Pancho Barnes
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Real Identity: Florence Leontine Lowe "Pancho" Barnes
Affiliation(s): Happy Bottom Riding Club
Skills: Expert pilot and bartender
Florence Lowe was born July 22, 1901 in San Moreno, California. She was raised to take part in the social elitism but was more interested in adventure. Her grandfather, Thaddeus Lowe Senior was a pioneer in American aviation, having founded the Union Army Balloon Corps. She is also had once went horseback riding with a young George Patton. In 1919, she married Reverend C. Rankin Barnes.
Barnes' story didn't end in marriage. Following her mother's death in 1924, she left her family, dressed like a man and traveled to Mexico. Barnes then spent part of the 20's traveling across Mexico with a man who nicknamed her "Pancho."
After four months, Barnes returned home and decided to learn how to fly after dropping her cousin off for lessons. After only six hours, she learned to fly solo. In 1930, Barnes broke the women's world speed record (previously set by Amelia Earhart) at 196.19 mph. She went on to do stunt flying in Hollywood but the Great Depression left her family fortune diminished. Barnes bought 80 acres of land in the Mojave Desert in March 1935 and built the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a bar and restaurant that catered to airmen and test pilots that resided at the nearby Edwards Air Force Base.
In the spring of 1948, Hal Jordan snuck into Edwards and entered the Club in search of his hero, Chuck Yeager, who was also a close friend of Barnes'. When a pilot died at Edwards, she would place their picture on the wall behind the bar. Nearly 10 years later, Jordan found himself back in the same bar as Barnes and some patrons were glued to television coverage of the Centre.