The 90th Anniversary of Amelia Earhart's Solo Flight Across the Pacific Ocean
On a wet, dreary Friday afternoon on January 11, 1935, Amelia Earhart climbed into the cockpit of her Lockheed Vega 5C plane and headed down the runway at Wheeler Field in Oahu, Hawaii.[7] Already a household name for her pioneering and courageous spirit as an aviator, Earhart wasn’t going to let the rainy weather dampen her resolve to be the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. She took off at 4:44 p.m. and landed 18 hours later in Oakland, California, to a crowd of thousands of onlookers gathered to celebrate yet another “first” for Earhart.[8]
Earhart’s other “firsts” included being the first woman to be a passenger on a transatlantic flight, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the U.S., and, of course, the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S.’ mainland.[5] Her record-breaking feats in aviation, fearlessness, and advocacy for women to follow their dreams — whether on the ground or in the skies — make her one of the most respected and remembered pilots of all time.
Join us in revisiting Earhart’s extraordinary accomplishments in celebration of the 90th anniversary of her solo flight across the Pacific Ocean!
Marching to the Beat of Her Own Drum
Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas.[5] Never one to conform to society’s standards — even as a child — Earhart wore bloomers instead of dresses, played outside, and hunted rats with her sister, Muriel.[2] From a young age, Earhart admired women who were leaders in their fields and cut out newspaper articles highlighting their accomplishments.[1] Little did she know she would one day become one of these women who broke glass ceilings!
Surprisingly, Earhart’s interest in airplanes wasn’t sparked during her adolescent years. In 1908, she and her father visited the Iowa State Fair, where one of the Wright brothers exhibited his airplane.[2] “It was a thing of rusty wire and wood and looked not at all interesting,” she recalled.[1] It wouldn’t be for another decade that she would change her opinion of aircraft and flying.
After graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1915, she attended Ogontz, a finishing school for young women. During her second year in attendance, she left Ogontz to train as a nurse’s aide in Canada during World War I. After the war, Earhart attended college for a year before leaving and becoming a social worker.[1]
Learning to Fly
In 1918, she attended a flying exhibition with a friend while living in Canada.[11] During the flight stunt show, the pilot dove towards her and her friend, but she didn’t flinch. In fact, it was at that moment that she took an interest in learning to fly. “I did not understand it at the time,” she wrote, “but I believe that little red airplane said something to me as it swished by.”[1]
On December 28, 1920, she and her father visited the Longbeach Airport’s airshow in California.[2] There, she paid to be a passenger in a quick flight with pilot Frank Hawks, and the aviation flame was fanned.[5] A few days later, she took her first flying lesson on January 3, 1921.[1] Her instructor, Anita “Neta” Snook, was the only female flight instructor in California and the first woman to own an airfield.[2] To fund her flight lessons, Earhart worked odd jobs, including being a truck driver, a stenographer, a telephone company clerk, and a photographer.[5]
She passed her flight test and flew solo at the end of the year.[3] Earhart became the 16th woman in the world to earn the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale pilot license.[5] She bought her first plane, a Kinner Airster [5], which she nicknamed The Canary for its bright, cheery yellow paint.[2]
Soaring to New Heights
She and The Canary immediately started making history as she piloted the plane to 14,000 feet — the women’s record for the highest altitude at the time. Her next feat came in April 1928 when she was invited to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger aboard the Friendship.[1] The investors of the flight put Earhart in the passenger seat for publicity to show the public that flying is safe.[2]
On June 17, 1928, pilot Wilmer “Bill” Stultz, co-pilot/mechanic Louis E. “Slim” Gordon, and Earhart took off from Trepassey Harbor, Newfoundland, and landed at Burry Post, Wales, 21 hours later. This flight was risky; just that year, three people had already died trying to make the journey across the Atlantic Ocean. When the trio returned home, they were greeted with a ticker-tape parade in New York, and they were invited to the White House by President Calvin Coolidge.[1] Even though she didn’t fly the plane, she was the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an airplane.[2]
After her 1928 transatlantic passenger flight, she hired George Putnam (whom she would later marry in 1931) as her manager.[3] She traveled the nation as a lecturer, speaking for the advancement of aviation and for women to pioneer the new frontier. She also wrote books and articles for Cosmopolitan Magazine as its first aviation columnist.[2]
The following year, Earhart participated in the Women’s Air Derby, the first transcontinental air race for female pilots.[5] The Air Derby was a chance for participants to show the world that women belonged in the sky. Aviation was relatively new and dangerous; as a result, many people believed that only men should be allowed to fly. Earhart and her fellow women aviators strongly disagreed and participated in the Air Derby to prove the naysayers wrong. Their goal was also to show people that flying was safe for passengers and was the next mode of travel.[12]
On August 13, 1929, 20 pilots departed from Santa Monica, California, and faced tremendous challenges along the approximately 2,700 miles, including “route changes, sabotage, and death.”[12] Alaskan pilot Marvel Crosson tragically died in a plane crash during the race.[13]
In response to the pilot’s death, Erle P. Halliburton said to a reporter, “...women have conclusively proven that they cannot fly. Women have been dependent on men for guidance for so long that when they are put on their resources, they are handicapped.” Earhart responded: “Who is this Halliburton? Who is he to pass judgment on our abilities?”[13]
