Little Known Facts from The Battling Pilot

The Story Behind the Story

Washington, DC, 1931

In the 1930s, flight was still new and not for the meek or uncertain. In its infancy, aviation was a heart-pounding endeavor, a challenge colored by danger and an experience fueled by adrenaline. At age twenty and while still a student at the George Washington University in 1931, L. Ron Hubbard was the 385th person licensed in the U.S. as a glider pilot. He became the university’s flying club president and organized training programs for fledglings to meet federal licensing requirements.

The difficulties and perils of flight in those days cannot be understated. By 1931, roughly three hundred fatalities had already occurred. Navigation instruments were crude, experimental, and unreliable, and most flying machines were lashed together with glue, fabric, and piano wire. Undaunted, Ron Hubbard and other brave, early pioneers harnessed and mastered these flying deathtraps, seemingly unconcerned about the vagaries of this new science and the foibles of poor design.

After a few dozen glider flights, followed by fifty official hours in powered aircraft, flying was in Ron’s blood and so found its way into his stories. His vivid accounts were published in both the Washington Herald and the nationally circulated magazine The Sportsman Pilot. The articles included his own photographs, some of which were shot from the wing while airborne.

Ron barnstormed across America’s Midwest in a single-engine biplane with his friend and fellow aviator “Flip” Browning. They put on some free air shows for Ohio locals. And took others up for their first flying experience.

In 1934, The Pilot magazine called Ron “one of aviation’s most distinguished hell-raisers.” When he appeared at air meets—often at the Congressional Airport in Maryland—reporters referred to him as “Flash” because of the speed he flew. The Pilot reported:

“The flaming-haired pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago and made women scream, and strong men weep by his aerial antics. He just dared the ground to come up and hit him.… Ron could do more stunts in a sailplane than most pilots could do in a pursuit job. He would come out of spins at an altitude of thirty inches and thumb his nose at the undertakers who used to come out to the field and titter.”

He also visited Boeing in Seattle. The president and chief engineer gave him an inside look at their test pilot program.

L. Ron Hubbard was no armchair author. He used his real-life experiences and the real people he met to bring authenticity and cultural accuracy to his realistic fiction books. He gave his readers unique entertainment and the background and education that only reality can impart.