Aviation In Film History: The Legend Of Pancho Barnes And The Happy Bottom Riding Club

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes (1901-1975) is an American legend with a near half century connection to aviation history. She began her career as a barnstormer and became an advocate for stunt pilots in Hollywood. By 1940, she built a fly-in dude ranch in the California desert that would become known as the Happy Bottom Riding Club, the off duty home to the finest  fliers and space pioneers at Edwards Air Force Base.

In 2009, Amanda Pope and Nick Spark, two of Hollywood's best documentary filmmakers, released their interpretation of this most entertaining story. The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club was screened nation-wide on PBS, internationally, and at several film festivals. It is an award-winning production - including an Emmy - and has become a favorite among aviation enthusiasts.  OTR guarantees his readers that they will enjoy what amounts to a whirlwind adventure film about one of the nation's most colorful personalities.

Here is a brief Edwards Air Force Base production about Barnes and the planes, people, and place she loved.