Monday, May 31, 2010

ST AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA--

Wing walker awed locals
Mabel Cody risked life in visit to Beach
Posted: May 31, 2010
by MARCIA LANE
For Mabel Cody and her Flying Circus dancing on the wing of a plane was an ordinary day at the office as they entertained crowds with their flying and acrobatic skills.
It was the 1920s and barnstormers were the bee's knees, drawing fans wherever they flew.
On a Sunday in December 1921 about a thousand people gathered along St. Augustine Beach to watch Mabel and her troupe try a few death-defying stunts.
One stunt involved a man identified as "Pilot Heerman" (or possibly Heermanese) who stepped from the wing of one plane onto the wing of an approaching plane. It took three passes before the planes were close enough.
Later in the show, Louis "Bugs" McGowan climbed from a moving car up a rope ladder into a plane flying overhead.
When Mabel and her daredevils came back in March 1924, she did that stunt herself.
read more at: http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2010-05-31/wing-walker-awed-locals

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