American Aviatrix to Organize Cross-Continental Air Race

American Aviatrix Amelia Earhart
(Associated Press Photo)

Having become the first woman to travel by air across the Atlantic ocean in 1926, American flier Amelia Earhart has announced her intention to organize an air race across the North American continent for women pilots. Dubbed the Women's Air Derby, the race will be held in August of this year and will take participants from Santa Monica, California nearly all the way across the United States to finish in Cleveland, Ohio. Race organizers want a field of at least 20 American female pilots who are expected to complete the course in about a week of flying. Earhart is expected to compete. Race organizers are requiring entrants to have at least 100 hours of solo flight, including 25 hours of solo cross-country flying, a license from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), and an annual sporting license issued by the National Aeronautics Association (NAA). "There are now about 40 American women pilots who meet these standards," Earhart said in announcing the competition. "We hope to enlist most of them in the race."

Last year Earhart published the story of her record setting trans-Atlantic flight between Newfoundland and Wales in her book "20 Hours 40 Minutes". In addition to her aviation activities, Earhart is also a columnist and commentator for Cosmopolitan Magazine and a senior manager with the Transcontinental Air Transport Company.