On August 26, 1929, 14 of the original 20 contestants arrived at the finish line in Cleveland, Ohio.[13] The first-place winner was Louise Thaden, second place was Gladys O’Donnell, and third place was Earhart.[5] While winning the Women’s Air Derby was important for these women, showing the world that women aviators were a force to be reckoned with mattered more. Following their success in the derby, these courageous women formed the Ninety-Nines.[13]
Advancing Aviation
The Ninety-Nines, its name honorably attributed to the original 99 charter members, was founded on November 2, 1929. It supported fellow women pilots and promoted aviation. Among its founders was Earhart herself, and she was elected to serve as the organization’s first president in 1931. To join, women had to earn their pilot licenses, but today, membership is available to women with their student pilot certificates.[4]
Earhart’s contribution to the world of aviation didn’t stop there; in 1932, she was ready to fly back over the Atlantic Ocean, only this time she would be the one steering the plane. Her transatlantic solo flight would be another “first” for a female pilot, and to prepare for the journey, she bought a red Lockheed Vega 5B, which she called Little Red Bus.[2]
Five years after aviator Charles Lindbergh made the first trip across the Atlantic Ocean, Earhart flew her Little Red Bus from Newfoundland, Canada, on May 20, 1932. The next day, she landed in the Gallagher farm, which was located at Culmore, north of Derry, Northern Ireland. Today, this famous landing spot is the 6th hole on the golf course owned by the Foyle Golf Club.[6]
Becoming the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean earned Earhart the Distinguished Flying Cross, making her the first woman to receive one. She also received a medal from the National Geographic Society, which President Herbert Hoover presented to her.[1]
Two months later, Earhart was ready to set another record in her trusty Little Red Bus by becoming the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the continental U.S. She departed from Los Angeles, California, on August 24, 1932, and landed the next day in Newark, New Jersey. This trip earned her the record for the longest distance flown by a woman to that date at 2,447 miles.[5]
Next up on Earhart’s list of goals was to be the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. Two Air Corp lieutenants had set the record as the first to make that flight in 1927, but Earhart would be the first to fly it alone.[8] Though the path over the Pacific Ocean had been flown before, it remained a dangerous crossing that claimed the lives of ten aviators prior to Earhart’s attempt.[9]
On January 11, 1935, Earhart took off from Wheeler Field in Hawaii and flew 2,408 miles to Oakland Municipal Airport in Oakland, California, where she landed the following day.[7] She had only two hours' worth of fuel remaining when she landed.[8] Her flight lasted just over 18 hours and was 600 miles longer than the transatlantic flight Charles Lindbergh took in 1927.[9]
Taking Off For Her Last Flight
As she approached her 40th birthday, Earhart prepared for her last, grandest, and most daring record-breaking flight: to fly around the world. She wrote: “I have a feeling that there is just about one more good flight in my system, and I hope this flight is it.”[1]
While preparing for her trek around the globe, her plane was damaged in a test flight; undeterred, she had it repaired and tried again. She and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off from Miami on June 1, 1937. Their journey would take 29,000 miles. When they landed in Lae, New Guinea, on June 29, their trip was more than halfway complete. Seven thousand miles were all that stood between Earhart and her goal.[1]
Howland Island, located 2,556 miles away, was their next destination, but it would be the most difficult stop because of its size at just 1.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide. Locating Howland Island would also be a challenge. To make the island more visible and help Earhart and Noonan land safely, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca was nearby to provide radio assistance, and other U.S. ships kept their lights on. Noonan and Earhart began their flight to Howland Island on July 2.[1]
The overcast weather soon proved another challenge for Noonan, who preferred celestial navigation. Earhart’s radio transmission to Itasca reported “cloudy weather, cloudy.” She later asked the cutter to provide her bearings (direction relative to the Itasca), but she was unable to hear their response due to her radio’s poor transmission. She later said to Itasca, “We must be on you, but we cannot see you. Fuel is running low. Been unable to reach you by radio. We are flying at 1,000 feet.” An hour later, she followed up with the last message she sent over the airwaves: “We are running north and south.”[1]
When Earhart’s radio transmissions went silent, the U.S. Navy jumped into action and launched an extensive air and sea search for Earhart and Noonan, beginning with the Itasca looking for the duo in the water. Other ships and aircraft were called into action, including the PBY Catalina, which departed from Hawaii for Howland Island; however, the ship had to turn around due to bad weather.[14]
Meanwhile, the battleship Colorado departed from Pearl Harbor and traveled 1,600 miles to Howland Island, along with the seaplane Swan. On July 7, floatplanes aboard the Colorado searched at an altitude of 1,000 feet so as to be able to spot a raft. Their aerial search ended on July 12 after having covered a radius of 25,490 square miles and flying 21.2 hours.[14]
The aircraft carrier Lexington took over the search on July 12. With 63 aircraft on board, the Lexington was the most promising option for search and rescue. After covering thousands of square miles, the Lexington’s search ended a few days later. “I don’t think they will ever be found for we searched the most likely area,” wrote a sailor stationed on the Colorado.[14] Altogether, the U.S. federal government spent four million on the search and rescue mission.[1] Unfortunately, Earhart, Noonan, and their plane were never found.
