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Amelia Earhart
by Craig Orback
Amelia Earhart wasn't afraid to break down barriers. In 1928, she was the first woman to fly as a passenger across the Atlantic Ocean. Then, in 1932, she became the first woman to pilot a plane across that ocean. There weren't many female pilots back then, and her actions inspired other women to follow their dreams. This was especially important because there were few career choices available to women at that time. Amelia Earhart has inspired generations of women to do things that had never been done by women before.
Her Aviation Achievements
- 22 October, 1922 - Set women's altitude record of 14,000 feet
- 17-18 June, 1928 - First woman to fly across the Atlantic; 20hrs 40min (Fokker F7, Friendship)
- August 1929 - Placed third in the First Women's Air Derby (Powder Puff Derby)
- 25 June, 1930 - Set women's speed record for 100 kilometers with no load, and with a load of 500 kilograms
- 8 April, 1931 - Set woman's autogiro altitude record with 18,415 feet (in a Pitcairn autogiro)
- 20-21 May, 1932 - First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
- 24-25 August, 1932 - First woman to fly solo nonstop coast to coast
- Fall 1932 - Elected president of the Ninety Nines
- 7-8 July, 1933 - Broke her previous transcontinental speed record by making the same flight in 17hrs 7min
- 11 January, 1935 - First person to solo the 2,408-mile distance across the Pacific between Honolulu and Oakland, California;
- 8 May, 1935 - First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico City to Newark; 14hrs 19min
Guided by her publicist and husband, George Putnam, she made headlines in the era when aviation gripped the public's imagination.
Earhart and her Lockheed Electra
Her Last Flight
In 1937 Amelia Earhart attempted an around-the-world flight. Flying a custom-built Lockheed Model 10E Electra, equipped with extra-large gas tanks, she would follow a 'close to the Equator' route, thus going one better than Wiley Post's northern, mid-latitude route. In her first effort, in March of 1937, she flew west, but a crash in Hawaii abrubtly ended that trip.Starting on May 21, from Oakland, California, in the repaired Lockheed Electra, she and her navigator, Fed Noonan, stayed over land as much as possible. Their route took them to Miami, then to Natal, Brazil, for the shortest possible hop over the Atlantic. They touched down in Senegal, West Africa; then eastward across the Sahara to Khartoum, following the Arabian peninsula to Karachi, (then part of India). From India they flew to Rangoon, Bangkok, and the Dutch East Indies. After a stop in Darwin, Australia, they continued eastward to Lae, New Guinea, arriving there on June 29.
Her next destination was Howland Island, 2200 miles away, the longest over-water leg of the trip. To aid in radio communications, the U.S. Coat Guard cutter Itasca was stationed off Howland Island. The Lockheed Electra took off from Lae at 0:00 Greenwich Mean Time. 8 hours later she called in to Lae for the last time. At 19:30, Itasca received the following:
"KHAQQ calling Itasca. We must be on you but cannot see you...gas is running low..."
An hour later, the last message came in:
"We are in a line position of 157'- 337. Will report on 6210 kilocycles. Wait, listen on 6210 kilocycles. We are running North and South."
Disappearance Speculation
Ironically Amelia Earhart has become more famous for disappearing than for her many real aviation achievements. It sparked a whole cottage industry of conspiracy theorists and "researchers." There are two main themes to these ideas. One, her around-the-world flight was a cover for a spy mission, commissioned by President Roosevelt to determine what the Japanese were up to in the Pacific. Two, she and Fred Noonan weren't simply swallowed up by the vast Pacific Ocean, but were captured by the Japanese. Obviously these two main themes work well in combination. No evidence has ever been found to support either one of these ideas.
For a more detailed examination of Earhart's life, visit:
2002 Wings Publishing
