ALS, one page, 8.5 x 7, Western Union telegram stationery, August 30, 1931. A handwritten letter sent by Amelia Earhart to “Horner” of the “Pratt Whitney Motor Company, Hartford, Ct,” which reads: “Air mailing Pratt Whitney personal check to cover charges on motor overhaul. Letter follows after test flight.” In fine condition.
At this time, Earhart was preparing for her first solo flight across the Atlantic, which occurred the following year, and this telegram reveals her close oversight regarding the construction and engineering behind her planes. Earhart had a long-standing relationship with engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, partnering with them to popularize air mail as a faster national and international delivery service. She was even using one of their engines on her plane when she disappeared in the Pacific in 1937.
Horner is most likely H.M. Horner (1903-1983), an aviation pioneer who transformed Pratt & Whitney, a company that in 1926 designed one engine and had under 100 employees, into United Technologies Corporation. An excellent early Earhart letter about maintenance on her plane.
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