Before embarking on what would be her last trip, Earhart wrote letters to her husband and acknowledged the risk of flying around the world and the significance of what it would mean to future generations of women:
“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 to others.”[1]
Even though Earhart’s life was tragically lost, her legacy lives on.
Teaching Your Students About Earhart
“Lockheed Vega 5B Panorama” by the National Air and Space Museum | Smithsonian: Go inside the cockpit of Earhart’s Little Red Bus and view the airplane that carried her across the Atlantic Ocean and the continental U.S. in 1932. Using VR, your students can view the controls that Earhart used. Click here to start exploring!
“Amelia Earhart Departs Solo Flight Across Atlantic Ocean May 20, 1932” by the National Air and Space Museum | Smithsonian: This silent film was shot during Earhart’s departure from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. Click here to watch.
Amelia Earhart’s Artifacts from the National Air and Space Museum | Smithsonian: The Smithsonian proudly houses Earhart’s aviator’s coat, pilot’s goggles, trophy chest, jumpsuit, Ninety-Nines' jacket, and trophy, all of which are available for a close-up view.
For more resources about Earhart and the world of flying, check out our aviation titles! To discover more historical tidbits, lesson plan ideas, and free activities, follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Also, be sure to check out our other blogs for even more resources!
Sources:
[1] “Biography.” Amelia Earhart, http://100.26.43.141/biography/. Accessed 12 December 2024.
[2] Furniss, Jo. “Amelia Earhart.” Short History Of… NOISER, 7 August 2022, https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WpzXOOFv6ANSPBP3XZ7Nh?si=xP98kMT5QOe7bNZisvbqoQ. Accessed 12 December 2024.
[3] Marsh, Carole. Amelia Earhart: Female Aviator Extraordinaire. Gallopade International, 2004.
[4] “Our History.” Ninety-Nines, https://www.ninety-nines.org/our-history.htm. Accessed 17 December 2024.
[5] “Amelia Earhart.” National Air and Space Museum | Smithsonian, https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/amelia-earhart. Accessed 17 December 2024.
[6] Cochrane, Dorothy. “Inside Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega.” National Air and Space Museum | Smithsonian, 25 February 2019, https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/inside-amelia-earharts-lockheed-vega. Accessed 17 December 2024.
[7] “11-12 January 1935.” This Day in Aviation, https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/11-january-1935/. Accessed 17 December 2024.
[8] “Amelia Earhart and Hawaii.” Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, 12 January 2022, https://www.pearlharboraviationmuseum.org/news/blog-archives/amelia-earhart-and-hawaii/#:~:text=After%20delays%20caused%20by%20hours,water%2C%20plus%20some%20memorabilia.%E2%80%9D. Accessed 17 December 2024.
[9] “Earhart Solos the Pacific.” Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery | National Air and Space Museum, https://pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/earhart-solos-pacific. Accessed 17 December 2024.
[10] “Amelia Earhart.” Foyle Golf Club, https://www.foylegolfcentre.co.uk/amelia-earhart/. Accessed 18 December 2024.
[11] “Amelia Earhart Biographical Sketch.” Purdue Libraries, https://collections.lib.purdue.edu/aearhart/biography.php. Accessed 19 December 2024.
[12] “Women in Air Racing.” Ninety-Nines, https://www.ninety-nines.org/women-in-air-racing.htm. Accessed 19 December 2024.
[13] Athitakis, Mark. “A 1929 Air Derby Helped Female Pilots Break Barriers.” HUMANITIES, vol. 44, no. 2, Spring 2023. A 1929 Air Derby Helped Female Pilots Break Barriers, https://www.neh.gov/article/1929-air-derby-helped-female-pilots-break-barriers. Accessed 19 December 2024.
[14] “Naval Aviation and the Search for Amelia Earhart.” National Aviation Museum, https://navalaviationmuseum.org/naval-aviation-and-the-search-for-amelia-earhart/. Accessed 20 December 2024.