Big Jack, Cowboy Aviator
A Novel by Cindy Weigand
Once he joins the Gates Flying Circus in 1925, Jack Ashcraft never looks back even though his parents want him to be closer to home. Billed as the Worlds’ Greatest Exhibition Aviators, the group flies throughout the South and East Coast performing before crowds of tens of thousands. Soon, he becomes their star performer. Newspapers bill him as “Big Jack,” Cowboy Aviator because he spent time in Texas in the army. At six feet four inches tall, he is big. He relishes the adoration of fans. Women flock to be near him and seek his company. Despite Prohibition, booze is readily accessible. He experiences events that are history in the making. He leads the group in a simulated attack on New York City. Jack living high.
As if life couldn’t get any better, he meets Mavis, a New York socialite who is also a pilot. Jack and Mavis bond as friends because of their love of flying. He can share things with her that he can’t share with the guys in the rough and tumble life of a flying circus. They get together when their flight paths cross.
When tragedy strikes, Jack’s buddies have his back, but it is Mavis he trusts with the emotions he feels. He is conflicted. Jack must come to terms with his desire to return to the flying life he loves and the reality of the dangers of flying.
Big Jack, Cowboy Aviator, gives the reader insight into the inner workings of flying circuses in the 1920s, and an ace pilot who flies with them. These groups of aviators flew from town to town and city to city giving exhibitions. Spectators marveled at the sight of an airplane. Most had never seen an airplane much less flown in one. After the show, they sold rides to any brave enough to fly in one. Pilots were the rock stars of the day. Men and women alike got into the game. The Gates Flying Circus was arguably the best. They performed before millions of people across the United States and gave rides to hundreds of thousands.
Told by his grandniece, author Cindy Weigand, BIG JACK, COWBOY AVIATOR recreates the flying life of John Wesley “Jack” Ashcraft, Jr. His story was revealed to her through numerous newspaper articles that he saved, family histories, and letters home. The story includes thirty family and vintage photos.
FLY BOYS meets THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER meets THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
About the Author
Cindy Weigand grew up on the prairie of western Oklahoma listening to her grandmother’s stories and has loved stories ever since. She is the author of an anthology, Texas Women in World War II, The Republic of Texas Press, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 2003. In 2023, she published a novella, Ride of Passage based on reminiscences of her childhood. BIG JACK, COWBOY AVIATOR, is a historical novel, but also biographical fiction in that it is based on the life of a great uncle who was a pilot in the 1920s.
Weigand is also a film enthusiast and founder of GTX Film which produced an annual film festival in Georgetown, Texas. She served as President and Executive Director until 2023. She now resides in Tulsa, OK.
