WORLD FLIGHT '97 
The Party's Over

On Saturday, September 28, 1996, I was lucky enough to attend an open house at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford, CT. Featured was pilot Linda Finch, who in the spring of 1997 successfully re-enacted Amelia Earhart's doomed 1937 flight.

Finch was not the first to follow Earhart's footsteps, but was the first to do so in an identical aircraft; a customized Lockheed Electra 10E that Finch purchased specifically for the trip. Along the way, she communicated to students across the country using the Internet and a special web page just for the event.

With the help of Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Standard, Finch restored the Lockheed to the specifications that Earhart herself used, with the exception of new navigation and communications equipment. These modifications included far more internal fuel capacity than Lockheed built into the stock production 10E, which more than doubles the aircraft's range.

Pratt and Whitney gave Finch's remanufactured engine parts the exact same serial number as the parts they had built for Earhart almost 60 years earlier. According to Finch, this is the ONLY flying Lockheed Electra 10E in the world.

Of course, just seeing the aircraft and talking with her that day was exciting, but the highlight came when she took the aircraft on a ten-minute flyaround for the crowd. I had a blast taking these pictures; I hope you enjoy them! The New England weather didn't cooperate too much for my photos; there was a heavy overcast and gusty, variable winds.

A very special thank you to Karl M. Stearns, who, out of the kindness of his heart, flipped all 21 photos in my original .ZIP file back in early 1997.  I appreciate the work, Karl!!!  My photo developer had scanned in the roll of film upside-down and I was too lazy to do it myself.

Another very heartfelt thank you to Simon Ellwood for then noticing that the photos still needed to be mirrored!  How, you may ask, did he know that they should be mirrored?  His keen eye noticed that the pitch on the props was going the wrong way!  Good spotting, Simon, and thanks for the "heads-up!"  Thanks to Simon, the photos are now all correct and the 10E will NOT fly backwards when the engines start!  (I shudder to think that all of the schoolkids who e-mailed me during Worldflight asking if it were OK to use the photos for their school reports used the backwards pictures.....ooops.)

Although I'm hardly an expert, please contact me (John Sponauer) should you have any questions, comments, etc.  about this page or the whole Worldflight program.  Here's the answers to some common questions that I get:

1. I don't know Linda Finch's phone number, but her Worldflight web page is below,
   
2. All of the material that I have on Finch/Earhart is online,
   
3. I think TIGHAR (see link) is probably correct in their theory that Earhart landed safely on the Pacific Ocean atoll Nikumaroro and died there awaiting rescue, and lastly,
   
4. Yes, I was generally supportive of Finch in her effort, but also sincerely hoped that she and her organization had enough experience, knowledge, luck, and brains to avoid becoming the second Electra 10E to be lost at sea. Obviously, she did, in whatever category.  Understand that this wasn't like hopping on a 747 to cross the Atlantic; this was a LONG, dangerous flight in a 60 year old, difficult to fly airframe that has seen some major structural modifications over its life. It would have been a challenge for even the most experienced pilot to pull off. Honestly, I was probably more concerned about the possible loss of the rare and beautiful aircraft than of the possible success of the total effort. I'm glad that all involved, including the plane, made it back in one piece.
   

Special Worldflight Section of The San Antonio Express-News
(San Antonio, TX)

Photos and Story from The Daily Ardmoreite
(Ardmore, OK)

A good story from The Daily Ardmoreite about the restoration of the Electra
(Photo and Story Credits: Ryun Patterson, The Daily Ardmoreite)

Interesting Browsing....
TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

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