September 14, 2006--She had just become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Amelia Earhart was famous. It didn’t really matter to the world that she was only a passenger on that flight.
The year was 1928. Earhart’s plane shot up into the skies above Boston and headed for Trepassy, Newfoundland. From there Earhart flew to Burry Port, Wales aboard the tri-motor plane Friendship.
The flight lasted 20 hours and 40 minutes. Wilmer Stultz, the pilot, was all but ignored in the media fury surrounding the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
"The idea of just going as 'extra weight' did not appeal to me at all," Earhart said. “Bill (Wilmer Stultz) did all the flying—had to. I was just baggage, like a sack of potatoes.”
Earhart spent the rest of her life justifying her fame. In 1932, she became the first woman and second person to actually fly solo across the Atlantic.
Power and perseverance. That was Amelia Earhart. She was pushing the boundaries in an era when choices for women were few.
On June 7, 2006, Earhart’s original 1928 flight plan and related documents surfaced for sale at Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, Texas. Consigned directly by a surviving nephew of pilot, Wilmer Stultz, the plan measured 40 inches by 18 1/2 inches framed.
Included with the flight plan was the original contract in which Stultz agreed to make the flight. He received $250 while preparing for the journey and $20,000 upon its successful completion.
Also included in the lot was an 8 inch by 10 inch photo of Stultz and Earhart aboard the President Roosevelt ship and Stultz’s personal pilot’s license. It was signed by Orville Wright, Chairman of the issuing authority. The items sold as a lot for $23,900.
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