Amelia Rose Earhart a second genealogical search in 2013 found there was no traceable connection. Earhart took her first flying lesson on June 2, 2004, and obtained her private pilot licence in a Cessna 172. In 2012, she recreated her namesake's transcontinental flight from Oakland, California to Miami, Florida in a Cirrus SR22, as a completion of her instrument training hours. In July 2013 she was awarded the Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award by the Atchison, Kansas Chamber of Commerce. The award is given to the woman who carries on Amelia Earhart's spirit. In partnership with Denver’s Wings Over the Rockies Air and
Amelia Earhart in August 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the North American continent and back. Her piloting skills and professionalism gradually grew, as acknowledged by experienced professional pilots who flew with her. General Leigh Wade flew with Earhart in 1929: "She was a born flier, with a delicate touch on the stick." Earhart subsequently made her first attempt at competitive air racing in 1929 during the first Santa Monica-to-Cleveland Women's Air Derby (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by Will Rogers), which left Santa Monica on August 18 and arrived at Cleveland on August 26. During the race,