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| Lady Pioneer |
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| DESCRIPTION |
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| 16 x 11.5 Inch Collector Size Unframed Lithograph $40.00
While considerable controversy still surrounds the disappearance of Amelia Earhart in 1937, there is no question that Amelia Mary Earhart was one of the great pioneers of American aviation. Born in Atchison, Kansas in 1897, Amelia was the daughter of a railroad attorney. She exhibited an adventurous spirit at a young age, and was able to travel extensively with her parents. In 1918 at the age of twenty-one, Amelia witnessed a flight demonstration in Toronto, and this inspired her to take a course in engine mechanics. Three years later she was in New York City studying medicine at Columbia University when she had the opportunity to take her first airplane ride to California. She immediately decided to learn to fly, and she remained in California where she obtained her pilot's license in 1921. During the next few years Earhart had many jobs in many locales, but her true love was flying. Amelia was the first female passenger to cross the Atlantic in 1928, and the fame this generated allowed her to direct her attention at attempting other record-breaking fetes. Amelia met George Putnam during this time, and he supported her flying efforts. They married in 1931. In 1932 Amelia became the first woman to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic flying a Lockheed Vega. Months later she became the first woman to completed a solo flight from Los Angeles to New York. Her next major record came in January, 1935 when she completed a solo flight from Honolulu to Oakland in a little over 18 hours. In 1936 Earhart was appointed to the faculty of Purdue University which provided her a Lockheed Electra as a flying laboratory. Having access to the Electra allowed Amelia to begin planning her dream flight, an around the world crossing as close to the equator as possible. In March of 1937 she embarked on a round the world trip in a westerly direction, but her aircraft was damaged on take off from Hawaii. In June a new route going in an easterly direction, starting from Miami, was mapped out by her navigator, Fred Noonan. Departing on June 1, 1937 Earhart arrived in Lae, New Guinea some 22,000 miles and 146 flying-hours later. The next leg of this record setting trip would cover 2,500 miles over the Pacific with the intended destination being the tiny Howland Island. When Earhart and Noonan failed to arrive, a massive search commenced, which was abandoned in mid-July. Presumably lost at sea, the nation mourned the loss of one of its heroes. In Stan Stokes painting entitled Lady Pioneer, Amelia's beloved Model 10E Electra is depicted next to the aviator's Cord automobile. This aircraft was delivered to Earhart in 1936. It was powered by twin 550 HP Wasp S3 H 1 engines, and was equipped with extended range fuel tanks, giving the craft a maximum range of 4,000 miles. The Electra was returned to Lockheed's plant in Burbank in 1937 for repairs following the accident in Hawaii. A new right wing was fitted, and repairs were made to the center fuselage and landing gear. The Civilian Aviation Administration officially canceled the registration of Earhart's NR16020 in July of 1938, approximately one year after her disappearance. 1997 will mark the 100th anniversary of Earhart's birth and the 60th anniversary of her disappearance. |
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