Could Better Air Navigation Training and Tools Saved Earhart?

You’ve heard the story: accomplished aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappear while she tries to become the first woman to fly around the world in 1937. 

While the fate of Earhart has enthralled the public, Earhart figures into the larger history of air navigation and long-distance flying is often overlooked. 

Viewed as a stand-alone episode, the tale of Earhart’s last flight is confusing. Did she have the right training? Equipment? If Fred Noonan was one of the greatest aerial navigators of the time, how did they get lost? The evidence for these questions is often contradictory. To come to terms with the disappearance, look at the larger historical context of air navigation at that time. 

What Air Navigation Like in Earhart’s Time?

In 1927, while making the first nonstop, solo flight across the Atlantic, Charles Lindbergh relied on nothing more than an earth inductor compass and a simple clock —giving you a picture of the often dangerous or ineffective state of air navigation. Though it worked well for Lindbergh, almost half of his peers attempting long distance flights that year either lost their lives or had their flights end in near disaster.

Europe and the United States were developing networks of radio beacons and direction-finding stations over their own territory. However, navigating over the ocean was only reliable with celestial navigation (calculating your location from the stars) and dead reckoning navigation (calculating your location from a fixed point). Though these techniques were tried and true for ships, adapting them to planes was a challenge. The cramped space of aircraft, high speeds, variable weather, and turbulence greatly complicated the process of fixing position. 

In the decade between Lindbergh's transatlantic flight and Earhart’s disappearance, air navigation transformed. 

A small community of innovators worked to find better tools and techniques. One innovator, Navy Lt. Commander Phillip Van Horn Weems developed simplified and reliable methods of celestial navigation. Weems went into business teaching air navigation. His initial students and clients included Charles Lindbergh and polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth. 

By Earhart’s final flight in 1937, the navigator as a dedicated non-pilot aircrew member was still a largely untested idea. Both the U.S. Army Air Corps and to a lesser extent Navy were teaching air navigation, but it was still seen as the responsibility of the aircraft commander or pilot. Hiring a navigator was more established in commercial and general aviation. Pan American Airways had a dedicated navigator.  Wiley Post hired a navigator, Harold Gatty, for his round the world flight. (Gatty was trained by Weems and later worked for him, training others.) 

Was Amelia Earhart Trained as a Navigator? 

Like most distance fliers of the time, Earhart chose to concentrate on piloting and intended to leave the technical aspects of her flight to two navigators – Fred Noonan and Harry Manning. 
Fred Noonan was Pan Am’s lead navigator for the trans-pacific trials of a new class of “Flying Clipper.”

Manning  was a celebrated maritime navigator and had the radio skills that both Earhart and Noonan lacked. 

Unfortunately, Earhart became dissatisfied with Manning before her final around-the-world attempt. Noonan became the sole navigator. The duo was left without an experienced radio operator.

Could Women Be Trained as Navigators in the 1930s?

Navigational training was available to women pilots. In fact, Earhart received a special invitation for training. 

Earhart’s first around-the-world attempt ended in near disaster on March 21, 1937. She substantially damaged her Lockheed Electra 10E after losing control during takeoff from Hawaii bound for Howland Island. While the plane was being repaired, Navigation expert Weems wrote to Earhart encouraging her to undergo navigation training. “I believe you would be well repaid for your efforts,” he stated, “I have just had Miss Amy Johnson (Britain’s top female aviator) here for two weeks. She did beautiful work and seems to be more than pleased with the results.”  

Earhart’s husband, G. P. Putnam, kindly rejected Weems’ offer the next day. “I know few things would interest her more,” Putnam responded, “But that, at best, would have to be delayed for a bit … She will be shoving off for another try at the world flight pretty soon now.”

Weems' mention of Amy Johnson demonstrates that there was indeed a cadre of female aviators skilled in navigation. In addition to Johnson, several other prominent women aviators learned the Weems System of Navigation. Among these were Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the Romanian Baroness Lisette Kapri, and Dorothy “Dot” Lemon. Mary Tornich learned the Weems system, went on to become one of the principal instructors, and taught Earhart’s navigator Fred Noonan. 

From this perspective, Earhart may seem inadequately trained. However, there was certainly no clear consensus on what standard of navigational skill was required for distance fliers at the time. For instance, Wiley Post who flew around the world in 1933, was no more a navigator than Earhart. 

Did Earhart Have the Right Equipment to Fly Around the World?

Earhart flew a Lockheed Electra for her around-the-world attempt. It was nicknamed the “Flying Laboratory” because it was intended to be a test bed for new equipment. However, her flying laboratory was that in name only. 

The Electra was not well outfitted for navigation. It lacked a rooftop hatch or viewing port for unobstructed celestial observations. None of its navigational equipment, except for a Bendix direction finding radio, could be considered state-of-the-art. Unfortunately, Earhart struggled with the Bendix radio during the flight. 

Comparing the Electra with Howard Hughes’ around-the-world flight in a Lockheed 14 the following year, shows what the Electra was lacking. Hughes’ Lockheed 14 was similar to Earhart’s Electra, but was truly a flying laboratory. Hughes flew with two navigators and a host of new navigational equipment. This included a new averaging sextant, a new drift sight, new dead reckoning computers, a special observation portal, and a remarkable (and secret) line of position computer made by Fairchild-Maxson. 

Furthermore, the Electra’s twin engines gave Earhart a false sense of security. In many situations, the ability to sustain flight on one engine was highly desirable as it could prevent forced landings in unforgiving terrain. Unfortunately, over the open South Pacific, it was a major liability as it doubled the chances of engine failure and the single engine performance provided virtually no hope of reaching land in the event of a problem. However, high-profile accidents had convinced many distance fliers that twin engine aircraft were preferable, unfortunately without much analysis of their risks.

Did Earhart’s Route Have Something to Do With Her Disappearance?

Earhart selected a Southern route that most of her predecessors had avoided. By doing so, she also sidestepped the poor weather often found from Siberia to Alaska. However, the long flights over open water made it essential that the aircraft have enough range (the maximum distance it could travel). 

Earhart’s Lockheed Electra was an extremely attractive aircraft at that time for distance flying - but it did not have the range for the South Pacific. To counteract this, Earhart was forced to plan a stop on Howland Island. Howland island was remote, isolated, and small—making it difficult to locate. Something that would turn disastrous for Earhart.

How Did Earhart’s Disappearance Change Aerial Navigation?

If the loss of Earhart and Noonan had any impact on the navigational community, it may well be the thoroughness with which Hughes prepared for his flight. In turn, Hughes’ flight paved the way for the approach to navigation used so effectively by bombers and other long-range aircraft during World War II, most notably by encouraging the addition of Plexiglas astrodomes.

This blog was adapted from it’s original version, written by Roger Connor and published with the title "Amelia Earhart and the Profession of Air Navigation" to promote the past exhibition Time and Navigation. In 2025, Amelia Grabowski updated the blog. You can read the original version via Internet Archive.