Editing Amelia Earhart (section)

=== Competitive flying ===

In August 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the North American continent and back.<ref name="Mendieta">Mendieta, Carlene. [http://www.ameliaflight.com/ameliaflight/flight.po "Amelia Earhart's Flight Across America: Rediscovering a Legend."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929221217/http://www.ameliaflight.com/ameliaflight/flight.po |date=September 29, 2007 }} ''ameliaflight.com''. accessed: May 21, 2007.</ref> Her piloting skills and professionalism gradually grew, and she was acknowledged by experienced professional pilots who flew with her. General Leigh Wade, who flew with Earhart in 1929, said: "She was a born flier, with a delicate touch on the stick."{{sfn|Rich|1989|p=85}}

Earhart made her first attempt at competitive air racing in 1929 during the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland [[Women's Air Derby]] (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by [[Will Rogers]]), which left [[Santa Monica, California]], on August 18 and arrived at [[Cleveland, Ohio]], on August 26. During the race, Earhart settled into fourth place in the "heavy planes" division. At the second-to-last stop at Columbus, Earhart's friend [[Ruth Nichols]], who was in third place, had an accident; her aircraft hit a tractor and flipped over, forcing her out of the race.{{sfn|Lauber|1989|p=47}} At Cleveland, Earhart was placed third in the heavy division.{{sfn|Jessen|2002|p=193}}<ref>''San Bernardino County Sun''. August 26, 1929.</ref>

In 1930, Earhart became an official of the [[National Aeronautic Association]], and in this role, she promoted the establishment of separate women's records and was instrumental in persuading the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] (FAI) to accept a similar international standard.{{sfn|Glines|1997|p=45}} On April 8, 1931,<ref>"Miss Earhart Sets Autogiro Record", ''The New York Times'', April 9, 1931, p. 1</ref><ref>"The Autogiro Flies the Mail!", by W. David Lewis, in ''Realizing the Dream of Flight'', ed. by Virginia P. Dawson (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2005) p. 78</ref> Earhart set a world altitude record of {{convert|18415|ft}} flying a [[Pitcairn PCA-2]]<ref>[https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/model-static-pitcairn-pca-2-beech-nut "Model, Static, Pitcairn PCA-2 ("Beech-Nut")."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924183750/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/model-static-pitcairn-pca-2-beech-nut |date=September 24, 2017 }} ''[[National Air and Space Museum]]''. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref> [[autogyro]] she borrowed from the [[Beech-Nut]] Chewing Gum company.<ref>Nesbit, Roy Conyers. [https://books.google.com/books?id=dTewDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 "Missing: Believed Killed: Amelia Earhart, Amy Johnson, Glenn Miller & The Duke of Kent."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112001741/https://books.google.com/books?id=dTewDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |date=January 12, 2024 }} ''Pen & Sword Military'', 2010. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.historynet.com/aviators-amelia-earharts-autogiro-adventures.htm 'Aviators: Amelia Earhart's Autogiro Adventures.'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612205958/http://www.historynet.com/aviators-amelia-earharts-autogiro-adventures.htm |date=June 12, 2011 }} ''[[HistoryNet]]''. accessed: September 23, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reuther |first1=Ronald T. |last2=Larkins |first2=William T. |title=Oakland Aviation |year=2008 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-5600-0 |pages=20–21}}</ref>{{sfn|Van Pelt|2008|pages=20–21}}

During this period, Earhart became involved with [[Ninety-Nines]], an organization of female pilots providing moral support and advancing the cause of women in aviation. In 1929, following the Women's Air Derby, Earhart called a meeting of female pilots. She suggested the name based on the number of the charter members, and became the organization's first president in 1930.{{sfn|Lovell|1989|p=152}} Earhart was a vigorous advocate for female pilots; when the 1934 [[Bendix Trophy Race]] banned women from competing, Earhart refused to fly screen actor [[Mary Pickford]] to Cleveland to open the race.{{sfn|Oakes|1985|p=31}}