TwitterYou have to wonder if this is tempting fate. Then again, what else is she supposed to do in life? A 31-year-old woman named Amelia Earhart, no relation, is currently recreating her namesake's flight around the word.
The 24,300 mile journey started out of Oakland, Calif., on June 26 and, if all goes according to plan, will take 17 days to complete. When she finishes it, Amelia, who started flying when she was 21, will be the youngest woman to fly around the world in a single-engine plane (a Pilatus PC-12NG aircraft).
"The reliability of a single-engine aircraft today in 2014 is vastly different than it was back in the 1930s," Amelia told NPR. "So, while there is still a component of adventure with any flight over water, I felt most connected to the Pilatus...The cockpit is absolutely state-of-the-art. We've got synthetic vision, we've got dual GPS."
Goodnight... After 8 hours of flying and a seemingly endless drive to the hotel, I'm collapsing with a smile. pic.twitter.com/sneXk3Joc6
? Amelia Earhart (@Amelia__Earhart) June 30, 2014In 1932, Amelia Earhart—the Amelia Earhart—became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1937, she attempted to fly around the globe, only to vanish over the Pacific Ocean (so, not in the Bermuda Triangle).
Today's Amelia will fly with a copilot. Still, she's trying to keep things as true to the original trip as possible: "Absolutely no auto pilot issues," her latest tweet reads. "We hand flew the aircraft to experience the type of flying Amelia was doing."
"By recreating and symbolically completing her flight around the world, I hope to develop an even deeper connection to my namesake and also encourage the world to pursue their own adventures," Amelia explains on her site.
The journey continues! Leaving Tobago, we climbed to 27k and flew to Natal. @bendixking @SSUSADunker #flywithamelia pic.twitter.com/LXaKBsp7lv
? Amelia Earhart (@Amelia__Earhart) June 30, 2014She continued, "Amelia believed that, 'Adventure is worthwhile in itself' and it is that type of attitude that spurs us to seek the unknown, push our limits and fly outside the lines."
Amelia Earhart (2.0) has also started a foundation, called the Fly With Amelia Foundation, to inspire young girls to take to the sky. The foundation provides scholarships for high school girls to attend flight school.
You can track Amelia's flight on her site, The Amelia Earhart Project.