![]() 1988 Orion Books edition | |
Author | Amelia Earhart edited by George P. Putnam |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Travelogue, memoir |
Publisher | Harcourt, Brace and Company |
Publication date | 1937 |
Media type | Print (Paperback and hardcover) |
Last Flight is a book published in 1937 consisting of diary entries and other notes compiled by aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart during her unsuccessful attempt that year at flying solo across the Pacific Ocean. Her husband, publisher George Palmer Putnam, edited the collection which was published posthumously as a tribute to his wife.
Consisting of hand-written diary entries, Earhart's writings cover the period from March 1937 up until her final entry on July 1, the day before her plane was reported missing en route to Howland Island in the South Pacific. The work is augmented by additional material written by Putnam, as well as a poem, "Courage", which Earhart had herself written.
Although credited to Earhart, historians have cast doubt as to how much of this book was actually written by Earhart and how much had been rewritten or embellished by Putnam.[ citation needed ]
Amelia Earhart explains the origin of her dream to fly a multi-motored plane, which was in May 1935 during her nonstop flight from Mexico City to New York. En route to New York, while flying her single engine Lockheed Vega, she ponders her nightmare that the only engine would “conk” or break down in mid-flight. Upon realizing “the very finest machinery could develop indigestion” Earhart vowed to never fly her beloved Vega across water ever again. Following this explanation, Earhart provides insight to her readers of the who, what, where, when, and why of her interest in aviation and her aviation career. [1]
Earhart was ten years old when she saw her first airplane at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, with which she was thoroughly unimpressed. Her following encounter with an airplane was much more significant in her memory, yet coincidentally also occurred at a fair. This fair was one held by “the aces returned from war” in Toronto, Canada, 1918, where Earhart worked as a nurse. While on their break, her and a female co-worker went to watch these “aces” at their stunt exhibition. In an attempt to be funny and scare the two women, one pilot flew low and directly over them, causing one to scamper away and the other, Amelia Earhart, to become mesmerized by her experience.
Nevertheless, Earhart continued with her medical career believing it was what interested her most; she even enrolled in Columbia University’s medical program. At Columbia, she was simply going through the motions of being a physician, but her sole focus was on airplanes. When she went to California for a summer vacation, she went to every last air meet she could find, in hopes one day she would get to go up in the air herself. Recounting the day, she said “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground I knew I had to fly.” [2]
She had found her true passion, but due to the expense of buying an airplane, Earhart’s mother had to help buy her first one. Amelia Earhart described her plane as "second-hand, painted bright yellow, and one of the first light airplanes developed in this country [United States of America]." Now that she had the plane, she spent a few hundred hours practicing in it and made a flight from Long Beach to Pasadena, but wanted nothing more than “to cross the continent by air”. Unfortunately, she had to lend it out for demonstrations because hangar rental was also too expensive and she could not afford to pay for its storage. Then, one day, when she was working her social worker job at the Denison House, in Boston, she received a call asking if she would like to do “something dangerous in the air.” After her appointment that evening with her caller, George Palmer Putnam, she was asked if she would like to fly the Atlantic, to which she quickly agreed.
From that point, she was asked to go to New York, for a proper interview; however, when she arrived, Putnam who was looking for “feminine perfection” seemed disappointed to Earhart. Although he was not pleased, he felt that she should meet the sponsors of this flight after the trouble she went through getting to New York. David T. Layman, Jr., and John S. Phipps were these representatives and they wanted a woman who was beautiful and brilliant, but not too brilliant as to outshine the men. Their verdict came a few days following their meeting with Amelia Earhart and they said that if she wished to, they would allow her to go.
