LEGEND FOR WOMEN

MADE BY NIKHIL

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF- MANJU MAAM

I HAVE MADE THIS PRESENTATION WITH A LOT OF EFFORTS. I HAVE GIVEN THIS PRESENTATION A LOOK OF A BOOK COMPRISING MOST OF THE THINGS RELATED TO AMELIA EARHART. I HOPE YOU ENJOY WHILE WATCHING THIS PRESENTATION.

- NIKHIL

 BORN ON-JULY 24, 1897 ATCHISON, KANSAS, US  DISAPPEARED- JULY 2, 1937 PACIFIC OCEAN, EN ROUTE TO HOWLAND ISLAND  STATUS- DECLARED DEAD IN ABSENTIA JANUARY 5 , 1939 (aged 41)  NATIONALITY- AMERICAN  KNOWN FOR- FIRST WOMEN TO FLY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN AND SETTING MANY AVIATION RECORDS

INTRODUCTION OF

AMELIA EARHART

CONTENTS

1) 2) 3) 4)

EARLY LIFE
CHILDHOOD EARLY INFLUENCE EDUCATION EARLY FLYING EXPERIENCES


1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

AVIATION AND CAREER

BOSTON 1928 TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT CELEBRITY IMAGE COMPETTIVE FLYING OTHER SOLO FLIGHTS


1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

1937 WORLD FLIGHT

PLANNING DEPARTURE FROM LAE FINAL APPROACH TO HOWLAND ISLAND RADIO SIGNALS SEARCH EFFORTS

ACHIEVEMENTS

CHILDHOOD
PART 1

AMELIA MARY EARHART, DAUGHTER OF SAMUEL "EDWIN" STANTON EARHART (MARCH 28, 1867) AND AMELIA "AMY" OTIS EARHART (1869 1962), WAS BORN IN ATCHISON, KANSAS, IN THE HOME OF HER MATERNAL GRANDFATHER, ALFRED GIDEON OTIS (1827 1912), A FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE, PRESIDENT OF THE ATCHISON SAVINGS BANK AND A LEADING CITIZEN IN ATCHISON. THIS WAS THE SECOND CHILD IN THE MARRIAGE AS AN INFANT WAS STILLBORN IN AUGUST 1896. ALFRED OTIS HAD NOT INITIALLY FAVORED THE MARRIAGE AND WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH EDWIN'S PROGRESS AS A LAWYER.

CHILDHOOD
PART 2
EARHART WAS NAMED, ACCORDING TO FAMILY CUSTOM, AFTER HER TWO GRANDMOTHERS (AMELIA JOSEPHINE HARRES AND MARY WELLS PATTON). FROM AN EARLY AGE EARHART, NICKNAMED "MEELEY" (SOMETIMES "MILLIE") WAS THE RINGLEADER WHILE YOUNGER SISTER (TWO YEARS HER JUNIOR), GRACE MURIEL EARHART (1899 1998), NICKNAMED "PIDGE," ACTED THE DUTIFUL FOLLOWER . BOTH GIRLS CONTINUED TO ANSWER TO THEIR CHILDHOOD NICKNAMES WELL INTO ADULTHOOD. THEIR UPBRINGING WAS UNCONVENTIONAL SINCE AMY EARHART DID NOT BELIEVE IN MOLDING HER CHILDREN INTO "NICE LITTLE GIRLS. MEANWHILE THEIR MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER DISAPPROVED OF THE "BLOOMERS" WORN BY AMY'S CHILDREN AND ALTHOUGH EARHART LIKED THE FREEDOM THEY PROVIDED, SHE WAS AWARE OTHER GIRLS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DID NOT WEAR THEM.

