| STAFF/ AFP via Getty Images |  | August 24, 1932 | On this day in 1932, pilot Amelia Earhart blazed an indelible trail through the sky, becoming the first woman to complete a solo, nonstop flight across the United States. The pioneering aviator departed Los Angeles Municipal Airport that evening, landing 19 hours and five minutes later in Newark, New Jersey. All told, Earhart captained her Model 5 Vega (which is now exhibited at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.) for 2,477 miles at an average speed of 128.17 miles per hour, setting a women's American record for both distance and time. Earhart's coast-to-coast record would be broken the following year by none other than herself, as she completed the flight again, nearly two hours quicker. It was one of her many legendary feats accomplished throughout the 1930s; in early 1932 Earhart became the first woman and second person (after Charles Lindbergh) to make an uninterrupted solo flight across the Atlantic, and 1935 saw her become the first solo pilot of any gender to fly continuously from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. Though Earhart would tragically disappear during a 1937 expedition, her unparalleled and barrier-breaking resume inspired countless aviators during her lifetime, and continues today. | |
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