The Autogiro, 1931

Sub-Series — Box: 1

Identifier: MSP 9, Series 1, Sub-Series 5

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This subseries contains a few items from her time flying the autogiro. Please see the Photographs series for related photos.

Dates

Creation: 1931

Creator

From the Collection: Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937 (Person)
From the Collection: Putnam, George Palmer, 1887-1950 (Person)

Access Information

The collection is open for research.

Biographical Information

On April 8, 1931, Earhart set an altitude record in a Pitcairn autogiro, a type of early helicopter that would stand for years. She was sponsored by Beech-Nut company in an attempt to be the first pilot to fly an autogiro from coast to coast, but discovered on arrival that another pilot had accomplished the feat a week before. She decided to attempt to be the first to complete the first transcontinental round-trip flight in an autogiro, but crashed after taking off at Abilene, Texas, on the return leg of the trip, for which she received a reprimand for negligence from Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aviation Clarence Young. Although she completed the trip in a new autogiro, she abandoned the rotorcraft after several other mishaps.