The titular character is Captain Billy Stokes, a former World War I pilot who now works as a railroad detective. When the railroad paymaster disappears, along with the $25,000 he was carrying, Stokes is on the case.
This film has the examples of:
- Ace Pilot: Stokes, who was a flying ace back in the Great War. This comes in handy during the film's climax.
- Always Murder: Subverted. For most of the film, it's believed that Kimball was murdered, but it turns out he's still alive.
- Bridal Carry: Tucker carries Ruth this way when he's kidnapping her.
- Damsel in Distress: Stokes has to rescue Ruth during the climax.
- Dirty Cop: Constable Jed Splivins turns out to be one of the culprits.
- Frame-Up: The bad guys frame station master Thomas Sawtelle for their crime.
- Funetik Aksent: The intertitles use this to capture the dialects of some characters.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: "Gad" is used in place of "god."
- Have a Gay Old Time: One intertitle uses "molest" in the old sense of "bother."
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: With the kidnapped Ruth in his airborne plane, Tucker demands that she kiss him or "get out and walk on a cloud."
- Maybe Ever After: The film ends with Stokes expressing his hope that he'll get on a First-Name Basis with Ruth.
- Monochrome Casting: "Entire Cast Composed of Colored Artists," declares an opening title.
- Race Film: This film was made by Norman Studios, which specialized in making silent films for African-American audiences. They would ultimately be done in by the introduction of talkies, which rendered their technology obsolete. The Flying Ace is the only Norman Studios film to survive to the present day.
- Screen Shake: A shot of an airplane turning upside down was achieved by simply rotating the camera upside down.
- The Summation: Towards the end, Stokes explains how the crime was committed, complete with a Flashback.
