Flights of Courage: The Daring Pilots of the United States Air Mail Service, 1918-1927

At the end of WWI, the U.S. was in an expansive mood. Everything seemed possible and anyone who challenged the elements came away with the aura of a hero. Aviation was still less than 20 years old and when the Post Office announced a new service called Air Mail, a group of young war-experienced aviators were ready to answer the call. Despite the fact that the service was the brain child of a desk-bound Washington bureaucrat who cared little about the dangers he was subjecting his pilots to, men signed up in droves. They had no maps, no compasses, no emergency landing fields, no radios, and they flew a plane that was nick-named for the stubborn female member of the mule family--the "Jenny." Most of them could expect to fly about 800 hours before being involved in a crash; a light bulb had a better life expectancy. Their story is skillfully told in a combination of re-enactments, historical photos and newsreels, and interviews with surviving pilots as well as historians. A well-produced, highly entertaining film that armchair pilots (not to mention those who test their mettle in the skies) will thoroughly enjoy. Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Carlson)