Just outside of Derry, Northern Ireland in 1932, a farmer watches as a bright red, single-engine plane lands softly in the middle of his pasture. This is an impromptu landing—the plane has hit some trouble and ran out of fuel earlier than expected, but the excitement of the pilot is still palpable. Perhaps the farmer is surprised to see who exits the plane: the sole occupant is a woman. “Have you come far?” he asks. The woman replies: “From America.” Her name is Amelia Earhart, and she has just entered into the realm of legend.

This specimen from Mini Museum is a swatch of red fabric from the very same Vega 5B aircraft that Earhart piloted during her transatlantic flight. It was a single-engine craft with a one-piece spruce wing and fuselage, giving it a strong but lightweight frame. She affectionately referred to the plane as her “Little Red Bus.” 

The material comes to us by way of the Smithsonian. The institution purchased the plane in 1966 from the Franklin Institute. In the 1970s, restoration work began on the craft, and several sections of material were sold to private collectors.

Only a tiny amount of this material made it to the broader public in the form of small displays. It has taken us many years of patient collecting to acquire enough of these original displays to bring this specimen to the world.

The fabric has been painstakingly sealed in an acrylic square to secure the nitrocellulose lacquer and preserve the delicate fabric. All specimens are enclosed in an acrylic specimen jar with a removable top which arrives in a handsome, glass-topped riker box case measuring 4x3x1".

To commemorate this exclusive item, we created a new 3x4" display card with photos of Earhart and the specimen, as well as more information about the flight. The larger cards also serve as the certificate of authenticity and feature the official Mini Museum Seal of Authenticity.

In addition to the larger card, we have also included our standard photo card, in case you wish to keep a unified look with the other Mini Museum items in your collection, though we think you'll love the look of this card just as much as we do.

Earhart saw her first airplane at the Iowa State Fair in 1907. Later, as a young woman attending the Ogontz School near Philadelphia, Earhart made a trip to see her mother and sister in Toronto, where the city’s military hospitals were filled with wounded soldiers returning from the First World War.

Earhart dropped out of school and joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment as an assistant nurse in the city. During her time in Toronto, Earhart met many pilots and attended aerial exhibitions, where these new flying machines held her interest.

After the war, Earhart briefly attended Columbia University but soon rejoined her family who were then living in Los Angeles. She attended an air rodeo with her father in 1920 and begged him to subsidize flight lessons.

Edwin acquiesced to a ten-minute “hop” with the celebrity airman Frank Hawks, a trick flier best known for his rural airshows. The experience was life-changing: “As soon as we left the ground,” Earhart said, “I knew I myself had to fly.”

Earhart soon took up flying lessons for herself, working as a telephone company clerk to pay her way. She trained with instructor Neta Snook, displaying apt talent but also a penchant for risk-taking, such as when she landed her Kinner Airster between powerlines.

She was occasionally so impatient to get up in the air that she forgot to check if her fuel tank was full. Nevertheless, she was soon setting records in her bright yellow plane, reaching an altitude of 14,000 feet in 1922, the third highest of any female pilot. 

Faced with a financial downturn, Earhart returned to the East Coast and worked at Denison House, a settlement house in Boston. In 1927, having finally returned to flying, she helped form the Ninety-Nines, an association for women pilots, of which she became the first president.

As her celebrity status grew, Earhart set her eyes on the ultimate challenge: crossing the Atlantic Ocean alone. She had made the long journey as part of a three-person crew in 1928, but this time she was determined to hop the pond solo. 

At 7:20 PM on May 20, 1932, Earhart took off from Newfoundland in her fire engine red Vega 5B, bound for Europe. During her flight, Earhart contended with storm fronts, faulty altitude equipment, and even a small fire.

Her original plan was to make it all the way to Paris, a feat that would match her predecessor, Charles Lindbergh. After 14 hours of ice and wind, a fuel leak cut the trip short, and Earhart was forced to land instead near Derry. When she touched down, Earhart became the first woman and the second person to complete a nonstop solo flight across the ocean. Her place in history was secured.

After this astonishing feat, Earhart rocketed to fame. She became an icon for women’s achievements in the early 20th century and promoted many social causes. Earhart’s time in Toronto had made her an ardent pacifist, while working at Denison House had instilled in her many progressive ideals of the day.

By the time of her disappearance in 1937 while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, Earhart’s incredible aviation accomplishments and her organizational work elevated feminst idea to new heights, both in the sky and in the minds of the public.