Flew her Kinner Airster to 14,000 feet, setting a world altitude record for female pilots.
On October 22, 1922, Amelia Earhart piloted her Kinner Airster biplane, 'The Canary,' to an altitude of 14,000 feet, setting a world altitude record for female aviators. The flight took place at Rogers Field near Los Angeles and was witnessed and certified by aviation officials.
This achievement was Earhart's first widely publicized aviation record and marked her emergence as a serious competitive aviator rather than merely a licensed hobbyist. At a time when women pilots faced skepticism about their physical and technical capability to handle high-performance aircraft, setting a world record — even one specific to the women's division — provided tangible proof of competence and courage.
The record was significant not only for its altitude but for the visibility it brought Earhart in aviation circles and the press, laying important groundwork for her selection six years later as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. It was the first in what would become a long string of record-setting flights that distinguished her among her contemporaries and helped normalize the presence of women in aviation's most demanding and dangerous pursuits.