So, this week I chose an inspirational Hero of mine with a No Fear, Can Do attitude!
Amelia Earhart
Born on: July 24, 1897 – disappeared July 2, 1937) was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. Earhart joined the faculty of the Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party, and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.
An absolute hero and inspiration of mine since a very early age. I first learned of Amelia Earhart in 1984, from a display at my favorite restaurant of the time. My parents used to take me to a restaurant in Morgan Hill called "The Flying Lady". Sunday's with my folks were the best! Dixieland Jazz playing, Great Food and so much to look at and learn, I never wanted to leave! I absolutely loved going here! It was like a time capsule for Aviation, Vintage Cars and pretty much popular culture of the time as-well… It was Huge!!! I remember these hand carved and painted logs, that were turned into W.C. Fields, Judy Garland, Albert Einstein, Groucho Marx and many other Hollywood Celebrities or Prominent Members of American History. It was here that I became fascinated with Aerospace Technology, Flight and defying gravity. I had a few toy planes at home that I immediately disassembled to attempt to figure out how they work… I think without this early fascination, I would have never looked into joining the United States Air Force. I was deeply saddened to hear that the restaurant was closed in 1994. My Dad and I played our last round of Golf their in 1993, shortly before they closed. I remember being a bit bummed that I didn't eat as much as usual that day… I just always thought it would be around.
Lockheed Vega 5B "Old Bessie"
Amelia grew up a bit of a "Tomboy" with her younger sister who she lovingly called "Pidge". They climbed trees, kept animals, got dirty and just like the Wright Brothers even built planes and gliders to launch off the roof of their barn… to pilot and crash. Unlike the other girls who lived nearby, the girls favored wearing "Bloomers" since they offered more freedom and protection at play. Amelia's fascinations with all things aviation would continue for life and she would approach such interests with unbridled zeal! However, upon her first introduction to an opportunity to take a ride on a plane at the Iowa State Fair, she passed… Stating that the aircraft looked, "a thing of rusty wire and wood and not at all interesting".
In 1915, after a long search, Earhart's father found work as a clerk at the Great Northern Railway in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Earhart entered Central High School as a junior. Edwin applied for a transfer to Springfield, Missouri, in 1915 but the current claims officer reconsidered his retirement and demanded his job back, leaving the elder Earhart with nowhere to go. Facing another calamitous move, Amy Earhart took her children to Chicago where they lived with friends. Earhart made an unusual condition in the choice of her next schooling; she canvassed nearby high schools in Chicago to find the best science program. She rejected the high school nearest her home when she complained that the chemistry lab was "just like a kitchen sink." She eventually was enrolled in Hyde Park High School but spent a miserable semester where a yearbook caption captured the essence of her unhappiness, "A.E. – the girl in brown who walks alone."
Fast Forward a bit… In Long Beach, on December 28, 1920, Earhart and her father visited an airfield where Frank Hawks (who later gained fame as an air racer) gave her a ride that would forever change Earhart's life. "By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground," she said, "I knew I had to fly." After that 10-minute flight (that cost her father $10), she immediately became determined to learn to fly. Working at a variety of jobs, including photographer, truck driver, and stenographer at the local telephone company, she managed to save $1,000 for flying lessons.
Earhart had her first lessons, beginning on January 3, 1921, at Kinner Field near Long Beach, but to reach the airfield Earhart took a bus to the end of the line, then walked four miles (6 km). Earhart's mother also provided part of the $1,000 "stake" against her "better judgement." Her teacher was Anita "Neta" Snook, a pioneer female aviator who used a surplus Curtiss JN-4 "Canuck" for training. Earhart arrived with her father and a singular request, "I want to fly. Will you teach me?"