Earhart never actually assisted in any three attempts to start the plane or the actual flying of the plane, as that was Lou Gordon (mechanic) and “Bill” Stultz’s (pilot) job. On their fourth attempt, the “Friendship”, the plane, took off and landed in Newfoundland where they stopped for thirteen days at Trepassey. Twenty hours and forty minutes later, the three found themselves in Burryport, Wales, completing their TransAtlantic flight. Although she did no actual piloting, Earhart tells that she did gain a lot of experience and “even dearer than such opportunities” (Amelia Earhart and George Palmer Putnam married in 1931). Following the “Friendship” flight, Earhart performed in a variety of flying exhibitions, but her aviation career began its climax in 1929 when the first women’s derby took place. She along with various other female pilots seized this unprecedented opportunity and competed, but several plane complications ensued for most flyers.
It was not immediate that Earhart decided she wanted to cross the Atlantic, but once she told Putnam of her aspirations, he began setting it all up. After numerous hours of practicing with the newly purchased plane, Amelia Earhart had to wait for the weather to clear up for another lengthy period of time. Once she finally heard word that the sky over the Atlantic was “as good as [she is] likely to get it for sometime,” she took five minutes to get ready and was off.
Earhart also puts into words that she carried a barograph, that at one point recorded a vertical drop of almost three thousand feet, yet she miraculously was able to regain control and successfully completed her flight. [3]
Earhart's book, was supposed to be called World Flight; however, because she did not make it all the way around the world, Putnam opted to call it Last Flight. The majority of the information came from her narrative of the flight as she reported it by cable and telephone. She supplemented these narratives with notes and her log books, which she sent out by mail. Additionally, her own manuscript of World Flight was sent out to the publishers she promised it to, after she turned back from Honolulu. The other portion of the story that is not written by Earhart herself was from people who knew her, met her on her trips, or wrote about her. All of these pieces of her story were gathered and then compiled by Putnam. [4]
Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her life, she embraced celebrity culture and women's rights, and since her disappearance has become a cultural icon. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and she set many other records. She was one of the first aviators to promote commercial air travel, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots.
Frederick Joseph Noonan was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer, who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s. As the flight navigator for famed aviator Amelia Earhart in their pioneering attempt at circumnavigating the globe, they disappeared somewhere over the central Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937.
George Palmer Putnam was an American publisher, writer and explorer. Known for his marriage to Amelia Earhart, he had also achieved fame as one of the most successful promoters in the United States during the 1930s.
Geraldine "Jerrie" Fredritz Mock was an American pilot and the first woman to fly solo around the world. She flew a single engine Cessna 180 christened the Spirit of Columbus and nicknamed "Charlie." The trip began March 19, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio. It took 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes, with 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles (36,790 km). The flight was part of a "race" that developed between Jerrie Mock and Joan Merriam Smith who had flown from a field near San Francisco, CA on March 17, 1964; Smith's departure date and flight path was the same as the aviator Amelia Earhart's last flight. Although they were not in direct competition with each other, media coverage soon began tracking the progress of each pilot, fascinated with who would complete the journey first. Mock was the first to finish. The story of this race is told in a book written by Taylor Phillips entitled, Queen of the Clouds; Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock's Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World (2023). Jerrie Mock was subsequently awarded the Louis Blériot medal from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in 1965. In 1970 she published the story of her round-the-world flight in the book Three-Eight Charlie. While that book is now out of print, a 50th anniversary edition was later published including maps, weather charts and photos. Three-Eight Charlie is a reference to the call sign, N1538C, of the Cessna 180 Skywagon Mock used to fly around the world. Before her death, Mock, mother of three children, resided in Quincy, Florida; northwest of the state capital, Tallahassee.
20 Hrs. 40 Min.: Our Flight in the Friendship is a book written by pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart. It was first published in 1928 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, but has continued to be reprinted in periodic new editions. A special "Author's Autograph Edition" of 150 signed and numbered copies was also produced in 1928. Wilmer Stultz was the pilot. Each copy of this special edition contained a miniature silk American flag carried by Earhart in her flight on the Friendship from Boston to Wales.
Winfield Bertrum "Bert" Kinner was an American aircraft engine designer and designer of the first folding wing aircraft. Kinner founded Kinner Airplane & Motor Corporation in Glendale, California, which produced radial engines and aircraft.
