The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship

In Short

Margaret Burnham’s The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship is a fast-paced 1911 juvenile adventure novel centered on seventeen-year-old Roy Prescott and his spirited sister, Peggy. Facing the imminent loss of their family homestead due to a bank foreclosure, the siblings enter their homemade monoplane, The Golden Butterfly, in a local aviation competition offering a ten-thousand-dollar prize. Along the way, they navigate mechanical mishaps, dangerous coastal squalls, framed accusations of theft, and the underhanded plots of a wealthy rival. It remains a charming period piece that captures the dawn of early American aviation through youthful ingenuity.

The Story

The narrative opens at Shadyside, the Prescott family home near Sandy Bay, where Roy and Peggy Prescott put the finishing touches on their new monoplane, The Golden Butterfly. Their peaceful endeavor is interrupted when Mr. Harding, president of the Sandy Bay Bank, notifies their sweet aunt that she must pay five thousand dollars in overdue mortgage interest within a week or forfeit the ancestral property to real estate developers. Desperate to save their home, Roy and Peggy decide to compete for the large cash prizes offered by aviation enthusiast Ironmaster Higgins at the upcoming Acatonick air meets.

Trouble follows them immediately. Fan Harding, the bank president's arrogant son, holds a grudge against Roy and vows to thwart him. Soon after, Roy is falsely implicated in the theft of valuable jewels when he arrives at the scene of an automobile crash involving their friend Jess Bancroft. Unfazed by the suspicious glances of local authorities and private detectives, the young aviators continue testing their aircraft, aided by their friends Jess and Jimsy Bancroft.

Disaster strikes during a night flight intended to help Jimsy and Jess make a deadline in New York. A sudden, violent squall catches The Golden Butterfly and blows Roy and Peggy helplessly out toward the ocean. Running out of fuel, Roy executes a daring volplane and lands the craft safely on a small, uninhabited island. There, they manage to replenish their fuel supply and return to the mainland just in time to prepare for the Acatonick races.

On the eve of the main event, Fan Harding collaborates with a disgruntled former employee named Jukes Dade to trap Roy in a deep, abandoned well, preventing him from competing. When Roy fails to appear the next morning, Peggy steps up, dons flying clothes, and prepares to pilot The Golden Butterfly herself to keep their entry alive. Fortunately, Roy is discovered and freed by local farmers. He reaches the airfield in the nick of time, takes the controls, and triumphs over his rivals in a thrilling aerial display, winning the five-thousand-dollar purse that saves Shadyside.

Following the race, the mysteries surrounding Fan Harding and the stolen jewels come to light. The group discovers that Fan’s claims of building a rival aircraft were a complete hoax; he had flown a large box kite fitted with red and green lanterns at night to create the illusion of a "phantom airship." Furthermore, the missing Bancroft jewels are recovered after being linked to Fan's shady accomplice, Gid Gibbons, and his family. With their name cleared, their debt paid, and Fan sent West by his father to reform, Peggy, Roy, and their friends celebrate their success and look forward to their next flying adventures.

How It Unfolds

The challenge is accepted Peggy brings news of the Acatonick aviation prizes to her brother Roy in their backyard workshop, sparking their ambition. They realize that winning the contest is their only hope to pay off a five-thousand-dollar mortgage held by the bank on their aunt's beloved home.

Accusations and suspicion Following a mysterious car accident involving their friend Jess, valuable jewels disappear, and Fan Harding maliciously attempts to direct suspicion toward Roy. Investigators and police interrogate the young aviator, casting a heavy cloud over the family just as flight preparations reach a critical stage.

Lost over the Atlantic While attempting an emergency night journey to help their friends, Roy and Peggy are caught in a fierce gale that blows The Golden Butterfly out to sea. With the engine failing, Roy executes a risky volplane landing on a desolate island, where they manage to find fuel and navigate back to safety.

