[STARMAN 352ND]

I just read this about Amelia Earhart.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/01/ear....ap/index.html

[Captain Eddie]

Very interesting, Starman. I've never been interested enough to read about Amelia, but this rather wets my appetite.

[jim]

What a great lady she was. I have read a book on her all too short life. I wonder what drove her on to do such challenges. Fascinating times for aviation all that sky waiting to be conquered.

[Hoverbug]

Originally Posted by jim

What a great lady she was. I have read a book on her all too short life. I wonder what drove her on to do such challenges. Fascinating times for aviation all that sky waiting to be conquered.

Unfortunately, she was a bit of a fraud. The reason she is so celebrated is that her husband, George Putnam, sold her out as a trained act. For every hour she logged in the air, she logged another 20 promoting herself. This is why she is remembered so fondly today, not because she was a good pilot. There were a number of female aviators at the time who were far more competent, but far less remembered. She might have become a spectacular aviator, but she didn't bother to learn the things that would have made her so. I know a gentleman (now 101) who was at Pitcairn when Earhart was training to fly Autogiros there. He said that she had no interest in learning the aerodynamics of the aircraft or training in advanced manuevers in spite of the best efforts of the Pitcairn staff. No surprise that she then went on to crash 3 Autogiros.

She didn't bother to train in advanced navigation techniques before her around the world flight or even train to a competent standard on the equipment in her aircraft. Too bad she bought the farm, but it didn't surprise many who actually knew of her proficiency (or lack therof). Earhart is a significant lesson in celebrity and the creation of mythology.

[Hoverbug]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

I just read this about Amelia Earhart.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/01/ear....ap/index.html

Total B.S. Ric Gillispie and his TIGHAR has turned Earhart into an industry - he's been "finding" Earhart for decades. This latest media blitz just happens to coincide with the release of his new book. Everybody has to have career I guess.

[SKUNKY]

What a letdown, Hoverbug!...next thing ya know somebody's going to tell us that the Tuskegee Airmen lost at least 25 bombers under their escort...

(let's just keep this stuff between us, because you know how people hate letting the facts get in the way of a good story!)

[mustangdriver]

I am with hoverbug 100%. There were other woman pilots, but they did not marry a publisher. Also, the whoel deal with her trailing antena is a joke. She (against advice from others)had it removed to save weight, it did not rip off.

[Canucklehead]

Whatever she may or may not have been, and whatever skills she may or may not have posessed, Amelia Earhart was and is a hero to a great number of people. Her story may have been blown out of all proportion, but I think she deserves more respect than to be some shmuck's meal ticket, if this hoopla is indeed a media ploy. Part of me doesn't want her to be found, it would be like finding Flight 19 or the stage where they faked the moon landings. It'd take a bit of mystery out of life. Amelia Earhart might not have been the fist or the best female pilot, but it cannot be argued that she was an extremely courageous woman, and a true pioneer.






Plus she was in that one episode of Star Trek:Voyager, which I thought was pretty cool.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

.....it would be like finding Flight 19 or the stage where they faked the moon landings..

...or the mysterious blue blankey from Jimmy Doolittle's B-25....

[Hoverbug]

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

Plus she was in that one episode of Star Trek:Voyager, which I thought was pretty cool.

Poor Noonan - he really got beat up on that one. He really was a great navigator at one time (several years before the final flight), but he had been steep decline when Earhart signed him on.

One aviatrix that doesn't get enough acclaim is Lindbergh's wife, Anne Morrow. She could out-navigate Earhart blindfolded.

The best word to describe Earhart is tragic. She was enthusiastic and had heart, but her lack of professionalism did her in. Time after time she avoided the necessary training and book work required to be a record setting pilot at the time. Whether this was because of the lifestyle she was living or arrogance is a point of contention, but the reason she is such a hero relative to her more competent peers is because she was a celebrity - that was her career, much more so than being a pilot, and she was very good at it.