When he wins $5000 in an essay contest for a breakfast cereal, small town reporter and amateur aviator Elmer Lane becomes a target for con man Doc Waddington. After the naive newsman involves gullible local businessmen in the scheme, and they discover they've been flim-flammed, his credibility with his friends and fiancée is shattered. In order to restore his reputation, the novice pilot needs to solve a murder and expose a bootlegging smuggling ring.
Riding on Air
Smugglers are using a device for controlling airplanes in flight, and newspaper reporters from Chicago are vying for the story. Reporter Elmer Lane is out to scoop rival reporter Betty Harrison, and capture her heart in the process.