A Raleigh crowd, who in 1931 had not yet seen a helicopter (they weren't on the scene for a few years still) and were only a few years removed from the Wright Brothers first flight, were fascinated when the famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart "dropped in" in her Beech-Nut Autogiro.
Arriving in an autogiro, the first aircraft of the sort to be seen in Raleigh, Miss Earhart literally dropped down on the field. Other planes may hover and swoop and glide over the field, but the autogiro with a whirl of its propeller, made a vertical descent and came to rest close by the airport hangar, a strange looking air visitor.[...]
It would be hard to say which was the bigger attraction, Miss Earhart or the autogiro, and during the three days that they are in Raleigh the city will have opportunity to see both a number of times.
... Miss Earhart will give a demonstration flight at the Curtiss-Wright Airport. The general public is invited to attend this demonstration. Saturday evening Miss Earhart will deliver a fifteen-minute talk over Radio Station WPTF.
At the Saturday demonstration, Miss Earhart will show all the remarkable possibilities of this newest type of aircraft. The flying features of the autogyro are most spectacular. It makes short take-offs, steep climbs, stands still in the air, flies backwards and makes vertical descents with little or no runs. Many aviation autorities consider that the new type plane will be safe, practical and popular aircraft of the future. -- The News & Observer 11/7/1931
While Governor O. Max Gardner sent State Auditor Baxter Durham with official greetings for Miss Earhart, the Democratic candidate for governor, J.C.B. Ehringhaus was on hand and with his wife took a ride in the aircraft.
