“The stars seemed near enough to touch and never before have I seen so many.” Amelia Earhart
National Aviation Day
National Aviation Day is observed each year on August 19th to honor those people who helped pioneer aviation in the United States. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt initially issued the presidential proclamation in 1939 to honor Orville Wright’s birthday.
The Wright brothers are credited with inventing and building the world’s first successful airplane and making the first controlled powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on December 17, 1903.
Amelia Earhart, Our Favorite Aviatrix
Born on July 24, 1897, Amelia Earhart believed that all people should follow their dreams and work hard to make those dreams take flight. She loved aviation. She was also a strong advocate for the progress of women in general and female pilots in particular.
She was beautiful, graceful and feminine. She was also intelligent and powerful and she possessed a will of steel. She was a highly accomplished author and responsible for countless quotes. Among our favorites:
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life and the procedure. The process is its own reward.”
“Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying.”
“Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible.”
Just A Few Of Amelia Earhart’s Amazing Accomplishments
October 22, 1922 – Broke the women’s altitude record at 14,000 feet.
Fall, 1928 – Published her book 20 Hours, 40 Min: Our Flight in the Friendship, toured and lectured; became aviation editor of Cosmopolitan magazine.
Fall 1929 – Elected as an official for National Aeronautic Association and encouraged the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) to establish separate world altitude, speed and endurance records for women.
May 20-21, 1932 – First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic; 14 hrs 56 min (it was also the 5th anniversary of Lindberg’s Atlantic flight)
August 24-25, 1932 – First woman to fly solo nonstop coast to coast; set women’s nonstop transcontinental speed record, flying 2,447.8 miles in 19hrs 5min.
Fall 1932 – Elected president of the The Ninety-Nines (99s): International Organization of Women Pilots.
April l9 – 20, 1935 – First person to fly solo from Los Angeles to Mexico City; 13hrs 23min.
May 8, 1935 – First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico City to Newark; 14hrs 19min
June 1, 1937 – Began flight around the world June 1937; first person to fly from the Red Sea to India.
“Flying may not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.”
Racing Nellie Bly
Victorian Secrets From Footnotes In History