EARLY INFLUENCE
A SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE SEEMED TO ABIDE IN THE EARHART CHILDREN WITH THE PAIR SETTING OFF DAILY TO EXPLORE THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. AS A CHILD, EARHART SPENT LONG HOURS PLAYING WITH PIDGE, CLIMBING TREES, HUNTING RATS WITH A RIFLE AND "BELLY-SLAMMING" HER SLED DOWNHILL. ALTHOUGH THIS LOVE OF THE OUTDOORS AND "ROUGH-ANDTUMBLE" PLAY WAS COMMON TO MANY YOUNGSTERS, SOME BIOGRAPHERS HAVE CHARACTERIZED THE YOUNG EARHART AS A TOMBOY. THE GIRLS KEPT "WORMS, MOTHS, KATYDIDS AND A TREE TOAD" IN A GROWING COLLECTION GATHERED IN THEIR OUTINGS. IN 1904, WITH THE HELP OF HER UNCLE, SHE COBBLED TOGETHER A HOME-MADE RAMP FASHIONED AFTER A ROLLER COASTER SHE HAD SEEN ON A TRIP TO ST. LOUIS AND SECURED THE RAMP TO THE ROOF OF THE FAMILY TOOLSHED. EARHART'S WELL-DOCUMENTED FIRST FLIGHT ENDED DRAMATICALLY. SHE EMERGED FROM THE BROKEN WOODEN BOX THAT HAD SERVED AS A SLED WITH A BRUISED LIP, TORN DRESS AND A "SENSATION OF EXHILARATION." SHE EXCLAIMED, "OH, PIDGE, IT'S JUST LIKE FLYING!"

EDUCATION
THE TWO SISTERS, AMELIA AND MURIEL (SHE WENT BY HER MIDDLE NAME FROM HER TEENS ON), REMAINED WITH THEIR GRANDPARENTS IN ATCHISON, WHILE THEIR PARENTS MOVED INTO NEW, SMALLER QUARTERS IN DES MOINES. DURING THIS PERIOD, EARHART RECEIVED A FORM OF HOME-SCHOOLING TOGETHER WITH HER SISTER, FROM HER MOTHER AND A GOVERNESS. SHE LATER RECOUNTED THAT SHE WAS "EXCEEDINGLY FOND OF READING" AND SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS IN THE LARGE FAMILY LIBRARY. IN 1909, WHEN THE FAMILY WAS FINALLY REUNITED IN DES MOINES, THE EARHART CHILDREN WERE ENROLLED IN PUBLIC SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH AMELIA EARHART ENTERING THE SEVENTH GRADE AT THE AGE OF 12 YEARS.

EARLY FLYING EXPERIENCES

PART 1
AT ABOUT THAT TIME, WITH A YOUNG WOMAN FRIEND, EARHART VISITED AN AIR FAIR HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CANADIAN NATIONAL EXPOSITION IN TORONTO. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY WAS A FLYING EXHIBITION PUT ON BY A WORLD WAR I "ACE." THE PILOT OVERHEAD SPOTTED EARHART AND HER FRIEND, WHO WERE WATCHING FROM AN ISOLATED CLEARING AND DIVED AT THEM. "I AM SURE HE SAID TO HIMSELF, 'WATCH ME MAKE THEM SCAMPER,'" SHE SAID. EARHART STOOD HER GROUND AS THE AIRCRAFT CAME CLOSE. "I DID NOT UNDERSTAND IT AT THE TIME," SHE SAID, "BUT I BELIEVE THAT LITTLE RED AIRPLANE SAID SOMETHING TO ME AS IT SWISHED BY." BY 1919 EARHART PREPARED TO ENTER SMITH COLLEGE BUT CHANGED HER MIND AND ENROLLED AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SIGNING UP FOR A COURSE IN MEDICAL STUDIES AMONG OTHER PROGRAMS. SHE QUIT A YEAR LATER TO BE WITH HER PARENTS WHO HAD REUNITED IN CALIFORNIA.

EARLY FLYING EXPERIENCES

PART 2
IN LONG BEACH, ON DECEMBER 28, 1920, EARHART AND HER FATHER VISITED AN AIRFIELD WHERE FRANK HAWKS (WHO LATER GAINED FAME AS AN AIR RACER) GAVE HER A RIDE THAT WOULD FOREVER CHANGE EARHART'S LIFE. "BY THE TIME I HAD GOT TWO OR THREE HUNDRED FEET OFF THE GROUND," SHE SAID, "I KNEW I HAD TO FLY." AFTER THAT 10-MINUTE FLIGHT (THAT COST HER FATHER $10), SHE IMMEDIATELY BECAME DETERMINED TO LEARN TO FLY. WORKING AT A VARIETY OF JOBS, INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHER, TRUCK DRIVER, AND STENOGRAPHER AT THE LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPANY, SHE MANAGED TO SAVE $1,000 FOR FLYING LESSONS. EARHART HAD HER FIRST LESSONS, BEGINNING ON JANUARY 3, 1921, AT KINNER FIELD NEAR LONG BEACH, BUT TO REACH THE AIRFIELD EARHART TOOK A BUS TO THE END OF THE LINE, THEN WALKED FOUR MILES (6 KM). EARHART'S MOTHER ALSO PROVIDED PART OF THE $1,000 "STAKE" AGAINST HER "BETTER JUDGEMENT." HER TEACHER WAS ANITA "NETA" SNOOK, A PIONEER FEMALE AVIATOR WHO USED A SURPLUS CURTISS JN-4 "CANUCK" FOR TRAINING. EARHART ARRIVED WITH HER FATHER AND A SINGULAR REQUEST, "I WANT TO FLY. WILL YOU TEACH ME?"

