One of the most famous female pilots who ever lived was Amelia Earhart.
What did Amelia do to become so well-known?
When Amelia Earhart was about 20 years old, she attended the Canadian National Exposition
in Toronto.
While there, she watched an aerial demonstration by a World War I pilot and became fascinated
by airplanes.
Two years later, in 1920, her father paid $10 for her to take a 10 minute flight that
changed her life.
During this flight, she decided that she must learn how to fly airplanes for herself.
At the cost of $1,000, she signed up for flying lessons.
She quickly proved to be a talented pilot and even set a world record.
In 1922, she became the first woman to fly at an altitude of 14,000 feet.
The next year, she received her pilot’s license, becoming only the sixteenth woman
to do so.
Over the next several years, she did a considerable amount of flying.
In 1928, she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an airplane.
However, she was not the pilot on this trip.
She served as the navigator for pilot Wilmer Stultz.
That same year, she also became the first woman to fly solo across North America.
These daring feats easily made her the most famous female pilot of her day.
One newspaper referred to her as “Lady Lindy” (comparing her to Charles Lindbergh), while
another called her “The Queen of the Air”.
She quickly grew to be one of the chief spokespersons for the aviation industry.
On May 20, 1932, a 34-year-old Amelia Earhart took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland.
She traveled for nearly 15 hours, facing fierce north winds, mechanical difficulties, and
hazardous, icy flying conditions.
She touched down just north of Derry, in Northern Ireland.
Her landing was only witnessed by two farmers.
She had just become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean on a solo flight.
In 1937, Earhart decided she would attempt to fly around the world, something no woman
had ever done.
She made her first attempt on March 17, 1937.
Her plane took off in Oakland, California but only made it as far as Honolulu, Hawaii
before experiencing mechanical difficulties.
The flight was called off and rescheduled.
The second attempt came on June 1, 1937, this time departing from Miami, Florida.
She and her navigator, Fred Noonan, had traveled more than 22,000 miles when something went
horribly wrong.
Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, they realized they were hopelessly lost.
On the morning of July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart sent out her last radio message at 8:43 AM,
indicating that they were running low on fuel.
A massive search lasted for seventeen days, but no wreckage was ever found.
Earhart and Noonan were never heard from again.
Amelia Earhart was unsuccessful in flying around the world, but her name is still remembered
today.
She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and she inspired a generation
of women to achieve great heights in many different fields.
Through her countless flights and efforts to promote aviation, Amelia Earhart certainly
deserves to be remembered as a famous flyer.