Last week marked 90 years since Amelia Earhart performed her pioneering solo transatlantic flight. The legendary pilot became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean after landing in Derry, Northern Ireland, on May 21st, 1932.
Transatlantic triumphs
Earhart initially experimented with transoceanic voyages in June 1928 when she flew from Newfoundland to South Wales as an aircraft commander with pilots Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon on a Fokker Friendship. This trip inspired the aviatrix to take it to the next level.
On May 20th, 1932, Earhart departed Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, with a 600-horsepower Lockheed Vega 5B, 420 gallons of fuel, and a quart of chicken soup. The weather made it a challenging task, with thick clouds appearing and ice forming on the wings of the plane. Additionally, after approximately 12 hours, Earhart noticed mechanical difficulties.
Subsequently, Earhart chose to land in Culmore, Derry, rather than Paris. Despite not landing in the same city that Charles Lindbergh did five years earlier, Earhart still achieved a first by becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic by herself with this 15-hour journey. She also became the first person since Lindbergh to fly nonstop and solo across the same waters.
To immortalize Earhart’s achievements, a new STEM and history museum is opening in 2023 in her hometown of Atchison, Kansas. The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum will host interactive exhibits that display how the pioneer overcame significant hurdles.
No limits
When Amelia landed in Derry on May 21st, no one had ever seen a woman driving a car, let alone fly a plane. This factor emphasizes Earhart’s drive and fearlessness.
Allison Balderrama, Museum Director, Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, highlighted the following to Simple Flying.
“Amelia is not only a pioneer in aviation, but in women's rights as well. Even though she went through a hard time, for instance, her parents were divorced and her father was an alcoholic, she overcame these struggles and was able to make such an amazing impact on history. We have a whole exhibit about other female pilots that Amelia was friends with or competing against. She, and a lot of those pilots, were the founding members of the Ninety-Nines, which she immediately became the first president of. We have a whole exhibit about that. It's important to show the work that Amelia did to create this camaraderie among the female pilots at the time, to have them all be able to work together and create amazing results.”
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The museum also focuses on modern-day woman pilots, including Eileen Collins, the first female commander of a Space Shuttle, and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman astronaut. Altogether, the institution is keen to inspire both young boys and girls to explore prospects in aviation and broader STEM fields. After all, Earhart was not just a pilot. She was many things, including a mechanic, fashion designer, editor for Cosmopolitan, and a nurse during World War I. She truly felt that there were no boundaries to what one could achieve.
Many firsts
The transatlantic voyage is just one of Earhart’s several feats. Achievements such as becoming the first woman to fly solo across North America also helped catalyze opportunities for women during the early history of aviation.
Earhart was even breaking records leading up to her mysterious disappearance. For example, in 1937, she broke the speed record for east-to-west flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. This move was before she became the first person to fly solo from the Red Sea to Karachi, Pakistan.
Looking back, it is clear that Earhart's adventurous spirit motivated generations, further steering the direction that air travel would take over the decades. Nearly a century later, we are still talking about her groundbreaking transatlantic flight.
What are your thoughts about Amelia Earhart’s solo trip across the Atlantic 90 years ago? What do you make of the pilot’s overall achievements? Let us know what you think in the comment section.