Imagine what it would be like to be back in the early 1920s. Imagine to want to fly in that day in time. Now imagine you were a woman who wanted to do that. Amelia Earhart did just that. Amelia Earhart was perhaps the most famous female aviator in American history, setting speed and distance records not only for female, but also male pilots. She was a woman beyond her time.
When I was younger I refused to believe Amelia perished in the flight that carved her place in history. I envisioned her on a tropical isle with a flower in her hair, sipping on coconut milk and enjoying the sunsets. I knew little of Fred Noonan. For years I thought Amelia went down alone. I hope that one day find out what happened to the two courageous aviators who went missing that ill-fated day. I for one am hoping for the tropical Isle theory.
Amelia made a choice to go against the grain, defying what a lady should do and struck out to realize her dream. Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, to Edwin and Amy Earhart. Amelia had a little sister, Muriel (Pidge), who was also her best friend. It was in 1607 in Des Moines that Amelia saw her first airplane at the Iowa State Fair.
Anita “Neta” Snook gave Amelia her first flying lesson. I can’t imagine what it felt like to fly amongst the clouds and realize for the first time, ‘I am really flying.’ Amelia did just that. She saved her money and in a short time purchased her own plane, a two-seated yellow second-hand Kinner Airster. Amelia affectionately named the plane ‘Canary’.
On October 22, 1922 she climbed behind the controls of Canary and set her first woman's record of rising to an altitude of 14,000 feet. On May 15, 1923, she received her pilot's license from the Federation of Aeronautique Internationale. Amelia was the 16th woman ever to receive a pilots license.
Amelia Earhart was a pioneer for female aviators, along with women like Nancy Harkness Love and Bessie Coleman. With the creation of WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) female pilots services. Women pilots were mainly responsible for ferrying needed military aircraft from one point to another. That was extremely challenging because there were many different types of aircraft to fly. With the war in full force, the military now took a closer look at the WASP. Because of its competence and low accident rates, the government now expanded its duties.
1929, Earhart organized a cross-country air race dubbed the Women's Air Derby for pilots from Los Angeles to Cleveland also known as the “Powder Puff Derby” by Will Rogers. Earhart placed third in that race.
Amelia Earhart chose Fredrick Noonan for her navigator. They took off from Lae on July 2, 1937, and headed for Howland Island, a tiny sliver of land in the Pacific Ocean. Their plan was to reach the vicinity of Howland using Noonan's navigation abilities and then find Howland by using radio signals transmitted by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Itasca. The final approach to Howland Island failed, although Earhart stated by radio that they believed they were in the immediate vicinity of Howland. The aviators and their aircraft disappeared somewhere over the Central Pacific Ocean. Despite an extensive search by the U.S. Navy — including the use of search planes from an aircraft carrier — and the U.S. Coast Guard, no traces of them or their Electra were ever found.
Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan are still missing to this day. Recently, Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton has taken an interest in Amelia Earhart. I hope that eventually the fates of Earhart and Noonan are discovered.
Earhart's own courage and bravery are noted in a letter left to Putnam in case the flight would be her last. She wrote,
“Please know I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge for others.” Amelia Earhart
Thanks for stopping by, Now, go grab a cup of coffee or a tall glass of ice tea, crawl out on the front porch swing with a good book and enjoy.
Amelia Earhart Wikipedia- Fred Noonan --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Noonan
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1658.html
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