BOSTON
PART 1

ACCORDING TO THE BOSTON GLOBE, EARHART WAS "ONE OF THE BEST WOMEN PILOTS IN THE UNITED STATES," ALTHOUGH THIS CHARACTERIZATION HAS BEEN DISPUTED BY AVIATION EXPERTS AND EXPERIENCED PILOTS IN THE DECADES SINCE. SHE WAS AN INTELLIGENT AND COMPETENT PILOT, BUT HARDLY A BRILLIANT AVIATOR, WHOSE EARLY EFFORTS WERE CHARACTERIZED AS INADEQUATE BY MORE SEASONED FLYERS. ONE SERIOUS MISCALCULATION OCCURRED DURING A RECORD ATTEMPT THAT HAD ENDED WITH HER SPINNING DOWN THROUGH A CLOUD BANK, ONLY TO EMERGE AT 3,000 FT (910 M). EXPERIENCED PILOTS ADMONISHED HER, "SUPPOSE THE CLOUDS HAD CLOSED IN UNTIL THEY TOUCHED THE GROUND? EARHART WAS CHAGRINED, YET ACKNOWLEDGED HER LIMITATIONS AS A PILOT AND CONTINUED TO SEEK OUT ASSISTANCE THROUGHOUT HER CAREER FROM VARIOUS INSTRUCTORS. BY 1927, "WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS INCIDENT, SHE HAD ACCUMULATED NEARLY 500 HOURS OF SOLO FLYING A VERY RESPECTABLE ACHIEVEMENT."

BOSTON
PART 2

WHEN EARHART LIVED IN MEDFORD, SHE MAINTAINED HER INTEREST IN AVIATION, BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY'S BOSTON CHAPTER AND WAS EVENTUALLY ELECTED ITS VICE PRESIDENT.SHE FLEW OUT OF DENNISON AIRPORT (LATER THE NAVAL AIR STATION SQUANTUM) IN QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS AND HELPED FINANCE ITS OPERATION BY INVESTING A SMALL SUM OF MONEY. EARHART ALSO FLEW THE FIRST OFFICIAL FLIGHT OUT OF DENNISON AIRPORT IN 1927.AS WELL AS ACTING AS A SALES REPRESENTATIVE FOR KINNER AIRPLANES IN THE BOSTON AREA, EARHART WROTE LOCAL NEWSPAPER COLUMNS PROMOTING FLYING AND AS HER LOCAL CELEBRITY GREW, SHE LAID OUT THE PLANS FOR AN ORGANIZATION DEVOTED TO FEMALE FLYERS.

1928 TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT

PART 1

AFTER CHARLES LINDBERGH'S SOLO FLIGHT ACROSS THE ATLANTIC IN 1927, AMY PHIPPS GUEST, (1873 1959), EXPRESSED INTEREST IN BEING THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY (OR BE FLOWN) ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. AFTER DECIDING THE TRIP WAS TOO PERILOUS FOR HER TO UNDERTAKE, SHE OFFERED TO SPONSOR THE PROJECT, SUGGESTING THEY FIND "ANOTHER GIRL WITH THE RIGHT IMAGE." WHILE AT WORK ONE AFTERNOON IN APRIL 1928, EARHART GOT A PHONE CALL FROM CAPT. HILTON H. RAILEY, WHO ASKED HER, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO FLY THE ATLANTIC?"

