System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Mary Victor Bruce, Adventurer
Mrs. Victor Bruce, born in 1896, was a British woman of her times. The world was in love with speed and record setting race cars, motorboats and airplanes. Mrs Bruce raced them all. She begged the loan of 'hotted-up' cars from auto factories, and motor boats from wealthy sportsmen. She was provided fuel by oil companies who used her name in advertising. She enjoyed the camaraderie of the racing world; exchanging tips about particular race courses or makes of cars and the intense competitiveness between friends and strangers alike. She wore in every race a skirt, blouse and a string of pearls -- her trademark of lady- like, competent professionalism.
The first 'flying' she did was on her brother's motorcycle at age 15, setting an early record: that of being the first female called into the Bow Street (London) police court for speeding. She once drove a race car for seventy hours straight, single-handedly, to take 6th place in the 1927 Monte Carlo Rally. She started at the northernmost tip of Scotland, and along that 1700 mile route she battled heavy fog, a blizzard, icy mountain roads and sleepiness.
Mary Bruce was inspired to fly by the astonishing sight of an airplane in a London shop window. This was June of 1930. It was a tiny, open-cockpit biplane whose wings could be folded. She bought the airplane, spent a month planning a round-the-world trip, got an extra fuel tank installed on the side-seat, accumulated maps and packed a meagre kit for herself that nevertheless included an evening dress. She chose taking a dictaphone over a parachute, and took along her husband's treasured pocket compass. At that point she decided it was time to take flying lessons. She'd never been up in an airplane before.
She soloed after a week of lessons, had her pilot's license by the third week of September and her flying experience now included solo flight up to forty miles from the airport. She took off in 'Bluebird' on a misty September morning in 1930. She would fly to Japan, take a steamer across the Pacific, fly across America, sail on to France, and from there she would return to London by plane. British and French officials in Syria, Thailand, French Indo-China, India and Shanghai, by prearrangement, supplied fuel, lodging when needed, and occasional rescue. Foreign Office dispatches to London kept the government, her family and the press apprised of her progress.
She danced every night aboard the ship that carried her and 'Bluebird' from Tokyo, Japan to Vancouver, British Columbia, and from there to Seattle. Mrs. Victor Bruce left Seattle in 'Bluebird' on December 17, 1930 and arrived in Medford, Oregon on December 24, 1930. She was in Medford for a week, having her plane repaired because she tipped it upside-down on landing. The mystery is, where was she for seven days between Seattle and Medford? No record, so far, has been found. Airplanes were still an unusual sight overhead in 1930; someone surely noted her passing. She very likely landed somewhere in Oregon before Medford. Her arrival in California was greeted again by the press, parades and city officials, but by this time she was anxious to finish her journey. She flew across the vast continent of America, and wrecked her plane for the last time in Baltimore, then laughed through her tears to see she had done so across the street from an airplane factory. The plane was repaired in time for her to circle the Empire State Building in New York City, and to endure more festivities before she and 'Bluebird' sailed for France. Her round-the-world flight set no records; she had no other competitor than her own fortitude, skills and commitment. 'Bluebird', with its wings and body covered with signatures and messages from people around the world, was displayed for a time in a London subway station.
Mrs. Bruce then turned her energies to business, developing an air freight and airline company; her planes were the first to carry air hostesses, and made the fastest flights between London and Paris. Her fleet of airplanes and pilots were critical in developing air defences over London as war in Europe loomed again.
Mrs. Victor Bruce never lost her love of speed. At age 81, she drove a Ford Ghia Capri once around a racetrack at 110 mph, her best time ever; and at age 83 flew aerobatics in a small Havilland Chipmunk airplane. She said that going slow always made her tired. She died May 21, 1990 at the age of 84.