Mary Anita "Neta" Snook Southern was a pioneer aviator who achieved a long list of firsts. She was the first woman aviator in Iowa, first woman student accepted at the Curtiss Flying School in Virginia, first woman aviator to run her own aviation business and first woman to run a commercial airfield. Yet "Snooky", as her friends called her, was fated to be remembered for her relationship to Amelia Earhart. Her autobiography I Taught Amelia to Fly captures the essence of her fame and she is linked to Earhart, as her first instructor.
Amelia is a 2009 biographical film about the aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart. The film stars Hilary Swank as Earhart, and co-stars Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston and Joe Anderson. The film was directed by Mira Nair and based on The Sound of Wings by Mary S. Lovell. The film received predominantly negative reviews, with critics polarized over the performances and criticizing the film's story.
Ann Dearing Holtgren Pellegreno is a professional musician, teacher, author, lecturer, and farmer. In 1967, Pellegreno and a crew of three successfully flew a similar aircraft to complete a world flight that closely mirrored Amelia Earhart's flight plan in 1937. On the 30th anniversary of Earhart's disappearance, Pellegreno dropped a wreath in her honor over tiny Howland Island and returned to Oakland, California, completing the 28,000-mile (45,000 km) commemorative flight on July 7, 1967.
Viola Estelle Gentry was an American aviator, best known for setting the first non-refueling endurance record for women.
The Wright-Bellanca WB-2, was a high wing monoplane aircraft designed by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, initially for Wright Aeronautical then later Columbia Aircraft Corp.
Mabel Boll, known as the "Queen of Diamonds", was an American socialite involved in the early days of record-setting airplane flights in the 1920s. She garnered nicknames from the press, including "Broadway’s most beautiful blonde" and the "$250,000-a-day bride".
Amelia Earhart is a 1976 American biographical drama television film directed by George Schaefer and written by Carol Sobieski. It stars Susan Clark as Amelia Earhart, and John Forsythe as her husband, George P. Putnam.
Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight is a 1994 American biographical television film directed by Yves Simoneau, written by Anna Sandor, and starring Diane Keaton, Rutger Hauer and Bruce Dern. The film is based on the 1987 book Amelia Earhart: A Biography by Doris L. Rich, and depicts events in the life of Amelia Earhart, focusing on her final flight and disappearance in 1937, with her exploits in aviation and her marriage to publisher George P. Putnam being revealed in flashbacks. It aired on TNT on June 12, 1994.
Amelia Rose Earhart is an American private pilot and former reporter for NBC affiliate KUSA-TV in Denver, Colorado. In 2013, Earhart started the Fly With Amelia Foundation, which grants flight scholarships to girls aged 16–18.
Emily Joyce Howell Warner was an American airline pilot and the first woman captain of a scheduled U.S. airline.
Joan Merriam Smith was an American aviator, famous for her 1964 solo flight around the world, in which she became the second woman to complete the trip, by following the equatorial route attempted in 1937 by Amelia Earhart. In doing so she also became the first woman to fly a twin-engine aircraft around the world, and the first woman to fly the Pacific Ocean from west to east in a twin-engine plane. She died the following year when the plane she was piloting suffered structural failure and crashed in California.
Alviine-Johanna Kalep, known as Elvy Kalep, was an Estonian aviator and the country's first female pilot, as well as an artist, toy designer and a one-time children's author.
Dorothy Binney Palmer was an American explorer, socialite, and friend to Amelia Earhart.
Linda (Dueler) Finch, also known as Linda Finch Doctor, is an American businesswoman, aviator, and aviation historian from San Antonio, Texas. Finch had 30 years of experience in the construction industry, making prefabricated buildings, and operating healthcare facilities. She began her career managing nursing homes in her twenties and owned several nursing homes in her thirties. Finch became a pilot and purchased an airplane that she used in her nursing-home business. She later added construction firms to her portfolio.