By Bob Alvis, special to Aerotech News
Muroc/Edwards has a rich history, full of technological advancements and amazing personnel who have always kept it at the forefront of aviation innovation on a worldwide scale.

With all the whiz kids and brains needed to put that technology into a working aircraft, it stands to reason that there are times when some steam needs to be blown off, to keep the mind focused and not let the rigors of flight test — a very dangerous business — get the better of you.  

Nowadays, the working squadrons have their own traditions and staff that help to keep the pressures in perspective. I admit, I’ve seen some pretty interesting traditions played out by some very creative personnel! But it wasn’t always that way. When young men came to the desolate High Desert in the 1930s and 1940s, bar room activities and shenanigans were pretty much confined to tents and shacks with some pretty stiff company. What the region needed was a free soul, who could take the boring and monotonous and inject it with the spirit of adventure — and a heavy dose of outrageous!

Enter one Pancho Barnes, whose colorful resume changed the High Desert landscape and turned the dusty airfields into places of camaraderie and legend while, in her own way, keeping the mission on track.

Pancho was the perfect mascot for the flyboys and personnel of that era, as her flamboyant personality and zest for life challenged the very extremes of their own forms of outrageousness — whether it be pushing the flight test envelope or blowing off steam after hours. “Florence Lowe Barnes” was not a name that summoned up images of crazy fun and shenanigans in a smoky bar room in the desert, but the name “Pancho” sure fit the bill for an adventure-seeking group of educated thrill seekers at our remote desert airfield!

Pancho’s nickname came from a place that just added to her legend, from her days teamed up with a young man on a rusty banana boat, who went by the name of Roger Chute — another free-spirit adventurer. Passing herself off as a man, Florence set out with Roger to explore Mexico, seeking adventure in a country where Mexican revolutionaries made being an American in Mexico a very dangerous undertaking. The day came when Florence and Roger had a conversation about names and Florence drew on a bit of literary history as inspiration for a name change. The revolutionaries had given Roger a magnificent white horse, while Florence ended up on a burro. Florence noted that Roger was reminiscent of Don Quixote and Roger said, “that would make you his trusty servant, Pancho!” Florence quickly pointed out the inaccuracy of the name Pancho, saying that the name of the servant was really Sancho! “Ah, what the hell, Pancho or Sancho, you fit the bill and from now on I’m calling you Pancho,” Roger announced.

With a built-in taste for showmanship, she thought this was a great name: Pancho Barnes! Sort of a pleasant contradiction. She rolled the name around a bit and it came out tasting sweet. At that moment Roger had put forth the name that christened her for life — Pancho Barnes, a name that would fit her physically and spiritually for the rest of her days.

The stories of Edwards Air Force Base and Pancho Barnes will always be intertwined, for it was a location and a kindred soul that were custom-made for each other. The Happy Bottom Riding Club, and the pioneers and legends of flight test who sought escape within its boundaries, found their common denominator in this burro-riding, adventure seeking woman who looked at life not just as something to be lived, but to be experienced living on the very edge of the outrageous! Pancho and her ranch will forever be part of the history of Edwards. Many of us looking for the colorful in life are thankful that Florence turned her back on a structured society and gave us a reason to let loose and blow off steam without caring about how it looks to others. We can wish that our names carried the same aura of adventure as this free spirit, who bucked the system at every opportunity.
Until next time, Sancho/ Pancho/ Bob out!