Aviation was still in its infancy when the first movie whose plot revolved around flying was released by Biograph Studio in June 1912. "A Dash Through The Clouds," written and directed by Mack Sennett, one of Sennett's last films he made for Biograph before starting his own film studio, showcased a Wright Brothers' Model B airplane, piloted by top aviator at the time. Phil Parmelee.
Unfortunately for Parmelee, whose sole acting credit was "Dash," died soon after in a plane crash during an air show in Yakima, Washington. The movie was release 23 days after his death. Parmelee established numerous firsts in aviation history, among those is he's the first to transport cargo on a plane, he piloted the first plane to drop a bomb in the U. S., he's first to conduct military reconnaissance, and first to pilot a parachutist dropping from the air.
Biograph Studio actress Mabel Normand became the first actor to fly in a plane while making a movie. She's the passenger in the Wright Brother's plane, serving as love interest to Parmelee. Normand, who had an off and on relationship with Sennett, left Biograph to join Sennett when he created his new movie company, Keystone Studios. She would have quite a career starring alongside Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
"Chubby" in the film was Fred Mace, who also followed Sennett to Keystone. He quit Keystone in 1914 to form his own film production company, but it eventually failed. Sennett replaced Mace as the fat, funny foil with Arbuckle, who became more well-known. Mace died an early death from a stroke at the Hotel Astor in NYC in Feb. 1917, at 39 years of age.