She was inspired by Wilbur Wright's 1908 demonstrations of powered flight in Paris and was personally acquainted with several aviators, including artist-turned-aviator Léon Delagrange, who was reputed to be the father of her son André.

[1]: 11–13  De Laroche's flight is often cited as the first by a woman in a powered heavier-than-air craft; there is evidence that two other women, P. Van Pottelsberghe and Thérèse Peltier, had flown the previous year with Henri Farman and Delagrange respectively as passengers but not as pilots.

[2] Decades later, aviation journalist Harry Harper wrote that until de Laroche made her celebrated flight on the Voisin, she had only flown once, for a short hop, as a passenger.

During this flight of about four miles (6 km) there was a strong gusty wind blowing, but after the first two turnings the Baroness said that it did not bother her, as she had the machine completely under control.

Calling her the first woman to fly, La Petite Gironde reported that during a flight around the field at Chalons, with clear skies and light wind, her plane had flown 4 or 5 meters above ground but suddenly crashed.

[7] On 25 November 1913, de Laroche won the Aero-Club of France's Femina Cup for a non-stop long-distance flight of over 4 hours duration.

[8] During World War I, as flying was considered too dangerous for women, she served as a military driver, chauffeuring officers from the rear zones to the front under fire.

[1]: 21 On 18 July 1919,[10] de Laroche, who was a talented engineer, went to the airfield at Le Crotoy as part of her plan to become the first female test pilot.