Flygirl

Patsy, or “Cakewalk,” is Ida’s first friend when she arrives in Texas to train as a WASP. Patsy is a confident woman with a good sense of humor. Before training to become a WASP, Patsy worked as a wingwalker, a carnival performer who performs on the wings of planes. Patsy often stands up for Ida and the other women. When Instructor Martin tries to trick the women into falling out of their planes during their first flights, Patsy holds onto the plane and hangs out of the cockpit, imitating one of her wing-walker tricks, just to play a trick on Instructor Martin. When a woman in their barracks hears that a black woman, who is Ida’s mother, comes to visit Ida, and becomes suspicious, Patsy stands up for Ida and tells the woman to leave her alone. Patsy is a loyal friend to Ida, and often encourages Ida when she has doubts about being a WASP. After Patsy dies in a plane crash, Ida realizes what a loyal friend she was:“The only girl here who might have accepted me, no questions asked, if I’d had the guts to really tell her the truth” (183).

Lily Lowenstein is best friends with Ida and Patsy while they train to become WASP, and travels around the country with Ida once they are WASP. Lily is a Jewish woman from a wealthy family. At the beginning of the novel, Lily doesn’t seem prepared for the difficult life of a WASP. She brings more luggage than any of the other women and doesn’t know how to cook, clean, or make a bed. Her fiancé enlisted as a doctor, and they plan to marry when the war is over. Instead, they end up marrying at a military base while he is temporarily back in the United States. At the end of the novel, Lily realizes she is pregnant and must finally say goodbye to Ida. She is a talented pilot and a loyal friend to Ida.

Jolene is Ida’s best friend back home in Louisiana. At the beginning of the novel, Ida and Jolene work together as housecleaners. Jolene is a fan of jazz music and “has a fantasy of leaving Slidell to sing in a New Orleans nightclub. Trouble is, she has no voice for it” (5). While Ida’s skin is fair, Jolene has dark skin, which sometimes causes tension between the friends since “Jolene’s more than a little jealous” (7). Although Jolene initially helps Ida apply to become a WASP, she later becomes upset that Ida is passing as white just to put herself in a dangerous position. This causes a fight between the friends, and by the end of the novel, they still haven’t reconciled.

Walt Jenkins is one of the instructors at Avenger Field, where Ida trains to become a WASP. Ida observes that “he’s a big man, the kind that played football in high school and never lost the broad shoulders or the wide neck. His hair is prematurely turning silver, and his eyes are bright and warm” (115). He is friendly and has a good sense of humor. Ida develops a crush on Walt, and even dances with him at a bar in town. However, Ida knows that it is against the rules for students to date instructors, and it is illegal for a black woman to date a white man. When they reconnect at officers’ training school, Walt offers Ida a position working for him after the war. While there is potential for Ida to pursue a romantic relationship with Walt, she realizes he may not accept her if he knows she is black. They say goodbye on good terms, and Ida writes Walt a letter telling him the truth. The novel ends without revealing Walt’s reaction to Ida's true identity.

Thomas is Ida’s older brother. As a child, Thomas witnessed a tractor crush their father and ran to get a doctor, but the doctor wasn’t able to save their father in time. As an adult, he is a medical student in Nashville, Tennessee, “where he is learning to be a doctor, so he will never have to run three miles for one again” (17). After the United States enters the war, Thomas tells the family that he is going to enlist. He asks Ida to look after the family while he is away. Thomas is a hardworking man who cares deeply about his family, and Ida has a lot of respect for him.

Ida’s mother, whom she calls Mama, takes care of the family and runs the family’s berry farm. She is especially concerned with Ida’s decision to pass as white, because she wasn’t accepted by Ida’s father’s family for having dark skin and warns Ida that she doesn’t know what she is getting herself into. She is short tempered and will often leave the room or become upset with Ida when she doesn’t agree with her daughter. However, she loves her family deeply, and finally admits this to Ida: “I don’t care if you come home and clean houses or even if you run off like your daddy’s people and pass as white in some town I’ve never seen. But I want you to be safe” (212).

Grandy is Ida’s grandfather on her mother’s side. He came to live with the family when Ida was a child, and Ida’s father went to Chicago to get his pilot’s license. Grandy spends his days fixing up his old tractor. He is initially hesitant to let Ida go and become a WASP, but ultimately respects her choice.