The Wild Air - Rebecca Mascull

Set in the first 20 or so years of the 20th century, we have a wonderful heroine, the mousey Della who is a bit of a lost soul until she makes the aquaintance of Aunt Betty, recently returned home after a long stay in America, where she lived near the beach at Kitty Hawke, North Carolina and saw the Wright Brothers fly their first planes. She sees in the teenage Della a girl with intelligence who just needs a hand up. Together they build and fly kites, and this leads to flying lessons. And it's there that Della discovers her place in life - in the air. She becomes an aviatrix, flying in air shows in Britain and Europe. She learns some valuable lessons about flying, and about herself. When WW1 arrives, she is grounded, and has to work as a motor mechanic. Women? Flying? during wartime? Go home and keep the home fires burning, do. But life has more for her than that. And one big adventure is still to come.