Amelia Earhart Essays (1192 words) - Aviation, Aeronautics

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas. She was the daughter of a railroad attorney and had a younger sister named Muriel. Amelia was a tomboy and was always interested in learning. She was educated at Columbia University and Harvard Summer School. She taught English to immigrant factory workers. During World War I, Amelia was a volunteer in a Red Cross hospital. Amelia heard of a woman pilot, Neta Snook, who gave flying lessons. She had her first lesson on January 2, 1921. On July 24, 1921, Amelia bought her first plane, a prototype of the Kinner airplane and named it The Canary. In 1928, she accepted the invitation of the American pilots Wilmer Stultzman and Louis Gordon to join them on a transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to make the crossing by air She described the flight in a book she wrote, 20 Hours. 40 Minutes. After that flight, Amelia made a career of flying. Aviation was a new concept and the industry looked for ways to improve its image. In 1921, Amelia was appointed Assistant to the General Traffic Manager and Transcontinental Air Transport (TWA) with a special responsibility of attracting women passengers. Amelia organized a cross-country air race for women pilots in 1929, the Los Angeles to Cleveland Womens Air Derby, later called the Powder Puff Derby. Amelia placed third in this race. After the race, Amelia had a meeting in her hotel room in Cleveland with other women pilots. She formed a womens pilot organization called the Ninety-Nines because of the ninety-nine applicants. She served as the organizations first president. Amelia continued to work for TWA and was writing regular articles for Cosmopolitan and other magazines, and had speaking engagements in many cities across the country. In 1930, she broke several womens speed records in her Lockheed Vega aircraft. In 1931, she wrote a book about those exciting experiences called The Fun of It. By early 1932, no other person had successfully flown solo across the Atlantic Ocean since Charles Lindbergh. Amelia decided she would be the first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic. She would not duplicate Lindberghs course, but would fly from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and the British Isles would be her destination. On May 20, 1932, exactly five years after the Lindbergh flight, Amelias modified Lockheed Vega began the journey. Since she did not drink coffee or tea, she would keep awake by using smelling salts. All she took with her to eat and drink on this trip was water, soup, and tomato juice. Amelia broke several records on this flight. She was the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean solo, the only person to fly it twice, it was the longest non-stop distance flown by a woman, and the flight set a record for crossing the Atlantic in the shortest time. When Amelia returned to New York after her famous flight, she was honored by a ticker tape parade. President Roosevelt presented her with the Special Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society. Honors of all kinds were given to Amelia, as well as keys to many cities in the United States. The United States Congress awarded her with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Amelia was voted as Woman of the Year which she accepted on behalf of all women. Amelias next venture would be a transpacific flight from Hawaii to California, then on the Washington D.C. Ten pilots had already lost their lives attempting this crossing. She departed Wheeler Field in Honolulu and landed in Oakland, California to a cheering crowd of thousands. After this flight, Amelia was busy on the road almost non-stop with her lecture tours. During this time, she accepted an appointment at Purdue University in Indiana. She would be a consultant in the Department for the Study of Careers for Women. Later in 1935, Amelia began to make plans for an around the world flight. This flight would be two major firsts. She would be the first woman to fly around the world and she would travel the longest possible distance, 29,000 miles, following a route around the equator. Frederick Noonan, a former Pan Am Airlines navigator was chosen as the flights navigator because he was familiar with the Pacific area. The plane chosen for the flight was the Lockheed Electra 10E. The first leg of their journey would be from Oakland, California to Hawaii on March 17, 1935. In Hawaii, Amelia had an accident during take-off from Luke Field near