Five years to the day that aviator Charles Lindbergh became
the first pilot to accomplish a solo, nonstop flight across the
Atlantic Ocean, female aviator Amelia Earhart became the
first pilot to repeat the feat, landing her plane in Ireland after
flying across the North Atlantic. Earhart traveled over 2,000
miles from Newfoundland in just under 15 hours.

Unlike Charles Lindbergh, Earhart was well known to the public
before her solo transatlantic flight. In 1928, as a member of a
three-person crew, she had become the first woman to cross
the Atlantic in an aircraft.

Although her only function during the crossing was to keep
the plane’s log, the event won her national fame. For her
solo transatlantic crossing in 1932, she was awarded a
Distinguished Flying Cross by the U.S. Congress.

Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, where Amelia Earhart set off
from on her record-breaking solo flight.

At 7:52 a.m., American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh took off
from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, on the world’s
first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean and the first
ever nonstop flight between New York to Paris.

Lindbergh, a young airmail pilot, was a dark horse when he
entered a competition with a $25,000 payoff to fly nonstop
from New York to Paris. He ordered a small monoplane,
configured it to his own design, and christened it the Spirit
of St. Louis in tribute to his sponsor–the St. Louis Chamber
of Commerce.

Lindbergh’s achievement made him an international celebrity
and won widespread public acceptance of the airplane and
commercial aviation.

   
Amelia Earhart is shown on Jan. 12, 1935, after the first
Hawaii-to-California flight. She was the first pilot to
succeed at flying the route.

(FOX NEWS) – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart departed on a
journey to become the first pilot to successfully fly solo from
Hawaii to mainland United States on this day in history, Jan.
11, 1935. 

The daring flight across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
had claimed the lives of 10 previous aviators. She earned
$10,000 from promoters in Hawaii for her death-defying
achievement.

Earhart also hoped to promote a future in which commercial
air travel closed the distances around the world. 

Hawaii celebrates the great aviator.

American aviator Wiley Post returned to Floyd Bennett Field in
New York on July 22, 1933, having flown solo around the world
in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye,
began the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a
brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several
stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska,
Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in
New York.

Wiley Post with his Lockheed Model 5C Vega, NR105W,
at Floyd Bennet Field, Long Island, New York, 15 July
1933.

(FOX NEWS) – Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart departed on a
journey to become the first pilot to successfully fly solo from
Hawaii to mainland United States on this day in history, Jan.
11, 1935.

The daring flight across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean
had claimed the lives of 10 previous aviators. She earned
$10,000 from promoters in Hawaii for her death-defying
achievement.

 
Amelia Earhart on Jan. 12, 1935, after the first Hawaii-to-California flight. She was the first pilot to succeed at
flying the route.