9News traffic reporter Amelia Earhart is grounded in the studio when she’s on the air but flying high every chance she gets.
Yes, Amelia Earhart is her real name — she is a distant relative of the famed pilot, many times removed.
“I used to hate the name when I was a kid, but now I think it’s the coolest. Everyone remembers it.”
This week she earned her transition pilot’s license to fly an SR20 Cirrus, a small plane Earhart calls “the Porsche of planes.” Her ultimate goal is to fly the plane around the world, tracing her namesake’s 1937 route — except for the part where she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Earhart will start and finish in California.
“She did it when she was 39, so I have 10 years to prepare for it, to make the same stops, as much as I can,” Earhart says. Some of the airports where the first Earhart landed don’t even exist anymore.
Earhart plans to find sponsors and beam her trip into schools so kids can learn about flying and weather — and bravery. And she plans to be ready. She starts instrument training next month and is already studying meteorology.
Long ago I asked Earhart if she was scared she might die in a plane crash.
“No, never,” she said. “It would be too weird.”
Ledge
Former Rocky writer (now with The Post) Kevin Vaughan, with Jim Davidson, have written “The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier.” It details Davidson’s harrowing fall on Mount Rainier, which he survived but killed a fellow climber. More than 150 colleagues and pals showed up at the Tattered Cover LoDo for the launch on Tuesday. You can catch the guys again at the Boulder Book Store on Aug. 11.
NPR just named it one of the “summer’s biggest, juiciest, nonfiction adventures.”
Where’s Dana?
Dana Perino grew up in Denver before she became President George W. Bush’s press secretary and then a Fox News commentator. She was skedded to be at a VIP meet-and-greet Thursday night at Glenmoor Country Club for big-shot GOP women. But she was a no-show due to plane problems. Twitter followers read these posts:
“One more chance to be on The Five before heading to Cheyenne Frontier Days.”
“And they just cancelled the flight. Brilliant.”
“Hope it starts going better for United Airlines. Love robo-call 15 mins AFTER flight canceled helpfully saying it’s been canceled.”
“If you think your bag could not be lost even if you never left the airport due to canceled flight, you’d be mistaken.”
“Best part of canceled flight? Having a piece of pizza with Henry Vizska (her dog), glued to TV for house vote.“
(Friday morning … )
“Looks like plane’s gonna fly. Us seeing the Zac Brown Band in Cheyenne seems more likely than a debt ceiling agreement tonight!“
City spirit
Wanna stretch? Head to Yoga Rocks the Park from 10 a.m. to noon today at City Park and Alamo Placita Park with some live music, check it out at . . . Sez who: “You have the right to remain silent!” — Yoga Police
Bill Husted’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. You can reach him at 303-954-1486 or at bhusted@denverpost.com. Take a peek at Husted’s next column at .
