Mona Kerby & Eileen McKeating Read Online Free PDF Page A

woman to fly over the Atlantic, the first woman to fly it alone, and the first person in the world to cross it twice. She received the Society’s special Gold Medal. President Herbert Hoover, Supreme Court justices, senators, and congressmen were there. They all clapped for Amelia.
    With her usual modesty, Amelia replied, “My flight has added nothing to aviation. However, I hope that the flight has meant something to women in aviation.”
    People all over the world admired Amelia’s courage. By now, she was rich and could have easily retired. Instead, she continued to test herself in the air.
    In January, 1935, Amelia announced she would fly from Hawaii to California, some 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean. Ten men had died while attempting the crossing. So far, only one man had successfully completed the flight. Newspaper headlines announced that Amelia’s proposed flight was a publicity stunt. Amelia paid no attention.
    She was in the air for more than 15 hours, but this time the flight was easy. The weather was good. Her plane had the latest equipment. One invention was a two-way radio telephone. Thousands of people tuned in to hear Amelia talk with G.P., who was still in Hawaii. While Amelia flew, she listened to the music of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She sipped hot chocolate under a starry sky.
    When she arrived the next day in Oakland, California, nearly 10,000 people greeted her. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent her a letter. “You’ve scored again,” he wrote.
    No one had any idea what Amelia was planning to do next.

7
    â€œBecause I Want To”
    Reporters crowded around Amelia. Why do you want to fly around the world, they shouted at her.
    Amelia grinned, then chuckled. She was 38 years old. The reporters wrote that Amelia looked like a young girl with her freckled nose, short hair, and slim build.
    â€œBecause I want to,” she said simply.
    In 1936, planes were becoming common. Already there were passenger planes seating 10 people and flying from coast to coast. Planes were even beginning to carry mail. Planes had crossed the oceans, explored the North and South Poles, and flown around the top of the world. But no one had ever dared to make the longest and most dangerous trip of all—a trip around the middle of the earth at the equator—25,000 miles of deserts, jungles, and ocean.

    Amelia stood before the news reporters. “I think I have just one more long flight in my system,” she said.
    The first step was getting the plane. Amelia used the money she earned from her speeches. G.P. made a deal to sell 25,000 envelopes which read, Round * the * World * Flight * Amelia Earhart. Purdue University gave $40,000 toward the purchase of Amelia’s plane.
    The Lockheed Electra was the finest plane in the world. With a metal body, it could fly as fast as 210 m.p.h. and travel nonstop for 4,500 miles. In the cockpit, there were 100 dials and levers hooked up to the latest inventions. With a flip of a switch, the autopilot flew the plane. Just like a homing pigeon, the radio direction finder identified a radio “homing” signal and could fly the plane to that very spot. Also, there was a two-way telephone system. People called the Electra a “flying laboratory” because there were so many new inventions for Amelia to try.
    It took more than a year to get ready. On the morning of March 17, 1937, Amelia left California and headed for Hawaii. Three crew members went with her. Paul Mantz served as copilot. Captain Harry Manning worked the radio. Fred Noonan navigated, plotting their course on large maps and keeping them from getting lost. They arrived in Hawaii in 15 hours and 43 minutes. Amelia and her crew had set a new record.
    On March 20, the heavily loaded Electra prepared for takeoff. As it picked up speed and rose from the runway, the right wing dropped. Sparks flew; the Electra dropped on its belly and crashed. Luckily, no