Amelia Earhart Read Online Free PDF Page B

activities and accomplishments were widely publicized, but her flying disasters were kept out of the newspapers as much as Putnam could manage it. Once, when taking off at the Abilene, Texas, airport, Earhart crashed her plane. Later, a letter of reprimand was sent to her from the Department of Commerce. At least one newspaper report described Earhart as having been careless and using bad judgment.
    On September 17, 1931, Earhart wrecked the Pitcairn autogyro while attempting a landing at Detroit. Earhart was aware that among many flyers—male and female alike—there was not much regard for her ability as a pilot. According to most observers, her flying skills were at best average. Louise Thaden noted that Earhart “was able to follow a manual to the letter, but her flying instincts were not well honed.” In order to bolster her image and reputation, Earhart knew she needed to make a significant flying achievement.
    Earhart’s new airplane was a Lockheed Electra 10E, registration number NR16020. Built to certain specifications, however, this Electra had larger Pratt and Whitney engines, larger fuel tanks, and no cabin windows. Earhart hired Ruckins “Bo” McNeely as a full-time mechanic. McNeely had six years of experience as an overhaul mechanic with Pratt and Whitney. Earhart tested the Electra for the first time on July 21, 1936, and deemed it suitable. Three days later she took possession of it. It was her thirty-ninth birthday.
    For further testing and to gain more experience with the new craft, Earhart entered the 1936 New York to Los Angeles Bendix Air Race. With copilot Helen Richey, she finished last in a field of five and received $500 in prize money. Earhart consoled herself about the loss by insisting that the thirty hours of flying time in the new Electra was worth the effort.
    For the next several weeks, Earhart studied maps and charts and made preliminary plans for an around-the-world flight. The details for such an undertaking were massive, including licensing in the different countries, passports, visas, landing rights, overflying rights, maintenance, communications, weather, fuel availability, insurance, lodging, finances, and more. Added to this mound of details was the fact that Earhart wanted to fly across the Pacific Ocean. Previous around-the-world flights bypassed this huge body of water by navigating close to the coasts of Canada, Alaska, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. For Earhart, it would be necessary to stop at one or more locations in the ocean for refueling and maintenance.
    In anticipation of the need for future commercial air routes, the Bureau of Air Commerce had established small colonies on some remote Pacific Islands and constructed airfields. In 1936, this responsibility was turned over to the Department of the Interior. One of the locations selected was Howland Island, some 1,900 miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. Howland Island was to figure prominently in Earhart’s future.
    Earhart soon realized she needed assistance with the immense logistics of the flight. She turned to her friend, Eleanor Roosevelt. With the help of the First Lady and her husband, a rather odd decision had been arrived at: the Department of State and the U.S. Navy assumed the responsibilities for most of the arrangements for the around-the-world civilian flight, an adventure that many referred to as a “stunt.”
    Manning determined that telegraphy would be an utmost necessity for the flight. In order to communicate with coastal stations and ships at sea and for direction finding, it would be essential to transmit on the international standard distress and calling frequency of 500 kilocycles. Celestial navigation would be helpful, but in order to locate a tiny speck such as Howland Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean would, according to Manning, require more sophisticated instruments.
    In November, Earhart went to New York to discuss her communication needs with a