Lost in the South Pacific
But Never Forgotten: Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart was one of the great personalities of the Golden Age of Aviation, that is the period between the first and second world wars when aviation was at its peak in its popularity in the United States and abroad. Hundreds of thousands of people would attend air shows and go to airports to see aviators take off and land. Aviators were constantly making front page headlines in the daily newspapers, like sports heroes do today. In 1928 Amelia caught the public's eye by becoming the first woman passenger to cross the Atlantic . In 1932 Amelia again captured the world's attention by becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic in a solo flight. She set a number of other records as well. In 1933 she broke her own transcontinental speed record from California to New Jersey ; In 1935 she became the first person to fly from Honolulu , Hawaii to Oakland California . She then attempted to become first woman to fly around the world in 1937. Departing from Miami , she planned to fly around equator, approximately 29,000 miles. No one had done that flight before.
Amelia Earhart, above all, was the first women aviator in the United States to be taken seriously as a pilot. Others that flew before her, such as the highly talented stunt pilot Ruth Law, were perceived something of an aberration, a novelty. Amelia was passionate about flying. She did more than any other flyer during the twentieth century to promote women in aviation. Amelia displayed a tremendous amount of courage. She was a very brave and courageous woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and even attempting her round the world flight.
Amelia was also friend to many pilots. She had a likeable personality and made friends easily. She became the first president of the 99s, the first women‘s pilot‘s organization in the United States that was founded in 1929. Louise Thaden, the first secretary of the 99s, was one of Amelia's close friends. Louise Thaden was a natural pilot who was hired by Walter Beech to work for Travel Air as a sales person and demonstration pilot in Oakland , California . Thaden went on to win the first Transcontinental Women's Derby in 1929 and helped keep the Beechcraft Company financially afloat during the Great Depression by winning both the men's and the women's competition during the Bendix Race in 1936, along with her co-pilot, Blanche Noyes.
Despite her great love for flying, Amelia Earhart had questionable piloting skills. She ground looped her Lockheed Electra 10E, a twin engine tail dragger, on take off in Hawaii when she was first beginning her round the world flight. Amelia Earhart it seems spent too much time giving speeches for organizations rather than keeping up and improving her flying skills. She did not do much flying on her own other than for records. That was part of the problem.
One of the big mysteries of the twentieth century is what happened to Amelia Earhart during her round the world flight? Amelia was not fully prepared for her round the world flight. She did not know how to use basic radios and had removed a trailing antennae to reduce the weight of the aircraft, which may have made a difference in being able to locate her position. The twin engine Lockheed Electra was probably too advanced an aircraft for her skill level. Similar to John F. Kennedy Jr., (John John) she flew a plane that was too advanced for her to handle. If she had doubts about the navigational skills of Fred Noonan and his drinking problem, then she should have fired him. She ultimately was the pilot in command.
What actually happened to AE during the fligh,t of course, remains to be resolved. The important thing is that Amelia pursued her dream of flight and inspired many women to become pilots and seek careers in aviation. She perished in 1937 in the South Pacific doing something she really truly loved. 
