#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE
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#INTHEAIREVERYWHERE |
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| Vol. 14 No. 20 | Friday
March 6, 2015 |
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| Air Babies
By Elvy Kalep
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 We
write about women in air cargo, about female aviators, and because we acknowledge
women as consummate multi-taskers, we must remember to ask: what else can
you do? What else do you do? Invariably, women in every industry perform several and various functions in order not to go ‘hysterical,’ a term loved dearly by detractors of feminists like Betty Friedan as it improperly classified and deflected from that general feeling of malaise suffered by so many women who were not put to good use beyond the home. As lovers of all things historical and otherwise, FlyingTypers recently came across an intriguing vintage image of two baby-faced planes rendered in bright primary colors, soaring through the sky against a tilted horizon and setting orange sun. When we say baby-faced, we don’t mean that euphemistically, as if the planes are just a few days old. The planes, quite literally, have baby faces—round, cherubic, ruddy-cheeked, with milk saucer eyes and gold-plaited hair. Stylistically it’s very reminiscent of the Max Fleischer cartoons of the 30s and 40s.  The
children’s book Air Babies was written and illustrated by
a young woman named Elvy Kalep, and at first glance that statement seems
like nothing special. But upon further examination and exploration, we realized
that Kalep was not just or only a children’s book author—she
was also an aviator. And not just any aviator, but the first female in Estonia
to receive a pilot’s license, in 1931. A year later, in May 1932,
Kalep traveled to the United States with the intention of flying back to
Europe—essentially to attempt a solo transatlantic flight. Unbeknownst
to her, another woman had her eye on that particular feat—Amelia Earhart.
The two became friends, and Earhart performed the first solo transatlantic
flight later that month, which put Kalep off of the idea as she would no
longer be the first. Despite being one-upped, the two women became good friends, and Kalep joined Earhart in her endeavors to encourage women into the field of aviation, becoming a member of the famous Ninety-Nines. A few years later, in 1936, Elvy Kalep published Air Babies, a story of two young planes named ‘Happy Wings’ and ‘Speedy’ who wished to learn how to fly. Two years later, a reprint of Air Babies included the following foreword from her friend, Amelia Earhart:
Thanks to Gail Chumbley for the photograph above. For more on Elvy and Amelia click here |
If
You Missed Any Of The Previous 3 Issues Of FlyingTypers |
Skating
for a roller-derby fundraiser at Roosevelt Field, NY, circa 1933.
(L-R) Amelia Earhart, Elvy Kalep, Frances Marsalis and Betty Huyler
Gillies.
