Amelia
Earhart
Born Atchison KS, July 24, 1898. Disappeared July 2, 1937
Amelia
Earhart, nicknamed "Lady Lindy" because of her achievements
comparable to those of Charles Lindbergh, is considered "the
most celebrated of all women aviators." Her accomplishments
in the field of aviation inspired others and helped pave the
ways for those that followed.
Born on July 24, 1897, in
Atchison, Kansas, Amelia Earhart's parents encouraged her
from a young age to participate in activities usually left
to boys, such as football, baseball, and fishing. Their
encouragement, watching numerous air shows in Los Angeles,
and paying a pilot a dollar for a 10-minute airplane ride
all contributed to her decision to become a pilot and join
this predominantly male field. After her first ride, she
wrote, "By the time I had gotten two or three hundred feet
off the ground, I knew I had to fly."
From 1921 to 1922, Earhart was
taught to fly by Neta Snook, the first woman to graduate
from the Curtiss School of Aviation. In October 1922,
Earhart received her pilot's license from the Federation
Aeronatique Internationale. Soon after, on October 22, 1922,
Earhart set a women's altitude record of 14,000 feet (4,200
meters) in a Kinner Canary, an open-cockpit, single-engine
biplane.
Charles Lindbergh made his
record-setting solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in
1927. One of the people inspired by his feat was flying
enthusiast Amy Guest, who hoped to be the first woman to
cross the Atlantic. She purchased a plane but her family
vetoed the trip. Earhart went in her place and became the
first female to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Leaving
Newfoundland, Canada, on June 4, 1928, Earhart joined Wilmer
L. Stutz and Louis E. Gordon in their bright red Fokker
F.VII named the Friendship on their 2,000-mile
(3,219-kilometer) trip to Wales. Earhart had no part in
piloting the plane during the 20-hour, 40-minute trip and
was, in her words, "just baggage," making her even more
eager to cross the Atlantic on her own.
In 1929, Earhart co-founded an
organization whose goal it was to advance women's
participation and opportunities in aviation. Called the
Ninety-Nines, the organization was composed of 99 charter
members, representing 99 of the 117 licensed women pilots in
the United States at the time.
Earhart continued setting
records. On July 6, 1930, she set a woman's speed record of
181 miles per hour (291 kilometres per hour), in a Lockheed
Vega, a single-engine monoplane. On April 8, 1931, she set
an autogiro altitude record of 18,451 feet (5,623.8 meters).
On May 20-21, 1932, Earhart
accomplished her goal of flying solo across the Atlantic
Ocean. She took off from Newfoundland, Canada, at 7:12 p.m.
on May 20, in her Lockheed Vega. Her flight was filled with
dangers, from rapidly changing weather to a broken altimeter
so she could not tell how high she was flying, to gasoline
leaking into the cockpit. At one point her plane dropped
almost 3,000 feet (914 meters) and went into a spin (which
she managed to pull out of) and flames were shooting out of
the exhaust manifold. She brought her plane down on the
coast of Ireland after a harrowing trip lasting 15 hours and
18 minutes The flight was the second solo flight across the
Atlantic and the longest nonstop flight by a woman--2,026
miles (3,261 kilometres)--as well as the first flight across
the Atlantic by a woman. President Herbert Hoover awarded
her the National Geographic Society Medal on June 21, 1932,
for her achievement, and the U.S. Congress awarded her the
Distinguished Flying Cross, the first woman to receive such
an honour. Earhart's accomplishment meant a great deal to
the entire world, but especially to women, for it
demonstrated that women could set their own course in
aviation and other fields.
Amelia
Earhart surrounded by news personnel after landing in
Londonderry, Northern Ireland following her transatlantic
flight.
Her next
major achievement was to set the women's non-stop
transcontinental speed record. On August 24-25, 1932, she
flew from Los Angeles, California, to Newark, New Jersey, in
a record 19 hours, 5 minutes, flying a Lockheed Vega, also
becoming the first woman to fly solo coast-to-coast. The
next July she set a new transcontinental speed record,
making the same flight in a record 17 hours, 7 minutes.
