her eyes momentarily. But still nothing. The propeller blades were slowing down… the plane was beginning to descend mid-turn. She did a fast mental calculation. The plane would be grounded, crashed, in just a couple of minutes. Rhianyn had to act fast!
You won’t tell Yellowfeather, she convinced herself. You won’t tell Yellowfeather, do you hear? Ugh… shades of days long past… with Dragons!
There was one advantage here: The H-1 wouldn’t try to claw at her or shoot fire from its mouth! And she didn’t have her Defender with her, of course.
New world, same old tricks!
Rhianyn exhaled, finalizing her decision, and unstrapped herself. Using extreme caution and her uncanny Elven agility, she crawled out of the cockpit, past the windshield, and onto the nose of the plane.
She crept up to the very tip where the propeller had now fully stalled, its only momentum being generated by residual force and the wind. Checking her gloves and clenching the hull of the plane firmly with her strong flexible thighs, Rhianyn took hold of the propeller blade and gave it a powerful thrust downward.
It spun for a moment, but didn’t catch. The spark! It needed to ignite while being spun. Rhianyn kept one hand on the blade and moved her other to the hull. She took a guess as to approximate circuitry location given her position and gave the propeller one more thrust, this time using another cantrip and sending a jolt into the engine.
Rhianyn had overlooked the fact that she was no longer insulated, exposed out there on the nose of the plane, vulnerable to an electrical current. Sure enough, the charge hit her body as well as the engine. She gasped in pain, feeling the electrocution, and for a moment lost her grip. She only barely managed to catch the frame as she began to slide off, smarting with the aftershock.
Two Birds, One Feather: The Lives and Times of Lorewyn & Rhianyn in America Page 12
