Historic Americana
Amelia Earhart’s “Lockheed Vega 5B” Aircraft Poster with Authentic Fabric Patch
c. 1970, Smithsonian Institution Aviation Relic Series Poster of Amelia Earhart’s “Lockheed Vega 5B” Aircraft with Authentic Fabric Patch, Crisp Extremely Fine.
This is an impressive, historic Black and White 15” x 20” Poster of Amelia Earhart, standing on the landing gear of her Lockheed Vega 5B airplane. It includes a 1.75” x 2” Patch of its Original Fabric which is mounted upon the Poster. This Lockheed Vega 5B was the aircraft used by Amelia Earhard when she became the first woman to make a nonstop solo-flight across the Atlantic, May 20-21, 1932.

From the mid-1970's to the early '80's, the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum produced its, "Aviation Relic Series" of Limited Edition Prints, featuring 2" square pieces of fabric from various historical aircraft in their collection. These were from aircraft that were going through restoration at the time to replace deteriorating original fabric. The Air and Space Museum kept some large pieces of the original fabric in their collection for future reference but they decided to make some original fabric available to the public through this poster series to stimulate more interest in the museum. It seems remarkable that the Smithsonian would sell off such significant artifacts and after a few years, the museum decided that this was not a good idea and their policy now forbids this practice.
Amelia Earhart was the first woman, and only the second person (the other was Charles Lindberg), to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. On May 20, 1932, she set off alone from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland. The weather was a problem from the start, and at one point in the flight, ice on the wings forced her into a 3,000-foot, unchecked descent. She finally managed to level off and, constantly fighting fatigue, she landed in a field near Culmore, Londonderry, Northern Ireland. She made the 2,026-mile flight in 14 hours, 54 minutes.

The aircraft she used was a bright red Lockheed Vega 5B, a sleek, new monoplane with a fully cantilevered wing and roomy cabin area. It was the first airplane built by Lockheed. The first one flew in 1927 and 131 were eventually manufactured.

Amelia sold her Vega to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in June 1933. The aircraft was displayed there until it was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution on September 8, 1966. It is displayed in the Museum's Pioneers of Flight gallery.