Not Amelia Mary Earhart...
... but Amelia Rose Earhart.
The younger Amelia (no relation) left a career as a TV and radio reporter in Denver and L.A. to front the Fly With Amelia Foundation, a non-profit that provides flight-training scholarships to young women and supports aviation-based educational curricula. It looks legit; she's on the Board of Directors of the Wings over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, which partners with her efforts.
Anyway, from June 25 to July 12 of this year, Earhart (with the support of dozens of corporate sponsors) circled the globe in a Pilatus PC-12, a Swiss turboprop airplane, on a flight plan pretty close to this:
Along the way, she gave out some scholarships and generated publicity for her foundation, as well as setting a record by being the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. (The first woman to fly solo around the world was Jerrie Mock in 1964 - after the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, had gone to space!)
Well, I'm sorry I missed it when it happened, and I say good for her. I would like to have followed the Twitter feed in real time (o tempora o mores) and celebrated some good old-fashioned adventuring and self-promotion, especially if it is in support of a decent cause. Barely thirty years old, Earhart has plenty of opportunity ahead for more challenges, and I'd be surprised if we didn't hear from her again. Remember, Diana Nyad first swam around Manhattan and into the public consciousness forty years ago, and she made the Cuba-Florida swim just last year - and then went on Dancing with the Stars. Amerlia Earhart will be back, I'm sure of it.
Oh -- in related news, The World Air League still hasn't held its World Sky Race.