The aviatrix explained to one Wyoming reporter that she wanted the public to realize the autogiro was “not a circus contraption” but “a practical and scientific and safe means of air navigation.” Not everyone in the aviation industry agreed with her. Many pilots expressed concern about the safety of the experimental craft, resulting in the sinister nickname “Black Maria.” But Earhart told interviewers it was “the answer to an aviator’s dream.”

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In a reception typical of her stopovers, the aviatrix was greeted at Denver’s airport by a host of local luminaries, including Frederick Bonfils, publisher of the Denver Post. People crammed rooftops to watch her demonstration flight there, which was vividly recounted in the Post’s front-page story. She sped about 100 feet down the runway as the propeller spun and the rotor blades whipped the air above her. When she pulled back on the stick, “the ship jumped from the ground like a scared rabbit,” then began climbing at a 75-degree angle. After reaching an altitude of 1,000 feet, she returned to the airport, making a sound landing with “no jolt at all.”

Upon her arrival in Oakland, Calif., on June 6, throngs of onlookers stormed through barriers to greet Lady Lindy. Earhart had hoped to set a record as the first pilot to cross the country in an autogiro, so she was disappointed to learn that John Miller, the first person to purchase a PCA-2, had achieved that goal two weeks earlier.

Beech-Nut’s autogiro had performed flawlessly thus far, seemingly validating Earhart’s confident appraisal of the aircraft. But during her return trip she encountered some difficulties that called her ability as a pilot into question. On June 12, she was preparing to land in Abilene, Texas, in front of a crowd when the winds suddenly calmed. She aimed the craft away from the onlookers, narrowly missing them as she crash-landed. The aviatrix climbed out of the cockpit unhurt, but the autogiro had been badly damaged. Arrangements were made for another autogiro to be flown from Willow Grove to Oklahoma so the tour could continue. According to news reports, she flew from Abilene to Oklahoma City in a plane piloted by another flier.

Earhart’s Texas crackup did little to diminish the fanfare surrounding her tour. Prior to her autogiro demo in Oklahoma City, for example, the program included a serenade by a 42-piece band, an airshow featuring what one report said was “practically every plane in Oklahoma City,” formation flying, a parachute jump and a demonstration by a local woman stunt pilot.

When Earhart stopped in Tulsa, however, she was dismayed to learn that the Department of Commerce had issued her a formal reprimand. Hiram Bingham, president of the National Aeronautic Association (of which Earhart was the vice president), had intervened on her behalf, preventing her from being grounded. The authorities attributed the cause of her autogiro crash in Texas to pilot carelessness. Stung by the criticism, she vented her frustration in an article in the New York World-Telegram, contending that the accident examiner who had interviewed her after the crash had never flown an autogiro nor even seen one in flight. She also complained that rather than receiving an official notice of the reprimand, she had first learned of the embarrassing judgment through the press.

During the course of her cross-country jaunt, Earhart had stopped in 76 towns in three weeks of travel. Eager to keep her name and face before the public, Putnam booked her on additional autogiro tours. Her second began in August.

On September 12, at the Michigan State Fair in Detroit, Earhart once again crash-landed. This time Putnam was in attendance, and when he heard the commotion he ran to rescue his wife. In the process he tripped on a guy wire, spraining his ankle and injuring his ribs. Earhart, who had once again escaped injury, continued the tour while Putnam recuperated in the hospital.

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