As a longtime pilot with an ATP ( Airline Transport Pilot) Certificate, I am having considerable difficulty understanding some of the negative comments that have been made about Amelia Rose.
I agree with Woody. And it's not just a question of ratings or experience in types.
Flying internationally is a whole different ballgame from Sunday flights to enjoy pancake breakfasts 50 miles away in your 172.
International flying requires stricter adherence to procedures, very careful route planning (especially within Europe), frequent position reporting when out of radar contact (which is most of the time), ability to understand the most contorted forms of the English language when you are tired and haggard, dealing with handling agents some of them lazy and/or unscrupulous, and often overcoming physical disabilities brought on from the consumption of "foods" at the various places you stop to rest and refuel.
Oceanic flight is a specialty unto itself. Careful consideration must be given to winds aloft, fuel consumption and points-of-no-return. Survival equipment must be appropriate and its use properly understood. I have just completed my 100th Trans-Atlantic flight: every successful crossing is worthy of a small prayer upon completion.
So Amelia Rose Earhart may not be the last word in aviation, but as someone who has circumnavigated the Earth twice, I feel it unfair for those who have accomplished less than Ms. Earhart to weigh in with much criticism.
Woody's got a head full of good sense and years and many hours of great experience. I for one have no problem with his point of view and deeply respect it; I also do not approach it in terms of my own experience.
As to criticism of Ms. Earhart, I realize you weren't necessarily pointing beyond Ric, perhaps. But for the record, I don't feel so critical as I do underwhelmed, in terms of this having been a majestic feat, Tim. I'm happy for your experience and I'm sure that gives you a perspective which I cannot possess. I am acquainted with the transport pilot's credo on Atlantic crossings of "please Lord, don't let me... " - and it's over my head.
And while I respect all that, it doesn't stop me, a member of 'the public', from having a valid point of view of my own, however unwashed: this wasn't even a marginally breath-taking feat, it was done with excellent technology, far past that of many who've done the same thing in lesser equipment; it was more a hightone publicity effort - with a particular 'well known' name highly visible on the marquee, than an aviation ground-breaker. As such it is simply more sound-bite and visual splash than it is record-setting, IMO.
Could I mount that same effort from scratch? I lack the funds, smile and good looks, not to mention 'the name' - so, no hope of gaining a foundation to make it happen. Could I handle the technical end of it with a well-qualified instructor aboard? In a heart beat, with several times the flight experience of Ms. Earhart (but far less than Woody, for example).
Now if I did something truly breath-takingly ground-breaking, like 'round the world in 8 days in a balloon-lofted lawn chair' I bet I'd get some attention (and perhaps criticism by others that have no idea how tough it is to do that, ye think?).
So yes, she did it - and used her name to get attention and gain some support for women to learn to fly. Not bad - just not some great aviation feat, as this 'member of the public' views it. My point of view isn't a matter of pilot bravado, it is merely a matter of considering how much real pioneering went on: zero. It is more akin to a colorful evening weathercast than dramatic moonshot, to me.
So Ms. Earhart is now a member of a fairly long list of people who did it in a number of singles, most of them lighter than hers. I don't begrudge her that moment of fame - but pardon me, since it has come up and continues, for having my own naive point of view.
How this does go on so...
I think I've finally tired of the thing (if I weren't already), including the praise and criticism - it just is what it is. I am glad she's home safely and I wish her well, and same to those others who now get a crack at flying because of what she did - the community should be a bit richer for that, and for them and that result, I'm happy.