In January 1935, Earhart became
the first woman to make a solo long-distance flight over the
Pacific Ocean, flying from Honolulu, Hawaii, to San
Francisco, California. This complicated flight in her second
Lockheed Vega occurred in adverse weather conditions and
demonstrated Earhart's courage as well as her stubbornness.
She followed that flight with two more first solo
flights--one on April 19-20 from Los Angles, California, to
Mexico City, in 13 hours, 23 minutes and the second on May
8, 1935, from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey, in 14
hours, 19 minutes.
Earhart wanted to be the first
of either gender to fly around the world at its widest,
close to the equator. She acquired the most advanced
long-range, non-military aircraft available--a Lockheed
Model 10E Electra. The all-metal, two-engine plane had been
reconfigured with extra fuel tanks replacing the passenger
seats, allowing the plane to travel farther between
refuellings.
Her first attempt at the world
flight began on March 17, 1937, in Oakland, California, but
ended abruptly with a runway crash in Honolulu, Hawaii,
after a tire blew and a shock absorber on the landing gear
failed. Earhart decided to repair the damaged plane and try
again.
Map of
route of Amelia Earhartïs second, and final, world flight
attempt, June 1, 1937 - July 2, 1937.
The flight
began again on May 20, 1937, this time heading from Oakland
to Miami, Florida. But it was plagued with mechanical
problems along the way that resulted in further delays.
Eventually she and Fred Noonan, her navigator, reached Miami
and made final adjustments to the plane's engines and
instruments. Finally, Earhart and Noonan were ready to
depart.
Amelia
Earhart discussing her world flight plans with George Putnam
and Fred Noonan.
What turned
out to be the final flight of Earhart's career, and,
ultimately, her life, began on June 1, 1937. Earhart and
Noonan left for their round-the-world flight from Miami,
Florida, in her twin-engine, red-winged Electra. From Miami,
they flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Right before taking off
on this leg of the flight, Earhart was quoted as saying, "I
have a feeling there is just about one more good flight left
in my system and I hope this trip is it. Anyway, when I have
finished this job, I mean to give up long-distance 'stunt'
flying."
Map of route of Amelia Earhart's second, and final, world
flight attempt, June 1, 1937 - July 2, 1937.
As
Earhart's journey continued, news of her flight made the
front page of newspapers around the world. She sent reports
of the land, cultures, and people she encountered. On June
30, 1937, Earhart and Noonan arrived in Lae, New Guinea.
They had travelled 22,000 miles (35,406 kilometres) and had
7,000 miles (11,265 kilometres) left to go.
Amelia
Earhartïs proposed route from Lae, Papua, New Guinea to
Howland Island.
Their next
destination, and the most dangerous stop of the trip, was
Howland Island, a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, 2,556
miles (4,113 kilometres) away. Before Earhart took off from
Lae on July 1, there was confusion about which radio
frequencies were to be used, which remained unresolved
before she took off. As the scheduled time neared for
Earhart to approach the island, several transmissions were
received from her, demanding to know the weather. A new
weather report describing heavy clouds and rain northwest of
Howland had been issued, and Earhart had apparently run into
the storm. Earhart transmitted several more times but never
reached her destination, disappearing somewhere off the
coast of the island. A large search party was quickly
organized, but no remains of the crew and the plane were
ever found.
There are many theories
surrounding the controversial disappearance of the plane on
July 2, 1937. The most commonly accepted theory is that the
fliers got lost, ran out of gas, and went down somewhere in
the Pacific Ocean. However, as war between the United States
and Japan was imminent, there were rumours that Earhart had
been on a spy mission for the United States and was supposed
to photograph Japanese military installations. This theory
says that she crash-landed and was captured by the Japanese,
who imprisoned or executed her. A third theory was that her
disappearance was staged to allow the U.S. Navy to conduct a
search in the South Pacific.
Although only 39 when she
disappeared, Earhart accomplished a great deal and is
considered a true hero of the 20th century, especially for
women. She demonstrated courage, integrity, and an
independent spirit. She used her fame to advance the cause
of women and showed that a determined woman could achieve
anything. Her efforts led a generation of women to seek new
horizons and new roles for themselves. It is also probably
true to say that she represented the triumph of spin over
real skill and preparation. Her choice to set off on her
circumnavigation with a known drunk as navigator was to say
the least ill judged. |