In the 1920s, the 13 Flying Black Cats became the most daring aerial exhibition team in America, based out of Burdett Airport in Los Angeles. Starting around 1925, they performed breathtaking stunts at air shows and in movie newsreels across Los Angeles and the Southwest. They were known for a bold offer: they would do anything in the air for a price, charging up to $500 for their most complex maneuvers.
From left to right are William E. “Spider” Matlock (1902–1926), Paul E. Richter, Jr. (1898–1949), Ronald Griffith “Bon” MacDougall (1901–1970), and Kenneth “Fronty” Nichols (1902–1974), circa 1925.
Standing left to right: Al Johnson, Bon MacDougall, Art Goebel, Ken “Fronty” Nichols, and Paul Richter; kneeling left to right: Heard McClellan, Sam Greenwald, and Spider Matlock. Other members not pictured are Reginald Denny, Ivan Unger, Gladys Ingle, Freddy Osborne, George “Slim” Maves, Jerry Phillips, “Loot” Barber, Howard Batt, and cameramen Jerry Tabnac and Bill Stapp.
She died on August 15, 1927 by accidentally walking into a spinning propeller after posing for publicity shots with “Miss Ohio,” Evelyn Wilgus at Watson Field, Youngstown, Ohio.
The inscription reads, “To our flying Pal, Bon MacDougall, The Army hasn’t anything on us when it comes to formation flying. And we never fail in plane changes. Aviatingly yours, Art Goebel, Gladys Ingle, Jan 27 – 1926.” Note the motion picture camera mounted on the rear fuselage of Curtiss Jenny #27.
During her career, Gladys made more than 300 plane changes without a slip. She retired and raised a family.
But a quarrel over cheating breaks out and a shoot-out causes the loser to tumble off – before his parachute opens, 1925.
