“The time to worry is three months before a flight. Decide then whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying. To worry is to add another hazard. It retards reactions, makes one unfit. Hamlet would have been a bad aviator. He worried too much.” - Amelia Earhart

Flying fascinated Americans in the 1920s. But the idea of boarding an airplane and taking off into the skies continued to frighten most. Even President Calvin Coolidge declined to fly, and would not allow the First Lady to do so either. Aviation remained largely a novelty with fewer than 6,000 Americans flying commercially by 1926.

Perhaps that’s why Amelia became the talk of the country. People admired her courage to do what so few dared. They wanted to read about her adventures. So much so that she was reportedly paid $10,000, nearly $200,000 today, for the rights to publish her account of the 1928 transatlantic flight aboard the Friendship.

People also wanted to see her in person. Sold-out lecture tours became a way of life for Amelia. As did parties. It helped that many thought Amelia was beautiful and charming. One person commented that “no public luncheon or dinner, no private party, is complete without Miss Earhart. She is the one essential, apparently for a successful entertainment.”

Amelia appreciated the attention at times and struggled with its burdens at others. What she truly wanted was to fly. That was what she loved most. And she had many more adventures on her mind. She also had numerous questions about improving the flying experience that she wanted to test. Amelia treated the work like a curious scientist would, later writing,

“I am interested in finding out whether one kind of food is better than another during flight. i.e. The effects of altitude on metabolism. Also I should like to know the rate at which fatigue is induced by the myriad instruments a modern pilot must use. What will stratosphere flying do to the creatures accustomed to the dense air of lower altitudes? Are men and women different in their relations to air travel? Is so, how? And perhaps, why?”

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