Harbour Grace Airport , is 0.8 NM west of Harbour Grace

Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador

Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the sixteenth century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about 45 km northwest of the provincial capital, St. John's...

, Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

On 20 May 1932 Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

 set off from Harbour Grace and, after a flight lasting 14 hours 56 minutes, landed in a pasture at Culmore

Culmore

Culmore is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is between Derry and Muff, at the mouth of the River Foyle. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,960 people.- History :...

, north of Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

Over the previous five years, most transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight

Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...

s had included a stop at Harbour Grace. Wiley Post

Wiley Post

Wiley Hardeman Post was a famed American aviator, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's...

, who with Harold Gatty

Harold Gatty

Harold Charles Gatty was an Australian navigator, inventor, and aviation pioneer...

as navigator made the first circumnavigation of the globe by airplane (eight days) in 1931, wrote:

"The crazy flyers who leave there for Europe are, to those people, definite forerunners of a transportation system to England that will place Harbor Grace on the map. The movement to develop the airport has been aided by ... the entire east coast of the island settlement ... the people there believe with utmost faith that aviation is to be the salvation of a dying community. Not so many years ago Conception Bay was continually filled with a hundred or more ships. Whalers, ore boats, and fishing schooners did a lot of business in Harbor Grace in bygone days, but now the blue bay is dotted only by a scant sail or two, and the people are in hard straits.

"I would like to have heard more, but time was pressing on and we had a long way to go."