The plane tore through the clouds over the ocean . On board woman and man with barely maintain control of the helm . The land was getting closer. Unfortunately , it is not known whether they reached him . Amelia Earhart disappeared without a trace.
For centuries, people have dreamed of a hill in the air . They did that in 1783 the Montgolfier brothers , creators of the first balloon filled with hot air . The balloon was , however, a serious drawback : flew to where the wind took him . A man , wanting to fly in the direction chosen by them , had to wait more than a hundred years, until the appearance of the airships and airplanes. To this day, ongoing discussions on who should be regarded as the first airplane . In 1890, lifted into the air ( ” staggering ” height 20 centimeters ) steam powered aircraft Frenchman Clement Ader Eole . He flew 50 meters , but could not control it . Therefore, to achieve Ader is not generally considered to be the beginning of aviation. Seven years later, Ader attempted flight to your next construction : Avion III , but without success.
For the real beginning of aviation is considered to be 17 December 1903 , when the American bike manufacturer Orville Wright took off on a plane, built jointly with his brother Wilbur . The Flyer flew just 35 meters at a height of 4.3 meters. Unlike other Ader and the Wright brothers were able to repeat this feat multiple times , and besides, they could control their subsequent , more and better machines. That is why it is considered that the flight Flyer gave birth to aviation .
In the years following getting better planes and taken more ambitious attempt to cover long distances. July 25, 1909 Frenchman Louis Bleriot roku flew for the first time over the English Channel .
World War I accelerated the development of aviation technology , which in turn allowed the great flights 20s The twentieth century. 14 June 1919 John William Alcock English and Arthur Whitten Brown bomber Vickers Vinny for the first time held a non-stop flight over the North Atlantic . They defeated the 3040 km distance in 16 hours and 12 minutes. In subsequent years, many pilots tried to repeat the feat , some of them died . In 1927, the hero of millions of people has become an American pilot Charles Lindbergh , who airplane Ryan Spirit of ST . Louis flew alone from New York to Paris. It was the first direct flight between the two cities , the more extraordinary that anuses on a small , single-engine plane. It lasted 33 hours !
Poles also have a proven great achievements in this field . The biggest belonged passage of Boleslaw Orliński and Leon Kubiak Warsaw – Tokyo – Warsaw in 1926 , and the flight Stanislaus Skarżyński over the South Atlantic , made in 1933 in the Polish RWD – 5bis .
30 Years Twentieth century a new phase in the history of aviation. The primitive biplanes of wood and canvas , in which pilots felt cold , replaced fast, metal machine with closed cabins . Aircraft have become more reliable , and their flights were getting longer and faster . Already developed air communication .
Already since the beginning of aviation airplanes had a seat at the helm of the women . One of the most famous American was Amelia . When I was 10 years old she saw a plane , described him as “a thing of rusty wire and wood , completely uninteresting .” There was no indication that it will become one of the world’s most famous women pilots. In 1920, for the first time in my life got in the plane , and two years later set a world record altitude , flied airplanes , helicopters, breaking new records . In 1928, the first woman flew over the Atlantic. Then I was just a passenger . After four years, she repeated the feat , sitting behind the wheel of your favorite car Lockheed Vega . Not only as the first woman ( and second person in the world) then defeated the Atlantic alone , but by the way she beat endurance record 13.5 hours. Also adopted several other records. The main sponsor and manager to Earhart was known publisher George P. Putnam , who among other things, co-sponsored the flight over the Atlantic. Amelia married him for the husband , but retained considerable independence . Using air to determine called their marriage “partnership with double sterownicami ” . She was extremely popular , as indeed owed the support of her husband.
In 1937, Amelia over 40 years. She thought about the end of his great career aviation and decided that her crowning glory will fly around the light. That have made the first woman , beating the first distance equal to the diameter of the Earth at the equator . Her previous plane was not fit for such a long trip . For $ 50,000 , which she received as a donation from the University of Purdue , bought a new type Lockheed Electra . It was one of the most modern equipment of the time.
March 10, 1937 Earhart in the company of an experienced navigator Fred Noonan took its first test. The expedition began unfortunate : after 16 hours of flight had to land compulsorily due to malfunction . After the renovation of the aircraft on June 1 started again on the road . Changed initially planned route – first she wanted to go west : from America to Hawaii , and from there to Australia and beyond. Now, went south . After a month of Earhart and Noonan arrived on New Guinea . Next was the ocean , and on the small island , which was hard hit . The aircraft was specially prepared for this most difficult stage. All superfluous devices were removed to reduce weight and extra fuel tanks . 1 July 1937 , the crew of the Electra took off towards the island of Holland . It was a difficult task. The plane was flying in the clouds and rain, and the target was less than 3 square kilometers . He was away for more than 4,100 km from New Guinea , while the plane took fuel only on the route of 4,500 km . Earhart and Noonan never reached Howland . She was last seen them Nukumanu over the islands , about 1,300 km from the launch site . During the approach to the goal you have problems with connectivity . The crew Electra and radio operators of waiting for them at the shores of the ship have not heard a . The next morning was reported : “We must be on you , even though you can not see. We’re running out fuel . ” An hour later came another message: ” We fly to the north and the south ” and then in ether silence. On a personal command of U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched a large share of exploration . Lasted 16 days and cost $ 4 million . More than a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft searching for missing persons. Los Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan remained unknown. Riddle , however, led to the devising of different amateurs hypotheses (often ridiculous ) about their fate.