1928 TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT

PART 2
THE PROJECT COORDINATORS (INCLUDING BOOK PUBLISHER AND PUBLICIST GEORGE P. PUTNAM) INTERVIEWED EARHART AND ASKED HER TO ACCOMPANY PILOT WILMER STULTZ AND CO-PILOT/MECHANIC LOUIS GORDON ON THE FLIGHT, NOMINALLY AS A PASSENGER, BUT WITH THE ADDED DUTY OF KEEPING THE FLIGHT LOG. THE TEAM DEPARTED TREPASSEY HARBOR, NEWFOUNDLAND IN A FOKKER F.VIIB/3M ON JUNE 17, 1928, LANDING AT BURRY PORT (NEAR LLANELLI), WALES, UNITED KINGDOM, EXACTLY 20 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES LATER. SINCE MOST OF THE FLIGHT WAS ON "INSTRUMENTS" AND EARHART HAD NO TRAINING FOR THIS TYPE OF FLYING, SHE DID NOT PILOT THE AIRCRAFT. WHEN INTERVIEWED AFTER LANDING, SHE SAID, "STULTZ DID ALL THE FLYING HAD TO. I WAS JUST BAGGAGE, LIKE A SACK OF POTATOES." SHE ADDED, "...MAYBE SOMEDAY I'LL TRY IT ALONE."

CELEBRITY IMAGE

TRADING ON HER PHYSICAL RESEMBLANCE TO LINDBERGH, WHOM THE PRESS HAD DUBBED "LUCKY LINDY," SOME NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES BEGAN REFERRING TO EARHART AS "LADY LINDY. THE UNITED PRESS WAS MORE GRANDILOQUENT; TO THEM, EARHART WAS THE REIGNING "QUEEN OF THE AIR. IMMEDIATELY AFTER HER RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES, SHE UNDERTOOK AN EXHAUSTING LECTURE TOUR (1928 1929). MEANWHILE, PUTNAM HAD UNDERTAKEN TO HEAVILY PROMOTE HER IN A CAMPAIGN INCLUDING PUBLISHING A BOOK SHE AUTHORED, A SERIES OF NEW LECTURE TOURS AND USING PICTURES OF HER IN MASS MARKET ENDORSEMENTS FOR PRODUCTS INCLUDING LUGGAGE, LUCKY STRIKE CIGARETTES (THIS CAUSED IMAGE PROBLEMS FOR HER, WITH MCCALL'S MAGAZINE RETRACTING AN OFFER) AND WOMEN'S CLOTHING AND SPORTSWEAR. THE MONEY THAT SHE MADE WITH "LUCKY STRIKE" HAD BEEN EARMARKED FOR A $1,500 DONATION TO COMMANDER RICHARD BYRD'S IMMINENT SOUTH POLE EXPEDITION.

COMPETITIVE FLYING
PART 1

ALTHOUGH EARHART HAD GAINED FAME FOR HER TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT, SHE ENDEAVORED TO SET AN "UNTARNISHED" RECORD OF HER OWN. SHORTLY AFTER HER RETURN, PILOTING AVIAN 7083, SHE SET OFF ON HER FIRST LONG SOLO FLIGHT WHICH OCCURRED JUST AS HER NAME WAS COMING INTO THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT. BY MAKING THE TRIP IN AUGUST 1928, EARHART BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO FLY SOLO ACROSS THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT AND BACK. GRADUALLY HER PILOTING SKILLS AND PROFESSIONALISM GREW, AS ACKNOWLEDGED BY EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL PILOTS WHO FLEW WITH HER. GENERAL LEIGH WADE FLEW WITH EARHART IN 1929: "SHE WAS A BORN FLIER, WITH A DELICATE TOUCH ON THE STICK."

COMPETITIVE FLYING
PART 2

DURING THIS PERIOD, EARHART BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE NINETY-NINES, AN ORGANIZATION OF FEMALE PILOTS PROVIDING MORAL SUPPORT AND ADVANCING THE CAUSE OF WOMEN IN AVIATION. SHE HAD CALLED A MEETING OF FEMALE PILOTS IN 1929 FOLLOWING THE WOMEN'S AIR DERBY. SHE SUGGESTED THE NAME BASED ON THE NUMBER OF THE CHARTER MEMBERS; SHE LATER BECAME THE ORGANIZATION'S FIRST PRESIDENT IN 1930. EARHART WAS A VIGOROUS ADVOCATE FOR FEMALE PILOTS AND WHEN THE 1934 BENDIX TROPHY RACE BANNED WOMEN, SHE OPENLY REFUSED TO FLY SCREEN ACTRESS MARY PICKFORD TO CLEVELAND TO OPEN THE RACES.

