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Young Writers Society



Amelia Earhart

by M.B.Author


This is a report on Amelia Earhart. Enjoy!

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On July 24, 1897, Amelia Earhart was born, at her home in Atchison, Kansas. Amelia was the oldest daughter to Edwin and Amy Earhart. Amelia was also an older sister to Muriel, who was three years younger than her. They were defiantly not a meager family. Amelia‘s father was a lawyer of a railroad company, and her mother was a daughter of a wealthy judge.

Both Amelia and Muriel were adventurous. Instead of wearing dresses and aprons, they often wore bloomers. Amelia didn’t play like a young lady either. She played baseball, football and many other games with the boys in the neighborhood. At the age of seven, she made a roller coaster out of fence boards and old nails. Because their father worked with the railroad, he traveled a lot. Most of the time, the girls didn’t go with their father but their mom did. So most of her life was spent with her sister and grandparents. She did not see her father much because of his job and he had drinking problems.

Although all the commotion in her life, she and Muriel attended a good school, and learned how to be polite and mannerly. Amelia was very smart and finished high school in Pennsylvania. During Christmas break, she went to Toronto, Canada to visit Muriel. During this time World War I was raging in Europe. While Amelia was there, she saw injured men, who were wounded by the war.

After Christmas break, Amelia quit school and became a nurse’s assistant at Toronto’s Spadina Military Hospital. For ten hours a day she scrubbed floors, gave out medicine, and played tennis with some of the patients. A few of the patients used to be pilots. They sometimes told her stories about flying during the war. She was always fascinated by these stories and they encouraged her dream of flying even more. So much did flying interest her, that on any spare time, she took courses on mechanical engines to know how they worked.

In the year of 1919, World War I ended. During that time, Amelia decided to go back to college. Instead of going back to Pennsylvania, she went to New York to study medicine. After her first year in New York, she moved to Los Angeles, because that was where her whole family was living. Her plan was to finish medical school there. But during that time she never forgot flying. On the day after Christmas her father took her to an air-show. He paid $1.50 to let her ride in an airplane. After that, she said to her father, “As soon as I left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly.”

Starting in January, she had her first flying lesson. Amelia wanted more lessons. Her father told her they were too expensive and would not pay for them. So, Amelia got a job at a telephone office. During that time she learned how to do photography. With a picture of an oil gusher, she earned a lot of money. But with all those jobs and hobbies, she still did not have enough money. She had to do something else to get money. She found a job driving a truck for a sand\gravel company.

When she finally got enough money, she immediately started her lessons in flying. At the end of her first year, she was able to fly solo. For two whole years she practiced and strived for a flying license. During those two years she cut her hair to a curly crop as her trademark cut. At the end of two years she got her license in 1922. At that time, only about a dozen women had license. So now Amelia could fly whenever she wanted.

On Amelia’s twenty-fourth birthday, her sister and mother were able to buy her a second hand plane of her own. Amelia was thrilled. She painted it yellow and called it the CANARY. Whenever she had time, she would fly the CANARY to her hearts continent. Not long after, she flew higher than any women had before {though it was soon broken}. But it encouraged her to continue her dream. Later in 1924 her parents divorced. Amelia sold her plane and got an automobile. A big yellow convertible, which she decided to call it the THE YELLOW PERIL. She drove her mother to Boston to be with Muriel. She tried to keep up with flying.

She found a job and worked in the Denison House in one of the poorest part in the city of Boston. There she worked with immigrant children, teaching them how to speak English, directing activities for them and teaching them the American ways. Sometimes she would let them pile on top of THE YELLOW PERIL for rides.

But she always stayed in touch with flying. She also listened to hear any big news about flyers. In May 1927 she heard about Charles Lindbergh, the first flyer to cross the Atlantic Ocean. One day at the Denison House, Amelia got a call. It was actually Charles Lindbergh! He asked if she would agree to help navigate a plane that was going to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Without any hesitation she agreed. Almost a year after Charles Lindbergh’s big flight, Amelia, Bill Stultz, and Slim Gordon set out to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Their plane was called the FRIENDSHIP. It was painted orange in case of an accident, they could be easily seen. It also had pontoons, so if they crashed out at sea, they would not sink. While Stultz flew the plane, Amelia checked maps and recorded altitude and their speed. On June 18, 1928, the FRIENDSHIP landed in the water of the Burry Port, Wales’s harbor. It had taken 20 hours and 40 minuets. Because Amelia did not pilot the plane she said she felt like “baggage”.

When the crew returned to New York, they were driven down Broadway in an open car parade. For Amelia was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. She was celebrated as an American hero. Amelia Earhart was now a name known around the world. She was in the newspapers, magazines articles; she gave lectures, and speeches. She allowed her name on luggage, stationeries, clothes, and in advertisements. In 1929 she bought a plane she could call her own. It was called LOKHEED VEGA. She even wrote a book called 20 HOURS, 40 MINUETS OUR FLIGHT IN THE FRIENDSHIP. Her publisher’s name was George Puntnam.