Earhart's commitment to flying required her to accept the frequently hard work and rudimentary conditions that accompanied early aviation training. She chose a leather jacket, but aware that other aviators would be judging her, she slept in it for three nights to give the jacket a "worn" look. To complete her image transformation, she also cropped her hair short in the style of other female flyers. Six months later, Earhart purchased a secondhand bright yellow Kinner Airster biplane which she nicknamed "The Canary." On October 22, 1922, Earhart flew the Airster to an altitude of 14,000 feet (4,300m), setting a world record for female pilots. On May 15, 1923, Earhart became the 16th woman to be issued a pilot's license (#6017) by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
It's this level of "Can Do" and "Never Give Up" attitude that first attracted me to Amelia's History. Up till the point when I first began to read about her, everyone of my Hero's had been Men. She changed everything! But it was her 1932 Transatlantic Solo Flight, that sealed the deal!
Earhart and "Old Bessie"1935
At the age of 34, on the morning of May 20, 1932, Earhart set off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland with the latest copy of a local newspaper (the dated copy was intended to confirm the date of the flight). She intended to fly to Paris in her single engine Lockheed Vega 5B to emulate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight. Her technical advisor for the flight was famed Norwegian American aviator Bernt Balchen who helped prepare her aircraft. He also played the role of "decoy" for the press as he was ostensibly preparing Earhart's Vega for his own Arctic flight. After a flight lasting 14 hours, 56 minutes during which she contended with strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems, Earhart landed in a pasture at Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. The landing was witnessed by Cecil King and T. Sawyer. When a farm hand asked, "Have you flown far?" Earhart replied, "From America." The site now is the home of a small museum, the Amelia Earhart Centre.
As the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, Earhart received the Distinguished Flying Cross from Congress, the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French Government and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Herbert Hoover.
Amelia made 2 attempts of flight to circumnavigate the globe. The first on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1937. This flight was short lived as they only made it to Honolulu, Hawaii a planned stop along the way, but due to technical difficulty, became the destination for this attempt.
Earhart and Noonan May 1937
While the Electra was being repaired Earhart and Putnam secured additional funds and prepared for a second attempt. This time flying west to east, the second attempt began with an unpublicized flight from Oakland to Miami, Florida, and after arriving there Earhart publicly announced her plans to circumnavigate the globe. The flight's opposite direction was partly the result of changes in global wind and weather patterns along the planned route since the earlier attempt. On this second flight, Fred Noonan was Earhart's only crew member. The pair departed Miami on June 1 and after numerous stops in South America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, arrived at Lae, New Guinea, on June 29, 1937. At this stage about 22,000 miles (35,000 km) of the journey had been completed. The remaining 7,000 miles (11,000 km) would all be over the Pacific.
On July 2, 1937, midnight GMT, Earhart and Noonan took off from Lae in the heavily loaded Electra. Their intended destination was Howland Island, a flat sliver of land 6,500 ft (2,000 m) long and 1,600 ft (500 m) wide, 10 ft (3 m) high and 2,556 miles (4,113 km) away. Their last known position report was near the Nukumanu Islands, about 800 miles (1,300 km) into the flight. The United States Coast Guard cutter Itasca was on station at Howland, assigned to communicate with Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E and guide them to the island once they arrived in the vicinity.
Now there is much speculation regarding the crash and location of Earhart and Noonan, since communications became strained and her last transmission was 8:43am on July 2nd. Now this is where things get silly… Various Morse code signals were received over the next 3-5 days from the general vicinity, but nothing could be validated.
Search efforts began exactly one hour after her last transmission and lasted until July 19, 1937… Four Million dollars were spent in this effort to find the downed aviators, but ultimately proved unsuccessful. The world lost not one but two pioneers in the field of Aviation in July 1937. But it was this Woman who gained the popularity and recognition. She and her adventures captivated the hearts and minds of future thrill seekers, pilots, historians, men, women and children the world over. I can to this day see her "Can Do" attitude in many great Men and Women! Danica Patrick is a great example of this. Her love and passion for Male dominated "Automotive Racing" gained her 2005 Rookie of the year for not only the Indianapolis 500, but the IndyCar Series Season! She recently became the 2012 NASCAR Most Popular Driver, however many attribute that to her stunning beauty and not her driving skills. Only time will tell.
Want to know more about this Amazing Woman?
Thank you for your time and interest.
"Cheers!"
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