Amelia Earhart
Ever since her transatlantic crossing as a passenger in 1928—the first for a woman at the time—from Trepassey, Newfoundland, to Burry Point, Wales, Earhart wanted to conquer the Atlantic Ocean as a pilot, without any help at the controls. On May 19, 1932, she, Ed Gorski, her mechanic, and Bernt Balchen, the prestigious Norwegian aviator, left Teterboro, New Jersey, at 3:15 p.m. and headed to Saint John, New Brunswick. Balchen did most of the flying and even registered Earhart’s Lockheed Vega in his own name, to avoid press attention.
Their eventual destination? Harbour Grace, from which many famed and ill-fated flights had taken off to “challenge the Atlantic.” At 2:00 p.m. local time, Earhart’s single-engine monoplane landed at the airstrip. From there, Earhart went to the Cochrane Hotel for a short rest; Balchen and Gorski stayed at the airfield to prepare the Lockheed Vega for takeoff. At the hotel, Earhart met the proprietress of the iconic establishment, Rose Archibald, whose gifts of tomato juice and a thermos of soup have become legendary in the town’s aviation history and lore.
Local Arthur Rogers then took Earhart and her company back to the airstrip, where she would leave at 7:20 p.m.
Four hours out from Harbour Grace, the plane’s exhaust manifold broke, and for the next ten hours flames shooting from the vent threatened the success of the flight. Soon the altimeter malfunctioned, which resulted in Earhart flying blind for five hours. And if that wasn’t enough, she dealt with thick clouds and ice developing on the wings of her aircraft.
Unable to make it to Paris as Lindbergh had in 1927, Earhart landed in a cow pasture belonging to the Gallagher family, just outside the small hamlet of Culmore, north of Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The record-breaking flight took fourteen hours and fifty-six minutes after her departure from Harbour Grace.
She became the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic and the second person to accomplish this feat, after Charles Lindberg in 1927.
The Gallaghers offered Earhart a room for the night, which the aviatress accepted, so long as they “didn’t mind her clothes.” Famished, she told Mrs. Gallagher that “tomato juice” had been her only meal since leaving America.
The flight established Earhart as an international hero, making her the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. For her bravery, Earhart won many honours, including the Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society, presented by United States President Herbert Hoover, the Distinguished Flying Cross from the U.S. Congress, and the Cross of the Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French government.
Spirit of Harbour Grace
The Douglas Aircraft Corporation developed a prototype aircraft, the DC-1, in 1931. The DC-2, a new and more advanced aircraft, was developed and went into service in 1932. The DC-3, the model of the Spirit of Harbour Grace, went into commercial service in 1935. The DC-3 is considered “as the aircraft that changed the world,” with more than 11, 000 of its type produced in the United States alone.
The Spirit of Harbour Grace was manufactured in 1943 by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California, on charge to the United States Air Force. The aircraft served in North Africa until the end of World War II, when it was purchased by Resort Airlines in the United States. Later it was purchased by Leeward Aeronautical Service Lake Central Airlines, where it was used as a C47 cargo aircraft. In 1951 Quebec Air purchased the plane, modifying it as a DC-3 Douglas.
In 1977 Roger Pike, a native of Harbour Grace, bought the aircraft. Pike used the airplane to transport food and dairy products from Stephenville to Goose Bay under private registration. In 1983 Pike acquired ownership of Labrador Airways Ltd. The DC-3 was then based out of Goose Bay, transporting mail and cargo. The aircraft was retired in 1988 and restored close to its original condition.
The wingspan of the Spirit of Harbour Grace is 95 feet, with a total length of 64 feet, five inches long, and standing at a height of 16 feet, 5 1/2 inches. The aircraft weighs 26,200 pounds and contains two Pratt and Whitney R-1830 engines, which allow the plane to fly at 135 kts, or 150 mph.
In 1993 the Spirit of Harbour Grace was donated to the town by the Pike family. This historic landmark now stands at Riverhead, Harbour Grace, forever commemorating the town’s rich past in aviation. Roger Pike sincerely wishes that Harbour Grace will always receive the rightful recognition for its part in the history of international aviation.