On February 7, 1931, George Putnam became more than her publisher, he became her husband. It was a small wedding, with only close friends and family. But her father did not come, because earlier that year he passed away.

Early the next year {1932} Amelia decided to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo. On May 20, she started her flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Flying through strong winds, fog, snow, and slush, she finally landed in Londonderry, Ireland.

Because of this flight, Amelia Earhart was probably the most celebrated person of her time. She was the second person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo, but the first women to fly across the Atlantic Ocean solo.

By this time she was thirty-five years old. She thought she might be getting to old to do big flights {at that time flying was not that rare}. A Amelia thought everyone was thinking she was getting old and slow. So, she planned her next big solo. Hawaii to California. During that flight she lost her way, and had to ask a ship below her for direction. She finally reached her destination. Most people thought it was just a stunt to attract attention. To Amelia, she thought her days of being a hero were over.

Even though her trip from Hawaii to California was criticized, she never stopped her dream of flying. Her accomplishments were not to show off, but to show that women could do anything men could do, and maybe even better! Amelia had had about a dozen crashes, which she called “crackups”. But even these never stopped her. Luckily, these crashes never caused serious damage. Her plane was always was repaired, and she went right back out. Now with the flight from Hawaii to California behind her, she started planning a bigger and better flight. And then, it came! She was going to fly around the world. Because LOCKHEED VEGA was getting old, and had been through many flights, she sold it. She got a new plane. She called it LOCKHEED ELECTRA. The ELECTRA had extra gasoline tanks, better radio equipment, and a hatch where the navigator could look at the stars and the sun to help steer. Unfortunately for Amelia, she never mastered the radio equipment and she never learned Morse Code. Sadly, Amelia would regret that. Amelia got ELECTRA on her thirty-ninth birthday. She spent half a dozen weeks trying to master the new technology of her new plane. Amelia found the new equipment strange and hard to use.

For this flight she wanted an expert to help. She picked a navigator, Fred Noonan. Their plan was to take off from Oakland, California. After 15 hours and 51 minuets, they reached Howland Island, Hawaii. But after take off from refueling, the plane swayed, and then tilted over, crashing on its side. The damage was so bad, they had to delay the around the world flight.

With the failed attempt mocking her, Amelia was more determined than ever to do the around the world flight. With the approval of George, Amelia got ready for her flight. This time instead of east to west, they would fly west to east. They would leave the Pacific Ocean for last.

On May 21, 1937, the ELECTRA was ready. First, Amelia Earhart flew to Florida. On June 1, 1937, the ELECTRA took off from Miami airport. They flew to South America, then across Africa. The plane was small and the hum of the engine was loud. Noonan, sat behind Amelia. When he had to tell her something, he would tie a message to the end of the fishing hook and pass it. It was easier than shouting. The airfields she landed on were primitive and dirty. Both passengers on the ELECTRA were hot, sore and bitten raw by bedbugs and other insects.

Even with Noonan, Amelia felt alone. She was exhausted and the fumes of the gasoline made her sick. So far they had covered twenty thousand miles. But still had nine thousand to go.

George planned for Amelia to reach America on the fourth of July. He even made arrangements for interviews on the fifth. Amelia thought that would be nice, but knew it would be impossible. She flew from Java to Lae, in Papua New Guinea {that was the take off point from her long flight across the Pacific Ocean}. Her destination was the tiny Howland Island. On July 2, they left Lae. The plane was full with gas and the pilots were excited to get back home. By this time they knew how to use the radio. For the Pacific crossing they were going to get help from the coast guard ship, ITASCA. The ITASCA tried to give her direction, but Amelia was unable to hear the transmissions. In the early hours of July 3, ITASCA heard the crackling voice of Amelia Earhart. She sounded very anxious. Then there was silence. No one ever heard from Amelia Earhart or Fred Noonan ever again.

There was an enormous search for the crew of the LOCKHEED ELECTRA. But they were never found. They used nine naval ships and over sixty planes. Still there was no sight of either.

Many things were thought to have happened to Amelia Earhart, but there is no proof of the truth. We may never know. But she is remembered as a brave, record-breaking woman who will be known as a hero of America. Although her disappearance is still a mystery, she will be remembered forever.


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Fri Dec 14, 2007 12:16 am
Writersdomain says...



Tis a report, not a work of fiction. *moved to non-fiction*




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Thu Dec 13, 2007 10:41 pm
M.B.Author says...



I know that this is really long, and a little boring, but, it is a report for school.
I know it is long. Crit welcome!

-- M.B.Author





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