Foul play before the race On the night before the final competition, a bitter plot unfolds as Jukes Dade traps Roy inside a chilly, abandoned well. Peggy discovers her brother missing on the morning of the meet and resolves to take his place in the cockpit rather than forfeit their chance at saving their home.

Triumph and resolution Roy is rescued from the well just in time to take the controls of The Golden Butterfly, winning the contest and securing the prize money. The siblings expose Fan Harding's "phantom airship" as a box-kite hoax, clear Roy's name regarding the missing jewels, and settle their mortgage in full.

The People

• Peggy Prescott is a spirited, fiercely loyal young woman who acts as her brother’s constant supporter and co-aviator. Driven by a desire to preserve her family's ancestral home, she routinely confronts hostile rivals, braves dangerous night flights, and stands ready to pilot the monoplane herself when crisis strikes.
• Roy Prescott is a talented seventeen-year-old builder and pilot whose primary goal is to prove the worth of his homemade aircraft, The Golden Butterfly, while earning enough to clear his aunt's debt. Despite being targeted by false accusations and physical sabotage, his cool head and mechanical skill consistently carry him through perilous situations.
• Fan Harding is the spiteful, over-dressed son of the local bank president who harbors a deep jealousy toward Roy. Motivated by spite and a desire to see his father acquire the Prescott land, he resorts to intimidation, fake airships, and criminal partnerships before his dishonesty is finally exposed.
• Jess Bancroft is the cheerful daughter of a wealthy local family who drives an automobile and offers steadfast friendship to the Prescotts. Her belief in Roy's integrity never wavers, even when her own jewels go missing during a road accident.
• Jimsy Bancroft is Jess's brother, an impatient yet good-natured youth who aids the Prescotts with automobile transport and enthusiastic moral support throughout their aerial endeavors.

In Its Own Voice

"The door of a long, low shed at the farther end of the old-fashioned garden opened as a clattering sound of hammering abruptly ceased."

Roy steps out from his workshop to hear Peggy's exciting news about the Acatonick flight competition.

"Dangerous! Girlie, we are being blown out to sea!"

Roy realizes the gravity of their situation as a sudden, gale-force wind sweeps their monoplane away from the coastline in total darkness.

"A machine number seven--mach-ine num-ber sev-en! Fanning Harding, owner, has withdrawn from the race..."

An official at the Acatonick aviation field announces through a megaphone that Fan's secretive entry will not be participating after all.

What It's Really About

Beneath its youthful action, the book explores themes of self-reliance, technological innovation, and rural community dynamics at the turn of the twentieth century. It presents aviation not merely as a high-stakes sport, but as a path toward independence and economic survival for young people facing financial pressures. The story continuously contrasts the honest craftsmanship of the Prescott siblings with the deceitful shortcuts of Fan Harding, emphasizing that true technical skill and moral integrity triumph over unearned wealth. Additionally, it offers a progressive early-twentieth-century portrait of young women participating directly in mechanical trades and dangerous aerial flights alongside their male peers.

Why Read It Today

The Girl Aviators and the Phantom Airship offers a delightful, nostalgic window into the pioneer era of American aviation, when flying machines were constructed in backyard sheds from wood, wire, and canvas. Modern readers will enjoy its brisk, episodic pacing, melodramatic twists, and the warm camaraderie shared among its core cast of characters. Peggy Prescott stands out as a refreshing heroine for a book written in 1911—energetic, capable, and entirely unawed by traditional constraints.

Readers should note that the novel reflects the conventions of early twentieth-century juvenile series fiction. The dialogue contains occasional period slang, dramatic flourishes, and straightforward villainy without deep psychological complexity. The plot relies heavily on convenient coincidences, such as abandoned wells and sudden weather shifts, to maintain tension. However, these period touches only enhance its historic charm. It remains an uplifting, lighthearted read for anyone fascinated by early aviation history, retro adventure stories, or classic young-adult fiction.

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