OTHER SOLO FLIGHTS

PART 1
ON JANUARY 11, 1935, EARHART BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY SOLO FROM HONOLULU, HAWAII TO OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA. ALTHOUGH THIS TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHT HAD BEEN ATTEMPTED BY MANY OTHERS, MOST NOTABLY BY THE UNFORTUNATE PARTICIPANTS IN THE 1927 DOLE AIR RACE WHICH HAD REVERSED THE ROUTE, HER TRAILBLAZING FLIGHT HAD BEEN MAINLY ROUTINE, WITH NO MECHANICAL BREAKDOWNS. IN HER FINAL HOURS, SHE EVEN RELAXED AND LISTENED TO "THE BROADCAST OF THE METROPOLITAN OPERA FROM NEW YORK." THAT YEAR, ONCE MORE FLYING HER FAITHFUL VEGA WHICH EARHART HAD TAGGED "OLD BESSIE, THE FIRE HORSE," SHE SOLOED FROM LOS ANGELES TO MEXICO CITY ON APRIL 19. THE NEXT RECORD ATTEMPT WAS A NONSTOP FLIGHT FROM MEXICO CITY TO NEW YORK. SETTING OFF ON MAY 8, HER FLIGHT WAS UNEVENTFUL ALTHOUGH THE LARGE CROWDS THAT GREETED HER AT NEWARK, NEW JERSEY WERE A CONCERN AS SHE HAD TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO TAXI INTO THE THRONG.

OTHER SOLO FLIGHTS

PART 2
EARHART AGAIN PARTICIPATED IN LONG-DISTANCE AIR RACING, PLACING FIFTH IN THE 1935 BENDIX TROPHY RACE, THE BEST RESULT SHE COULD MANAGE CONSIDERING THAT HER STOCK LOCKHEED VEGA TOPPING OUT AT 195 MPH (314 KM/H) WAS OUTCLASSED BY PURPOSE-BUILT AIR RACERS WHICH REACHED MORE THAN 300 MPH (480 KM/H).THE RACE HAD BEEN A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT ONE AS ONE COMPETITOR, CECIL ALLEN, DIED IN A FIERY TAKEOFF MISHAP AND RIVAL JACQUELINE COCHRAN WAS FORCED TO RETIRE DUE TO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS, THE "BLINDING FOG" AND VIOLENT THUNDERSTORMS THAT PLAGUED THE RACE. BETWEEN 1930 1935, EARHART HAD SET SEVEN WOMEN'S SPEED AND DISTANCE AVIATION RECORDS IN A VARIETY OF AIRCRAFT INCLUDING THE KINNER AIRSTER, LOCKHEED VEGA AND PITCAIRN AUTOGIRO. BY 1935, RECOGNIZING THE LIMITATIONS OF HER "LOVELY RED VEGA" IN LONG, TRANSOCEANIC FLIGHTS, EARHART CONTEMPLATED, IN HER OWN WORDS, A NEW "PRIZE... ONE FLIGHT WHICH I MOST WANTED TO ATTEMPT A CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE AS NEAR ITS WAISTLINE AS COULD BE." FOR THE NEW VENTURE, SHE WOULD NEED A NEW AIRCRAFT.

PLANNING
PART 1
EARHART JOINED THE FACULTY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY IN 1935 AS A VISITING FACULTY MEMBER TO COUNSEL WOMEN ON CAREERS AND AS A TECHNICAL ADVISOR TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICS. IN JULY 1936, SHE TOOK DELIVERY OF A LOCKHEED ELECTRA 10E FINANCED BY PURDUE AND STARTED PLANNING A ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT. NOT THE FIRST TO CIRCLE THE GLOBE, IT WOULD BE THE LONGEST AT 29,000 MILES (47,000 KM), FOLLOWING A GRUELING EQUATORIAL ROUTE. ALTHOUGH THE ELECTRA WAS PUBLICIZED AS A "FLYING LABORATORY," LITTLE USEFUL SCIENCE WAS PLANNED AND THE FLIGHT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN ARRANGED AROUND EARHART'S INTENTION TO CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE GLOBE ALONG WITH GATHERING RAW MATERIAL AND PUBLIC ATTENTION FOR HER NEXT BOOK. HER FIRST CHOICE AS NAVIGATOR WAS CAPTAIN HARRY MANNING, WHO HAD BEEN THE CAPTAIN OF THE PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT, THE SHIP THAT HAD BROUGHT AMELIA BACK FROM EUROPE IN 1928.

