Mona Kerby & Eileen McKeating (5 page)

Amelia stood before the news reporters. “I think I have just one more long flight in my system,” she said.

The first step was getting the plane. Amelia used the money she earned from her speeches. G.P. made a deal to sell 25,000 envelopes which read,
Round
*
the * World * Flight * Amelia Earhart.
Purdue University gave $40,000 toward the purchase of Amelia's plane.

The Lockheed
Electra
was the finest plane in the world. With a metal body, it could fly as fast as 210 m.p.h. and travel nonstop for 4,500 miles. In the cockpit, there were 100 dials and levers hooked up to the latest inventions. With a flip of a switch, the autopilot flew the plane. Just like a homing pigeon, the radio direction finder identified a radio “homing” signal and could fly the plane to that very spot. Also, there was a two-way telephone system. People called the
Electra
a “flying laboratory” because there were so many new inventions for Amelia to try.

It took more than a year to get ready. On the morning of March 17, 1937, Amelia left California and headed for Hawaii. Three crew members went with her. Paul Mantz served as copilot. Captain Harry Manning worked the radio. Fred Noonan navigated, plotting their course on large maps and keeping them from getting lost. They arrived in Hawaii in 15 hours and 43 minutes. Amelia and her crew had set a new record.

On March 20, the heavily loaded
Electra
prepared for takeoff. As it picked up speed and rose from the runway, the right wing dropped. Sparks flew; the
Electra
dropped on its belly and crashed. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the plane was badly damaged. It would have to be repaired.

“Will you give up your flight now?” reporters asked. “Of course not,” Amelia replied. “I shall certainly try again.”

And she did. The preparations started all over again—more money, more gasoline and supplies sent to countries where they expected to land, more test flying, more Amelia Earhart envelopes to sell. Amelia studied world maps and weather charts. This time, she would fly east rather than west. This time, there would be only one other crew member—Fred Noonan.

Fred was considered to be one of the best navigators in the business. This was important because the plane's homing device worked only within a few hundred miles of a radio beam. It was also important because Amelia was not a good navigator.

To keep the plane on course, Fred studied the stars; he recorded the speed of the plane; he watched the time. Over land, he looked for landmarks. Over the ocean, however, there was nothing. Their lives depended on Fred's navigation. Fred had lost one job because he was an alcoholic. He promised Amelia he would not drink. She believed him.

In 1937, the Morse code was the best way of sending messages over long distances. Sent over the radio, each letter had its own signal, or beeping sound. Neither Fred nor Amelia knew the Morse code. Instead, Amelia used one of the new voice phones which did not always work. Amelia wasn't worried. She also removed a 250-foot radio antenna. This would have increased her chances of being heard. But she needed the space, she explained.

They left California on May 19, 1937. G.P. and a mechanic flew with them. This time they headed east and arrived in Miami on May 23. For a few days, Amelia worked on the plane and rested. G.P. asked Amelia to make the trip alone. He always wanted her flights to get lots of attention. Amelia said no.

And for the second time, early on the morning of June 1, 1937, Amelia took off for her round-the-world trip. She never saw her husband again.

For 32 days, every major newspaper in the world headlined Amelia's flight.
Aviatrix Lands in Puerto Rico Safely. Amelia Hops 750 Miles to Venezuela. Amelia Makes Atlantic Hop to African Coast. Earhart Crosses Sahara Desert. Amelia on Nonstop Hop to Calcutta. Amelia at Java: To Overhaul Plane.
Sometimes, Amelia wrote the articles herself. A few times, Amelia and G.P. were able to talk by telephone. Their conversations were heard over the radio and later printed in the papers.

In the days before TV, Amelia's description of different lands and people enchanted the world. She described a bumpy camel ride. She wrote that the Red Sea was really blue. And Amelia reported that pilots in Pakistan were not allowed to wear false teeth because during rough rides they might choke on their teeth.

Amelia and Fred left Lae, New Guinea, on July 3. Two more stops and they would be home.

They faced the most difficult flight of their entire lives. They would have to spend 18 hours in the air, crossing 2,500 miles of ocean. Because the plane was so heavy, Amelia did not carry any extra fuel. Their target was tiny Howland Island—one mile long, a half-mile wide and a mere 20 feet above sea level. Fred could not make even one tiny mistake in his navigation. If he did, they would never find the island.

For hours, they flew without any radio contact. They were too far away to be heard. The ship U.S.S.
Itasca
waited off the coast near Howland Island, ready to receive and send radio signals. As Amelia neared the island, she could have used her radio direction finder and flown straight to the airstrip. But she didn't turn it on. She never knew that the ship was sending her the homing beam.

At 2:45 in the morning, the
Itasca
heard Amelia say, “Cloudy and overcast.” They called Amelia. She didn't answer.

At 6:45, Amelia pleaded, “Please take a bearing on us.” She wanted them to find her plane and tell her which direction to fly. She whistled into the microphone, but the sound was too weak for the men to figure out where she was.

The
Itasca
called Amelia on the radio at 7:18, 7:19, 7:25, 7:26, and 7:30. She never answered.

At 7:42, Amelia's voice was high and scared. “We must be on you,” she said, “but cannot see you. But gas is running low. Been unable to reach you by radio.”

The
Itasca
repeated the Morse code sound for the letter A, dot, dash, or
di dah, di dah, di dah.

Even though Amelia could not send a message in Morse code, she did know the code for the first letter in her name. She called out, “We are receiving your signals.”

At 8:45, the
Itasca
heard Amelia again. She explained that they were flying back and forth, from north to south. “We are running north and south,” she said. That was the end. No one ever heard from Amelia Earhart again.

For two weeks, the United States Navy searched for Amelia and Fred. Planes and ships crossed over 250,000 square miles of ocean and islands. The
Electra
was never found.

The disappearance of Amelia Earhart shocked the world. People could not believe she was dead. Rumors spread. She was on a spy mission for the U.S. government. She was captured by the Japanese. She changed her name and became a housewife in New Jersey.

More than likely, Amelia drowned, but no one really knows what happened. It's still a mystery—and perhaps that's one reason the story of Amelia Earhart lives on. People remember her accomplishments, her courage, her personal example of a woman's greatness.

Years earlier, before another flight, Amelia had written G.P.: “Please know that I am quite aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”

When I was in high school, one of my boyfriends took me for my first plane ride. We did spins and loops. Like birds, we soared in the air. I knew what Amelia meant when she said she flew for “the fun of it.” As I wrote this book, I wanted you to feel the thrill of flying while you sat safely on the ground.

The week before I finished the last chapter, my father-in-law sent me an article from the
Abilene
(Texas)
Reporter-News
about Amelia Earhart. In September 1989, 52 years after she disappeared, a group of people searched the islands surrounding Howland, hoping to find Amelia's plane. They didn't find anything.

More than likely, the mystery will never be solved. Even so, the mystery of her death is not as important as her life. As a little girl, Amelia loved to read adventure stories. Boys were the heroes. Just once, she wished for an adventure story about a girl. Amelia Earhart wrote that adventure story with her own life.

—M.K.