Amelia Earhart:
Pioneer Female Aviator
By Jim Cornish
(1) When people hear the words “female
aviator”, the first name that often comes to
mind is Amelia Earhart.
Earhart’s Early Life
(2) Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison,
Kansas on July 24, 1897. She was
considered a tomboy by many of her
childhood friends because she
dared to do things that girls at the
turn of the century usually did not
do, like climbing trees,
"belly-slamming" her sled in
the snow to start it downhill,
and hunting rats with a rifle. As
a young girl, she would often go
to the local airport with her father
to watch the planes land and take
off. She vowed that one day she
too would learn to fly. Her desires
and successes, like those of many
ordinary and famous people, came
from her childhood dreams.
(3) Earhart spent her teenage years in
Chicago. In 1919, at the age of
twenty-two, she began to prepare for
a career in Medicine at a university in
New York. During World War I, she
served as a military nurse in Canada.
Despite the demands of her career,
she continued to develop her interests
in flying.
(4) Earhart’s first encounter with an airplane
came on Christmas Day, 1920, when her father
took her to the official opening of a new airfield
in Long Beach, California. It was here she had
her first airplane ride. It was with a
barnstormer, as stunt pilot were called then.
"As soon as we left the ground," she later said,
"I knew I, myself, had to fly."
Earhart Become a Pilot
(5) In January, 1921, Earhart began her
one dollar per minute flying lessons at a
California flight school. She wasn’t a
“natural” at flying and struggled with
taking off and landing the plane. Many
landings resulted in accidents, even
when she became an experienced
pilot. By mid-1922, thanks to her
persistent character, she received her
pilot’s license.
(6) Shortly after getting her license,
Earhart bought her first airplane. This
was a remarkable achievement in those
days. Many considered flying a “man’s”
job, and women were discouraged and rarely
supported in their efforts to become pilots. But,
in her new plane, she made her name known
in aviation circles. She entered many and won
numerous flying competitions and shows
across the United States.
Earhart Sets Her First Record
(7) In 1927, an America air mail pilot named
Charles Lindbergh, nicknamed Lindy, set a
world’s record by becoming the first person to
fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. It was an
achievement celebrated around the world.
Within a year Earhart was invited to become
the first woman to make the Atlantic crossing
by air. A float plane named the Friendship,
flew her and a crew from Trepassey,
Newfoundland, to England. The flight through
harsh weather, including snow squalls and
freezing rain, last 20 hours 40 minutes. She
instantly became famous, but she felt she did
not deserve this recognition. After all, she
reasoned, she was just a passenger and had
not flown the plane
Earhart’s Solo Trans-Atlantic
Flight
(8) As Earhart’s interests
and abilities became well-
known across the United
States, many people
encouraged her to make
the Atlantic crossing solo
too. This achievement
would secure her place in
aviation history foorever.
On May 20, 1932, the fifth
anniversary of Lindbergh’s trip, Amelia began
her attempt. She set out from a tiny airfield in
Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and headed
towards the eastern horizon. Europe and a
world’s record awaited her.
(9) Earhart’s Atlantic crossing was difficult and
dangerous. She flew her Lockheed Vega, now
equipped with a large tank a radio and new
navigation instruments, for the long trip. During
the trip she flew through a lightning storm, and
once almost crashed into the ocean. Blown off
course and battling strong winds, she
approached Ireland. After thirteen hours of
non-stop flying, the exhaust pipes of her Vega
were burned out and fuel was leaking from the
fuel tank. She felt she would not reach Paris as
Lindbergh had done five years earlier. To
avoid a crash, she made an emergency
landing in an Irish cow pasture. Despite not
reaching her destination, Earhart had
completed the Atlantic crossing solo. In the
process, she had set a new record of thirteen
hours and thirty minutes.
(10) Like Lindbergh, Earhart received many
awards and lots of attention for her record
flight. The press called her "Lady Lindy". She
too was tall and slim, with short, wind-swept
hair. In fact, she looked so much like Charles
Lindbergh she could have
passed for his sister. In
writing about the flight,
Earhart said she had made
it to prove that "... women
can do most things that a
man can do. Not
everything,” she added,
“but certainly jobs requiring
intelligence, coordination,
speed, coolness, and will
power." It was a lesson that
would influence hundreds of young women,
even up to today.
Earhart Inspires Many Young
Women
(11) By the 1930's, Earhart had accomplished
a lot for female pilots. In 1929 she helped
found the “Ninety-Nines,” an international club
of women pilots and served as its first
president from 1930 to 1932. She used every
opportunity to promote careers for women in
aviation and to support the use of airplanes for
the transportation of passengers. By 1931,
there were about 300 licensed women pilots in
the United States, many of whom were inspired
by Earhart.
Earhart Sets Many New Records
(12) At a time when women were extremely
rare in technical and scientific areas, Amelia
Earhart became even more famous as she set
many other records around the world. After her
trans-Atlantic flight in 1932, Earhart continued
to set new records and beat others set by
other aviators, both male and female. In
January 1935, for example, she outdid her
Atlantic flight in distance by making a solo
flight from Hawaii to California, the first pilot to
successfully make the trip. Her numerous
accomplishments during the 1930's earned her
the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first
women to win the award. Many of her firsts
were associated with new equipment such as
two-way radio, new propeller controls and
improvements in aircraft design.
Earhart’s Attempt to Fly Round
the World
(13) In July 1936, Amelia Earhart received a
new plane. It was designed for a
round-the-world flight. If she succeeded, it
would not be an aviation first, but it would be
the longest– nearly 48,000 kilmetres. It would
be completed in stages and closely following
the equator.
(14) The round-the-world flight placed Amelia
Earhart in the center of one of the greatest
unsolved mysteries of the 20th century. On the
most difficult leg of the trip, Earhart and her
navigator vanished near an island in the
Pacific Ocean. Intense searching by both the
American and Japanese armed forces found
no trace of them or their plane. People began
to speculate about her disappearance. Some
argued that the flight was a spy mission to
gather data on Japan prior to the United States
entry into World War II. Some even believe
she was the victim of an abduction by aliens.
Most people, especially in aviation, firmly
believed that Amelia Earhart, driven by her
passion for flying, disappeared in an accident.
This was supported by stories from the
islanders of the area who tell of a downed
flight. Recently, a metal fragment was
recovered from one of the islands and
positively matched to the type of metal used in
her plane. But no wreckage or bodies have
ever been recovered.
(15) Although only a few facts are known about
the July 2, 1937 disappearance in the central
Pacific, one thing is certain: Amelia Earhart
had made a unique and timeless contribution
to aviation and to women in aviation which will
go unchallenged for decades to come.
Earhart Remembered in Gander
(16) To honour her accomplishments in
aviation, one of the first streets in the new town
of Gander was named Earhart Street and is
located off Fraser Road, just down from our
school.
 Amerlia Earhart Activities

