Wings of the Past
It’s the year 2090. Medicine has advanced as so has technology. Plucked out of her time is Joan Meakin, an aviation pilot that had short-lived fame in the 1930s. Gathered for an interview and then sent to a hospital to live out the rest of her delusional life in the long after, she has little remembrance of the before. One day, an orderly comes and tries to change all that, after being ported back into 1920s London to stop Joan from going mad.
History of Joan Meakin:
Joan Meakin is a real person. She was born January 7, 1910. References put her as the first woman glider pilot in 1928 and the first woman to fly over the English Channel (at least in a glider). In 1934 she flew from Ostend to Lympne Germany in 1 hour, 14 minutes. Her mother died at the young age of 45. Her brother Peter died a day after an accidental plane crash at the RAF Cadet College in 1928 when he was only 20.
In 1958 there is a record of her living in Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. I know (thanks to Ancestry.com) she died in 1977 from a terminal illness. The trail goes cold and I haven’t been able to find any more information on her after she became famous. She sort of disappeared…popping up only occasionally.
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Why This?
I had a very vivid dream about going back in time to a major city in the 1920s and witnessing a glider pilot. I knew it would make a great story, but I needed something substantial to tie it together. While searching online, I met Joan. The dates fit and the circumstances fit. It was like she was calling to me to bring her back to life so her memory wasn’t forgotten.
Episode 1 is complete.
Sample music compilation for use within the audio drama.
Sound: Zip phone ring
KAYLEE: Who could that be at this hour?
KAYLEE: (into phone) Hello?
Sound: 1930s era music plays through phone
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Kaylee: Hello?
Sound: Hang up phone.
KAYLEE: Weird music. Probably someone accidentally called me through the zipline.
I’m (April Sadowski) singing Anything Goes with telephone filter + record pop and noise. Background SFX courtesy of hello_flowers at the free sound project (link in footer).