Ruth Bancroft Law was a pioneer American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 aviatrix during the 1910s.

Law received her pilot's license in November 1912. In 1915 she gave a demonstration of aerobatics at Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, before a large crowd. She announced that she was going to "loop the loop"

Aerobatic maneuver

Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dog fights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others...

 for the first time, and proceeded to do so, not once but twice, to the consternation of her husband Charles Oliver.

In the spring of 1916, Law took part in an altitude competition, twice narrowly coming second to male fliers.