PLANNING
PART 2
THROUGH CONTACTS IN THE LOS ANGELES AVIATION COMMUNITY, FRED NOONAN WAS SUBSEQUENTLY CHOSEN AS A SECOND NAVIGATOR BECAUSE THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONAL FACTORS WHICH HAD TO BE DEALT WITH WHILE USING CELESTIAL NAVIGATION FOR AIRCRAFT. HE HAD VAST EXPERIENCE IN BOTH MARINE (HE WAS A LICENSED SHIP'S CAPTAIN) AND FLIGHT NAVIGATION. NOONAN HAD RECENTLY LEFT PAN AM, WHERE HE ESTABLISHED MOST OF THE COMPANY'S CHINA CLIPPER SEAPLANE ROUTES ACROSS THE PACIFIC. NOONAN HAD ALSO BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAINING PAN AMERICAN'S NAVIGATORS FOR THE ROUTE BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO AND MANILA. THE ORIGINAL PLANS WERE FOR NOONAN TO NAVIGATE FROM HAWAII TO HOWLAND ISLAND, A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT PORTION OF THE FLIGHT; THEN MANNING WOULD CONTINUE WITH EARHART TO AUSTRALIA AND SHE WOULD PROCEED ON HER OWN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PROJECT.

DEPARTURE FROM LAE

ON JULY 2, 1937 (MIDNIGHT GMT) EARHART AND NOONAN TOOK OFF FROM LAE IN THE HEAVILY LOADED ELECTRA. THEIR INTENDED DESTINATION WAS HOWLAND ISLAND, A FLAT SLIVER OF LAND 6,500 FT (2,000 M) LONG AND 1,600 FT (500 M) WIDE, 10 FT (3 M) HIGH AND 2,556 MILES (4,113 KM) AWAY. THEIR LAST KNOWN POSITION REPORT WAS NEAR THE NUKUMANU ISLANDS, ABOUT 800 MILES (1,300 KM) INTO THE FLIGHT. THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD CUTTER ITASCA WAS ON STATION AT HOWLAND, ASSIGNED TO COMMUNICATE WITH EARHART'S LOCKHEED ELECTRA 10E AND GUIDE THEM TO THE ISLAND ONCE THEY ARRIVED IN THE VICINITY.

FINAL APPROACH TO HOWLAND

THROUGH A SERIES OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS OR ERRORS (THE DETAILS OF WHICH ARE STILL CONTROVERSIAL), THE FINAL APPROACH TO HOWLAND ISLAND USING RADIO NAVIGATION WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL. FRED NOONAN HAD EARLIER WRITTEN ABOUT PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE ACCURACY OF RADIO DIRECTION FINDING IN NAVIGATION. SOME SOURCES HAVE NOTED EARHART'S APPARENT LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF HER BENDIX DIRECTION-FINDING LOOP ANTENNA, WHICH AT THE TIME WAS VERY NEW TECHNOLOGY. ANOTHER CITED CAUSE OF POSSIBLE CONFUSION WAS THAT THE USCG CUTTER ITASCA AND EARHART PLANNED THEIR COMMUNICATION SCHEDULE USING TIME SYSTEMS SET A HALF HOUR APART (WITH EARHART USING GREENWICH CIVIL TIME (GCT) AND THE ITASCA UNDER A NAVAL TIME ZONE DESIGNATION SYSTEM).

RADIO SIGNAL
PART 1
DURING EARHART AND NOONAN'S APPROACH TO HOWLAND ISLAND THE ITASCA RECEIVED STRONG AND CLEAR VOICE TRANSMISSIONS FROM EARHART IDENTIFYING AS KHAQQ BUT SHE APPARENTLY WAS UNABLE TO HEAR VOICE TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE SHIP. AT 7:42 AM EARHART RADIOED "WE MUST BE ON YOU, BUT CANNOT SEE YOU BUT GAS IS RUNNING LOW. HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO REACH YOU BY RADIO. WE ARE FLYING AT 1,000 FEET." HER 7:58 AM TRANSMISSION SAID SHE COULDN'T HEAR THE ITASCA AND ASKED THEM TO SEND VOICE SIGNALS SO SHE COULD TRY TO TAKE A RADIO BEARING (THIS TRANSMISSION WAS REPORTED BY THE ITASCA AS THE LOUDEST POSSIBLE SIGNAL, INDICATING EARHART AND NOONAN WERE IN THE IMMEDIATE AREA). THEY COULDN'T SEND VOICE AT THE FREQUENCY SHE ASKED FOR, SO MORSE CODE SIGNALS WERE SENT INSTEAD. EARHART ACKNOWLEDGED RECEIVING THESE BUT SAID SHE WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THEIR DIRECTION.

