The woman wants to inspire young women to get into aviation

Mar 13, 2014 08:20 GMT  ·  By

A 30-year-old woman from Denver who shares the name of famous pilot Amelia Earhart happens to also have the same interests and passions. Our generation’s Amelia has decided to follow in the footsteps of her hero and she is now planning to fly around the world in 14 days.

She will be embarking in the ambitious adventure this summer aiming to recreate the journey the famous pilot started in 1937, as Yahoo News reports.

Through her flight around the world, she hopes to inspire young women to get into aviation.

“There are so few women in flight; six percent of pilots are females. So we'd like to boost that number up and show that you don't have to be a tomboy to go out to the airport. All kinds of women are in aviation. I'm one of them, and luckily, I've got a perfect name to hopefully get girls excited,” she said.

For those who don’t know, Amelia Mary Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932 and received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record.

In 1937, 39-year-old Amelia Earhart began a challenging journey around the world together with her navigator, Fred Noonan. The pair departed Miami on June 1 and after numerous stops arrived at Lae, New Guinea, on June 29.

At that point, they had completed over 20,000 miles (35,000 km) of the journey. The remaining part would be over the Pacific Ocean. Sadly, Earhart and Noonan ran into bad weather on July 2. They tried to make radio contact with the nearby U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca, but after intermittent messages, they went silent.

Unfortunately, the subsequent rescue mission was unsuccessful and the circumstances of Earhart's disappearance remain a mystery even today.

The contemporary Amelia Earhart says her name is not a coincidence at all as her parents specifically wanted to choose a significant one.

“My parents wanted to give me a good female role model and give me a name that would spark conversation and hopefully lead me to adventure, and it looks like that's what happened,” said Earhart.

She will fly around the world in a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop aircraft this June. According to the plan, the duration of the trip will be 14 days, she will make 14 stops, and cover more than 24,000 nautical miles (44,448 km).

However, she will have far superior technology to her predecessor, provided by Honeywell Aerospace.

“One of the key pieces of equipment that's going to be on the aircraft we call the 'SATCOM' system. What the system enables is live transmission both of voice and video during the flight worldwide,” Earhart said.

When it comes to her connection to the famous pilot who made history with her endeavors, Amelia mentions on her website that they do not share a bloodline, but says they do “share a spirit to soar.”