The Flying Adventures of Jessie Keith “Chubbie” Miller

Pioneer aviatrix Jessie “Chubbie” Miller made a significant contribution to aviation history. The first woman to fly from England to her native Australia (as co-pilot with her close friend Captain Bill Lancaster), she was also the first woman to fly more than 8000 miles, to cross the equator in the air and to traverse the Australian continent north to south. Moving to America, Miller was a popular member of a group of female aviators that included Amelia Earhart, Bobby Trout, Pancho Barnes and Louise Thaden. As a competitor in international air races and a charter member of the first organization for women flyers, the Ninety-Nines, she quickly became famous. Her career was interrupted by her involvement in Lancaster’s sensational Miami trial for the murder of her lover, Haden Clarke, and by Lancaster’s disappearance a few years later while flying across the Sahara desert.

Chrystopher J. Spicer has written extensively about Australian and American film and history. He teaches writing and communication at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia.

Chrystopher J. Spicer

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 272
Bibliographic Info: 27 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6531-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2732-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Prologue 5
One. Under the Southern Cross 9
Two. Into the Air 25
Three. So Close, So Far Away 45
Four. Australia Fair 66
Five. Burning Bridges 88
Six. The Powder Puff Derby 97
Seven. Flying the Ford Tour 122
Eight. Lost in the Bermuda Triangle 136
Nine. Hard Times Down South 154
Ten. An Awful Thing Has Happened 171
Eleven. England, My England 209
Epilogue: Full Circle 232
Chapter Notes 237
Bibliography 253
Index 257

“Even before I started it, I had a feeling I was going to enjoy this book. Well, I wasn’t disappointed…meticulous research…Spicer has done a remarkable job”—Airscape Magazine.