“Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace. ” These words came from Amelia Earhart, the world’s most famous aviator. Amelia stands as a symbol of perseverance to women worldwide. She is a perfect example that anyone can accomplish their dreams if they try to overcome the obstacles in their way. In this essay I will explain about Amelia’s childhood, the many flying records she set and about her mysterious disappearance.
Amelia Earhart had a good childhood. She was born in Atchison, Kansas on July 24, 1897 in the home of her grandparents. Amelia always had a spirit for adventure.She was referred to as a tomboy because she climbed trees, hunted rats with a rifle and “belly-slammed” her way downhill. When Amelia turned 10 she saw her first aircraft at the Iowa State Fair.
The moment she saw it she wanted to go back to the merry-go-round because it was rickety and very old. When Amelia turned 12 she moved with her parents to many cities because of her father’s job. Soon Amelia’s father got fired from his job because of his addiction of alcohol. Amelia later learned that her father’s addiction overcomes his love for his family, which made her protective of her mother and sister.In later years Amelia persuaded her father to spend $10 to go up on a joyride at an air show with Frank Hawks. Amelia later wrote that “As soon as we left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly.
” From their Amelia knew she had to fly. There are many flying records that Amelia set. The one that she first got famous for was to be the first women to have flown across the Atlantic. Even though she was just a passenger in the flight she got more fame then the pilot and the mechanic because she was the first women to have flown across the Atlantic.Another record she set was to be the first women to solo the Atlantic Ocean.
She started from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland and intended to fly to Paris, but due to mechanical problems ended up in a pasture in Ireland. Once again she was the center of attention, but this time she felt like she earned it. The last record that I will talk about that Amelia set is the first pilot to fly solo west to east from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California. Before Amelia even set out on this new adventure she faced a lot of criticism on the islands for even embarking on this adventure.
The harsh words stung her, but encouragement from her family made her go on. After she set this new record she was recommended to rest for a while, but soon she was up and was ready to set other records. Amelia Earhart’s last record she wanted to set was to fly around the world. On the first attempt Amelia’s plane crashed on take-off as they were leaving Hawaii.
This delay made Amelia change the original course of her flight because of the weather conditions threatening some regions along her original course.Fred Noonan and Amelia set out on June 1 from Miami and after many stops arrived at Lae, New Guinea on June 29. By now they had already completed 22,000 miles of their journey and had only 7,000 miles remaining. On July 2 they took off from Lae to go to Howland Island, a tiny speck in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They never reached Howland Island and to this day no one knows what happened to them or to their plane.
President Roosevelt authorized the greatest air and sea search ever undertaken up to that time, which cost $4 million.Still no sign of the fliers were found. There was a theory going on that part of Earhart’s mission was to spy on the Japanese-mandated islands in the Pacific. According to the theory the Japanese intercepted her plane and took her captive because they already knew this. In Conclusion, this was Amelia’s childhood, some of the flying records she set and about her disappearance.
Even though her life ended in that single world flight her many other achievements outshone her death. To Amelia Earhart, even the sky was no limit to those with the courage to test new boundaries.
