On December 28, 1920 in Long Beach, Amelia and her father visited an airfield where Frank Hawks (who later gained fame as an air racer) gave her a ride that would change Amelia's life forever. "By the time I had got about two or three hundred feet off the ground," she said, "I knew I had to fly. After that 10 minute flight that Hawks gave her (that cost her father $10), she became determined to learn to fly.
After working a variety of jobs including a truck driver, a stenographer, a photographer, and a social worker, she managed to get together 1000 $ for flying lessons. She had her first lesson on on January 3, 1921at Kinner Field, near Long Beach. Her teacher was Anita "Neta" Snook, a female pilot. Amelia arrived there with her father and one request, "I want to fly. Will you teach me?"
Left to right: Anita "Neta" Snook standing with Amelia Earhart.
Watch how Amelia took flight with her life here: