Amelia Earhart Makes Miami Stop Before Long Flight
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A female pilot with a very familiar name is embarking on a flight around the world, following in the footsteps of the woman who tried to complete the same journey 77 years ago.
Amelia Rose Earhart, 31, landed in Miami Friday afternoon ahead of the international leg of her global quest to honor her namesake, Amelia Earhart, whose trip around the world was cut short when she mysteriously vanished somewhere over the South Pacific in 1937.
The Earhart making the trip now would become the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe in a single engine aircraft if all goes according to plan.
Amelia Rose has set out on a similar mission to inspire girls to get in the cockpit.
"We feel we can do anything. Anything is possible," Earhart said. "Amelia showed us that in 1937."
Barrington Irving, a Miami man who gained fame for becoming the youngest person to fly around the world solo was at the airport Friday to lend his support.
"I'm very proud of you for being able to stick with your dream," he said.
Irving said he gave Amelia tips to prepare her for the journey, including "be careful with the water" and "enjoy every second because it goes by so fast."
Amelia quit her day job as a television news and traffic reporter to embark on her aviation adventure.
She obtained her private pilot license in February 2010 and retraced the other Amelia's transcontinental flight from California to South Florida in the summer of 2012.
She and her copilot will depart early Saturday morning bound for Trinidad and Tobago.
"We tried to keep the route as close as possible to the original," Earhart said, noting some deviations have to be made to account for safety and flight restrictions.
While she learned recently she's not actually related to her namesake, she still feels it's her duty to keep her legacy alive.
"We've raised more than $100,000 so far as part of the Fly with Amelia Foundation," she said. She hopes to add to that total throughout her two-and-a-half week journey, which spans more than 24,000 nautical miles.
Local city leaders presented her with proclamations from Doral and Virginia Gardens. Opa-Locka proclaimed June 27, 2014 as "Amelia Rose Earhart Day".
WATCH Lauren Pastrana's report.
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