Rare footage of Amelia Earhart taking off from Harbour Grace on May 20 in 1932. She would become the world's first female to fly a solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. She landed in Ireland the next day. Earhart was the first president of The Ninety-Nines and is the reason we have that name, which still can cause confusion for many people not familiar with our history. During the first meeting on November 2, 1929, at Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, Long Island, N.Y., the most important point of the meeting after the agreement to form an organization to support other female pilots, was what they would call themselves. The suggestions were recorded under two headings: "Serious" -- Association of American Aviatrices and Licensed Women Flyers -- and "Frivolous" -- Queens' Flight, Skylarks, Breezy Birds, Gad Flies, Homing Birds, et al. The discussion was definitely divided until Amelia Earhart suggested that we be named after the number of charter members. That number included the twenty-six women at the meeting; the thirty-one who were unable to attend but who wrote, telephoned or telegraphed their interest in the idea, plus the response from a new letter, signed by Amelia and Neva Paris and sent to the other 60 licensed women pilots in the United States. The final count was 99, out of a total of 117. Hence, we are The Ninety-Nines. The Ninety-Nines now has 8,000+- members from around the world. Most women of notable fame & accomplishments in aviation have been members of The Ninety-Nines. (fb)

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