RADIO SIGNALS
PART 2

THE LAST VOICE TRANSMISSION RECEIVED ON HOWLAND ISLAND FROM EARHART INDICATED SHE AND NOONAN WERE FLYING ALONG A LINE OF POSITION (TAKEN FROM A "SUN LINE" RUNNING ON 157 337 DEGREES) WHICH NOONAN WOULD HAVE CALCULATED AND DRAWN ON A CHART AS PASSING THROUGH HOWLAND. AFTER ALL CONTACT WAS LOST WITH HOWLAND ISLAND, ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO REACH THE FLYERS WITH BOTH VOICE AND MORSE CODE TRANSMISSIONS. OPERATORS ACROSS THE PACIFIC AND THE UNITED STATES MAY HAVE HEARD SIGNALS FROM THE DOWNED ELECTRA BUT THESE WERE UNINTELLIGIBLE OR WEAK

SEARCH EFFORTS
THE OFFICIAL SEARCH EFFORTS LASTED UNTIL JULY 19, 1937. AT $4 MILLION, THE AIR AND SEA SEARCH BY THE NAVY AND COAST GUARD WAS THE MOST COSTLY AND INTENSIVE IN U.S. HISTORY UP TO THAT TIME BUT SEARCH AND RESCUE TECHNIQUES DURING THE ERA WERE RUDIMENTARY AND SOME OF THE SEARCH WAS BASED ON ERRONEOUS ASSUMPTIONS AND FLAWED INFORMATION. OFFICIAL REPORTING OF THE SEARCH EFFORT WAS INFLUENCED BY INDIVIDUALS WARY ABOUT HOW THEIR ROLES IN LOOKING FOR AN AMERICAN HERO MIGHT BE REPORTED BY THE PRESS. DESPITE AN UNPRECEDENTED SEARCH BY THE UNITED STATES NAVY AND COAST GUARD NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF EARHART, NOONAN OR THE ELECTRA 10E WAS FOUND. THE UNITED STATES NAVY LEXINGTON AIRCRAFT CARRIER AND COLORADO BATTLESHIP, THE ITASCA (AND EVEN TWO JAPANESE SHIPS, THE OCEANOGRAPHIC SURVEY VESSEL KOSHU AND AUXILIARY SEAPLANE TENDER KAMOI) SEARCHED FOR SIX SEVEN DAYS EACH, COVERING 150,000 SQUARE MILES (390,000 KM2).

PART 1
 WOMAN'S WORLD ALTITUDE RECORD: 14,000 FT        

(1922) FIRST WOMAN TO FLY THE ATLANTIC (1928) SPEED RECORDS FOR 100 KM (AND WITH 500 LB (230 KG) CARGO) (1931) FIRST WOMAN TO FLY AN AUTOGYRO (1931) ALTITUDE RECORD FOR AUTOGYROS: 15,000 FT (1931) FIRST PERSON TO CROSS THE U.S. IN AN AUTOGYRO (1932) FIRST WOMAN TO FLY THE ATLANTIC SOLO (1932) FIRST PERSON TO FLY THE ATLANTIC TWICE (1932) FIRST WOMAN TO RECEIVE THE DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS (1932)

PART 2
 FIRST WOMAN TO FLY NON-STOP, COAST-TO-COAST     

ACROSS THE U.S. (1933) WOMAN'S SPEED TRANSCONTINENTAL RECORD (1933) FIRST PERSON TO FLY SOLO BETWEEN HONOLULU, HAWAII AND OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA (1935) FIRST PERSON TO FLY SOLO FROM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA TO MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (1935) FIRST PERSON TO FLY SOLO NONSTOP FROM MEXICO CITY, MEXICO TO NEWARK, NEW JERSEY (1935) SPEED RECORD FOR EAST-TO-WEST FLIGHT FROM OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA TO HONOLULU, HAWAII (1937)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTERNET  20 HOURS AND 40 MIN (JOURNAL)  THE FUN OF IT

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