Quotes of the Day

In November 1916, Lawrence Sperry, who had already made history as the inventor of the autopilot, entered the annals of aviation a second time. A prurient daredevil, he found that his new device facilitated a midair assignation with a female flight student—thereby unofficially inaugurating the Mile High Club. Things almost ended tragically that day: Sperry's boat plane went crashing into a New York bay, where two bewildered duck hunters saved the naked couple.

		THIS WEEK'S COVER STORY Mission to Mars January 26, 2004 Issue Past Covers Mind & Body Jan. 19, 2004 ----------------- Howard Dean Jan. 12, 2004 ----------------- Person of the Year Dec. 29, 2003 ----------------- Saddam Captured Dec. 22, 2003 ----------------- The Insurgents Dec. 15, 2003 ----------------- Kids and Drugs Dec. 8, 2003 ----------------- America and Bush Dec. 1, 2003 ----------------- Russell Crowe Nov. 24, 2003 ----------------- Jessica Lynch Nov. 17, 2003   ASIA  Avian Flu: Asia on High Alert  India: The BJP's New Look  Viewpoint: Moderate Victory?  Timeline: History of the BJP  Pakistan: The Monster Within ARTS  Books: India's Glorious Parasites BUSINESS  China IPOs: Get'em While They're Hot NOTEBOOK  Philippines: The Fire Next Time  Cambodia: Court Intrigue  Milestones  Verbatim  Letters GLOBAL ADVISOR  Tokyo: Hipster Hotel  Sicily: Market Research  Bangkok: Undiscovered Temples CNN.com: Top Headlines

To airlines' chagrin, this hasn't stopped passengers from following Sperry's lascivious lead. Nearly every flight attendant has had to deal with such meetings, says a 15-year veteran stewardess for a large Asian airline. "Usually, the people are drunk," she says. Officially, however, airlines pooh-pooh the topic. "Honestly, I have never heard of it happening," says Cathay Pacific spokeswoman Lisa Wong. At KLM, flag carrier for the Netherlands, spokesman Youssef Eddini was taken aback that we even popped the question. "It is simply not allowed," he ruled. Even the spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic—whose owner, Richard Branson, once intimated that he would like to introduce double beds on his planes—said, "It's illegal and violators could be handed over to the proper authorities."

Unfortunately, for those willing to risk it, "there is no such official club per se," says San Diego-based businessman Phil Kessler, who owns the U.S. trademark for "Mile High Club." Still, his eight-year-old website, milehighclub.com, offers "MHC"-branded merchandise and lists dozens of stories about World War II soldiers trysting over the South Pacific to married couples spicing up their summer vacations. No doubt Sperry, who died in a crash seven years after his inaugural rendezvous, looks down at this with lusty approval.

• Chaim Estulin
• The Wright brothers may not have done it, but amorous adventurers have tried to join the "Mile-High Club" almost since the dawn of flight