Norton
Air Force Base Museum
Amelia Earhart & the 1929 Women’s Air Derby:
San Bernardino’s Historic First Stop
A Century Ago: When Amelia Earhart Landed in San Bernardino
In August 1929, aviation history swept into the Inland Empire when Amelia Earhart and 19 pioneering women pilots launched the first-ever Women’s Air Derby—later nicknamed the Powder Puff Derby—from Clover Field in Santa Monica. Their very first stop: Federal Field in San Bernardino, located near what would eventually become Norton Air Force Base.
This moment marked San Bernardino as a key waypoint in the earliest chapter of women’s competitive aviation.
The Race Begins: Santa Monica
→ San Bernardino
The Derby began on August 18, 1929, with pilots departing at one‑minute intervals for the 68‑mile sprint to San Bernardino. Earhart arrived in blistering 105°F heat, touching down at Federal Field—then a modest but vital aviation site east of Waterman Avenue between 3rd and 6th Streets.
Local excitement was high. The San Bernardino Exchange Club even painted 12‑foot letters spelling “SAN BERNARDINO” on the roof of the Fox Theater to help pilots spot the city from the air.
Earhart’s Overnight Stay
in San Bernardino
Earhart and several fellow competitors spent the night at the California Hotel, enjoying dinner and rest before continuing the race eastward the next morning. This overnight stay is one of the earliest documented visits of Amelia Earhart to the Inland Empire.
A Dramatic Moment: Earhart Steps In
During the first leg, pilot Phoebe Omlie became lost and landed in a dark field. A sheriff detained her, suspecting she was “running dope.” Earhart arrived, vouched for her, and famously suggested he check with Franklin D. Roosevelt for a character reference. Omlie was released, and the race continued.
The Derby’s Legacy
The Women’s Air Derby helped propel women’s aviation into national attention and inspired the founding of The Ninety‑Nines, an international organization of women pilots with Earhart as its first president.
Earhart ultimately finished third in the Derby, while Louise Thaden claimed first place.
Earhart Returned to San Bernardino
The 1932 Return Flight: Earhart returned to San Bernardino in 1932 on a flight from St. Louis, piloting the same iconic red Lockheed Vega monoplane that she used to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean earlier that year. During a surprise landing at Shandin Hills Airport, a Richfield Oil Co. truck driver provided her with oil gratis. The signed invoice/receipt and a snapshot from that day survived as family heirlooms for decades, explicitly confirming her presence in the city outside of the 1929 Derby
San Bernardino's Place In Aviation History
From the early days of Federal Field and Shandin Hills to the mid-century military legacy of Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino consistently served as a vital crossroads for the pioneers who shaped American aviation.
