It has been more than 86 years since celebrity pilot Amelia Earhart disappeared from the skies leaving her “forever 39” years old. Friends Historian Betty Darst recently shared stories of the people Amelia met, including Orville Wright. For her presentation, Darst visited the Amelia Earhart archives at Purdue, where she had been invited to do a presentation on the Wright brothers. The photos of Orville and Amelia, along with the opportunity to read letters they sent each other, energized her interest in Amelia. 

“I aim to give such a personal account of Amelia that people think that I must have known her personally,” says Darst, “and to provide insight into the life of one of the most famous women in the world who still inspires us today.”

Darst has had a lifelong interest in airplane flight and worked toward her pilot’s license beginning at age 50, becoming the co-pilot of their family aircraft, a Piper Arrow, which her son now flies. She is the former vice president of the National Aviation Hall of Fame.