The Flying Ace is a 1926 black-and-white silent drama film directed by Richard E. Norman with an all-African-American cast. This six-reel film, made by Norman Studios in Jacksonville, Florida, utilized a mix of professionals such as leads Laurence Criner and Kathryn Boyd, and non-professional actors. Films such as The Flying Ace, that used an all-African-American cast and were shown specifically to African-American audiences, were known as "race films". Norman Studios produced feature length and numerous short race films during the 1920s. The untapped black filmgoing market and the plethora of talented performers unable to get work in mainstream films led to the production of race films by Norman Studios. Richard Norman's reason for producing race films was not solely a business decision. Although the studio was filling a niche, Norman was also motivated by the state of race relations at the time and wanted to make a positive impact. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot At the train station in Mayport, Florida, Paymaster Blair Kimball (Boise De Legge) arrives a day early. Dr. A. G. Maynard (Sam Jordan), the local dentist and Constable Jed Splivins (Lions Daniels) greet him, as pilot Finley Tucker (Harold Platts) looks on. Kimball is carrying $25,000 for the railroad payroll. Waiting with station master Thomas Sawtelle (George Colvin) in his office, Sawtelle's daughter Ruth (Kathryn Boyd) comes with her father's lunch. When she sees Finley, she asks for a ride in his new aircraft. After the flight, he proposes for the 100th time, but Ruth says she is not certain she loves him. Captain Billy Stokes (Laurence Criner), a World War I fighter pilot, known as "The Flying Ace" because of his downing of seven enemy aircraft in France, returns home to resume his former job as a railroad detective. General manager Howard MacAndrews (R.L. Brown) assigns Stokes to find Kimball, who has gone missing along with the $25,000 company payroll, and apprehend a gang of railroad thieves. Stokes suspects that Finley is to blame, which is confirmed when he finds Kimball alive and hidden in the tail of Finley's plane. With the help of Peg (Steve Reynolds), Stokes identifies Constable Splivins as a member of Finley's gang, and arrests him. A desperate and crazed Finley flies off with Ruth, whom he has