8 famous female aviators: Amelia Earhart

8 famous female aviators

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douglaswestfall Sep 03 2012 at 1:56 PM

But she's not there -- the plane's not there. Amelia's Lockheed Electra was within 75 miles of her target Howland Island when her radio cut out. The US then sent nine ships, 66 aircraft, and well over 3,000 sailors and airmen. They covered well over 250,000 sq. miles of open sea and every island within a 650 mile radius of Howland. US CGC Itasca Chief Radioman Leo Bellarts 30, was on watch that morning and said: "In the early morning, signals came in pretty good. I actually did go outside and stand

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right out the radio shack and thought I would hear a motor any second. Her voice was loud and clear; sounded frantic on her last transmission. Then it cut off." Amelia Earhart was an American heroine, a record-breaking aviatrix, and a celebrity world wide. Earhart was not a spy -- she was a decoy. You Search for what you want to keep; you Hunt for what you want to catch. Taken from, The Hunt For Amelia Earhart Douglas Westfall, historic publisher, Specialbooks.com

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Amelia Earhart

This pioneering female aviator’s claim to fame is well-known: in May 1932, the Kansas-born record-breaker became the first woman to fly solo, nonstop, across the Atlantic Ocean. Only one person, Charles Lindbergh, had previously accomplished that feat. In 1937, she disappeared at the age of 39 under mysterious circumstances in the central Pacific while making a round-the-world trip.

In addition to her famous transatlantic flight, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo, nonstop, across the United States from Los Angeles to Newark in 1932. Earhart was the first pilot, male or female, to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland (1935). Additionally, she was the first person to fly solo between Los Angeles and Mexico City and between Mexico City and Newark (also in 1935). Before taking control in the cockpit during her famous long-haul solo flights in 1932, Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger (1928).

A prolific author and essayist, Earhart served as an editor of Cosmopolitan magazine from 1928 to 1930. An accomplished seamstress, Earhart designed and endorsed her own fashion line sold at Macy’s. She is believed to be the first celebrity to do so.