The Girl and Elsie Mackay

I've just watched this film on the live stream from the BFI, and it struck me from the start that the character of The Girl bore something of a resemblance to Elsie Mackay. She was a real life heiress and daughter of the chairman of P & O. Apparently, she once eloped with an actor, although this was later annulled. She later took up flying and arranged to be a passenger in a two-seater plane piloted by Raymond Hinchcliffe which was due to cross the Atlantic from the UK to the USA. The plane went missing and they were never seen again. The ill-fated trip took place in March 1928, and the film was released in August of the same year. There were some aspects of The Girl (the elopement and the flying element) which recalled Elsie's story - I wonder if she inspired the character of The Girl or if it was just a coincidence.