Vocabulary: Match the meanings to the underlined words in the paragraphs indicated in brackets.

(2) common, not unusual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________

(3) job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(4) meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(5) not giving up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(5) a permit to operate a vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(6) a game where people compete for prizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(7) a person carried in a car or plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(7) done by one’s self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(8) once a year celebration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(9) a small landing site for airplanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(9) an unexpected event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(9) fumes from an engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(10) another name for newspapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(11) many different countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(12) many . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(13) a step at a time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(14) guess, judge without evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(14) remains of a downed plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(14) disappeared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________
(14) a small piece of something . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __________________

Write your own sentences using any four words from your answers in the vocabulary section
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Identifying Topics:
What are the topics in this passage on Amelia Earhart?
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Which topics would likely contain information on each of the following?

a. How Earhart spent some of here childhood time?

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b. What conditions Earhart faced on her solo trans-Atlantic flight?
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c. When Earhart got her pilot’s license?
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d. What happened to Earhart on her round-the-world flight?
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Finding Facts:
Scan the passage and find the information that complete the following.

Earhart’s birthday: ________________________________________________________________

Where Earhart landed in Europe: _____________________________________________________
The day Earhart disappeared: _____________________________________________________
The name of the women’s pilot organization she founded: ________________________________
The date Earhart started her solo flight across the Atlantic: ________________________________
Where Earhart started her solo trans-Atlantic flight: _____________________________________
The kind of pilot that gave Earhart her first ride: _____________________________________
The kind of airplane Earhart use the fly the Atlantic: _____________________________________
Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What connections did Amelia Earhart have to Canada and to Newfoundland?

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2. Why was Earhart called a “tom-boy” by her friends?
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3. What difficulties did Earhart have during her flight across the Atlantic?
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4. Why was Earhart called “Lady Lindy”?

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Your opinion

1. Do you think Earhart would be called a “tomboy” today? Why or Why not?
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2. How was Earhart an inspiration to young women?

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3. What kind of person must Earhart have been to accomplish her goals in aviation?
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