Podchaser Logo
Home
40. Fly Girls: Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden

40. Fly Girls: Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden

Released Tuesday, 2nd January 2024
Good episode? Give it some love!
40. Fly Girls: Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden

40. Fly Girls: Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden

40. Fly Girls: Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden

40. Fly Girls: Amelia Earhart, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden

Tuesday, 2nd January 2024
Good episode? Give it some love!
Rate Episode

Diving into the story, lessons, and greatness of the five women who changed aviation history forever from Kieth O'Brien's book:  Fly Girls

-----

2:45- Amelia Earhart's Scrapbook

She kept a scrapbook filled with clippings about female achievers making news; she cut out the stories and pasted them on the pages as motivation, perhaps, or proof that anything was possible. 


4:00 - The Dare

As stimulus to the courageous aviators, I desire to offer through the auspices and regulation of the aero club of america, a prize of $25,000 to the first aviator of any allied country crossing the atlantic, in one flight from Paris to New York or New York to Paris, all other details in your care.


6:30 - Ruth Elder Purpose
 
I want to do something that will make people notice me, that may give me an opportunity to get somewhere in this world.


8:20 - Doing something great

I would rather give my life to something big and worthwhile, than to live longer and do less - Frances Grayson


9:10 - The Right Sort of Girl

The publisher was looking for the “right sort of girl.” This women wouldn’t be doing any actual flying, but it would look better if she could–and new york publisher George Palmer Putnam was big on appearances…He wanted to put the first woman over the ocean


10:35 - The Call

 "I might as well lay the cards on the table,” he told Earhart. “Would you like to fly across the Atlantic.”


13:05 - The Derby and Sabotage

Beware of sabotage. The cryptic message arrived via telegram that day, and shortly after dinner that night, the women believed they had proof of it, if not sabotage, then at least tampering. 

17:00 - Setting Records

In early December 1930, Nichols set a transcontinental speed record, flying from New York to Los Angeles with four overnight stops but a total elapsed time of just sixteen hours and fifty nine and a half minutes. Unsatisfied, Nichols turned around, flew back east and set another record going in that direction–thirteen hours and twenty-two minutes, almost an hour and half shorter than Lindbergh’s fastest transcontinental flight…She had proven herself to be the arguably the bravest, frastest, and strongest female flier in America.


19:25 - The Grudge Flight

Earhart–the fourteenth person ever to pilot a plane east across the ocean, the first women ever to do it and the first person to do it solo since Lindenbergh himself–was finished. For once in her life, she felt no need to go further 


24:40 - Speed with Safety

It might have been seven years since she won the powder puff derby, but she remembered why she had prevailed in that long, grueling race: by not getting lost, by not rushing and making mistakes, and by not crippling the engine by forcing it to run beyond its capabilities over thousands of miles. “Speed with safety,” the men liked to say


26:30 - One Final Note

Thaden knew what the men thought of the women and it was hard, at times to keep going, to keep flying. As she said, “it took dedication and the courage to accept defeat, after defeat, after defeat.” 

-----

Check out my new book Chasing Greatness: Timeless Stories on the Pursuit of Excellence

Show More

Unlock more with Podchaser Pro

  • Audience Insights
  • Contact Information
  • Demographics
  • Charts
  • Sponsor History
  • and More!
Pro Features