Aviation has been an exciting field ever since the Wright brothers took their historic first flight on December 17, 1903. Since then the world of flying has expanded and grown beyond expectation. Flight is now used to defend the countries of the world, expand businesses, transport cargo, get to vacation sites, and visiting friends and family. This invention has helped form the world that we know and enjoy. It has exploded beyond what the Wright brothers could have ever conceived.
Amelia Earhart was an explorer of the skies in a time where few had the opportunity. She was famous for a number of things including being the first woman to receive the “Distinguished Flying Cross,” the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and setting numerous records. She expanded the horizons of aviation and captured the world with her sense of adventure.
Amelia Earhart’s mystery centers around the date she disappeared, July 2nd 1937. The accomplished aviator had set an ambitious goal: she was going to circumnavigate the globe. Circumnavigating, according to Mr. Webster, is to go completely around (as the earth) especially by water. To make this trip she was to follow close to the equator flying her custom-built Lockheed Model 10E Electra. She attempted this feat twice, the first ended quickly after she crashed in Hawaii. For the second attempt she decided to reverse her original flight pattern. The second trip was not without mishaps either. She became ill in present day Indonesia after being forced to stop due to monsoon weather. Some needed repairs were made at this time on long distance instruments that had been acting up. After these issues were taken care of she continued on with her dangerous flight.
Pictures of her at her next landing site, Lae, New Guinea, revealed a woman who still looked sickly. When Amelia and her personal navigator, Fred Noonan, left their last documented location they had already traveled an amazing 22,000 miles. They were three-fourths the way through their landmark flight and had only 7,000 miles remaining. The travelers were so close yet so far. On July second they made a few radio transitions claiming to be near their destination, but they never arrived. After their disappearance President Roosevelt sent a search team. The huge search team consisted of 40,000 men divided into 10 ships and 65 airplanes. A total of $4 million was spent to find the 39-year-old aviator and her navigator.
There are many theories on Amelia’s disappearance including:
· She safely landed on a island and lived there until her death
· She committed suicide by driving her plane into the ocean
· She was captured by the Japanese and became one of the voices of Tokyo Rose
· She was really on a spy mission
· The plane ran out of fuel
No trace of the world’s heroine was ever found. Amelia and her plane’s final resting place is still a mystery, fascinating aviation junkies all over the world.
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