Pilot Sets Out to Finish What Earhart Started
Once again, a plane, a pilot and a dream. And once again the world is watching and hoping.
In 1937 the pilot was Amelia Earhart, a pioneer of aviation who vanished with her plane during a flight around the world, creating a mystery that has captivated the American psyche for decades and led to a stream of books and articles purporting to explain it.
On Monday the pilot was Linda Finch, a Texas resident determined to complete what Earhart started--piloting the same type of plane and closely following Earhart’s route around the equator.
“Beautiful,” said 68-year-old John Lee, standing on a lawn chair at Burbank Airport, snapping photographs as Finch landed the rare Electra 10E on Monday. “Absolutely incredible.”
Wearing a khaki flying suit, Finch emerged to face a crowd of reporters and well-wishers, delivering a simple and timeless message--culled from Earhart’s life and vision.
“I believe Amelia set the records . . . to teach us that we too can do extraordinary things,” she said.
In Earhart’s life Finch found a lesson, not of dashed hopes and lost dreams, but of determination, drive and boundless possibilities.
This message forms the heart of her decision to embark on the journey dubbed World Flight 1997. The trip will include at least 36 global stops and is expected to take 2 1/2 months.
“She was such an amazing person that we just had to finish the trip for her,” Finch said.
Finch’s biography is in some ways as intriguing as Earhart’s. The 46-year-old mother of three lives in San Antonio and has been involved in aviation for more than 21 years. She owns nursing homes and retirement communities that have more than 500 residential units.
Her interest in the Electra as a restoration project led her to Earhart.
While Earhart’s life was the main talk of the group that met her when she landed Monday, the Lockheed-produced Electra--one of the two remaining in the world--drew its own share of attention.
“This is a historic event, not just because of Amelia Earhart,” said Pat McCollam of Burbank, an American Airlines employee whose father worked on the Electra. “This is a return of an airplane built here more than 60 years ago. I took time out of my schedule just to see this thing land.”
The landing was an opportunity for former Lockheed employees, retired military men and aviation buffs to reflect and share aviation memories.
Leaning against his blue 1963 Chevy Nova, Vincent Johnson, 69, of Baldwin Park recalled his early memories of the Electra--back when it was the fastest thing around, traveling 200-some mph max--and his memories of Earhart.
“Of course it was big news when we were kids,” Johnson said, looking out over the runway. “They kept carrying on the search for a long time. I was 9 years old then.”
Earhart’s history in the San Fernando Valley--and Burbank--runs long and deep.
Earhart lived for a time in North Hollywood, where a library now bears her name and a statue of her in 1930s flying gear overlooks the busy intersection of Tujunga Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard, near her former home.
From 1935 to 1937 she flew from Lockheed--now Burbank--Airport. Like Finch, she stopped in Burbank during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe.
“I’m sure she came here because the airplane was built here,” Finch said.
History may indeed repeat itself, but not without some critical differences and improvements.
It is widely believed Earhart got lost searching for a tiny island in the vast South Pacific, while Finch will be aided by modern navigational gear that will give her position to within a few feet.
Some Earhart disappearance theorists contend that Japanese military forces, suspecting her flight was a cover for a spy mission into an area where they were building secret bases, captured and executed her. One researcher even argued--apparently wrongly--that she survived and returned to the United States under another identity. Theories abound but proof is lacking.
Finch restored the Electra she is flying using photographs of Earhart’s plane and others obtained by Lockheed.
She described the aircraft as graceful--but remarkably loud. Her cruising speed will be 150 mph throughout the trip.
And Finch will not stop at Howland Island in the Pacific--Earhart’s last stop before she vanished--because runways no longer exist there. She will also bypass parts of Africa because of political turmoil.
But Finch will be able to stop on islands that were off-limits to Earhart because they were then controlled by Japan, which was in the run-up to war with the United States when Earhart flew.
This time around, Finch’s trip will include talks with groups of children around the country. Countless others will be able to follow her movements via a World Wide Web site that will be updated hourly: www.worldflight.org.
Finch’s trip is being underwritten by Pratt & Whitney, the airplane engine manufacturer that created the Wasp engines used in Earhart’s Electra. The Hartford (Conn.) Courant--owned by Times Mirror Co., which also publishes the Los Angeles Times--is also a sponsor.
Finch will speak with several groups of students today about aviation and Earhart’s life. At the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation and Museum in North Hollywood, Finch will participate in a 6 p.m. wreath-laying ceremony honoring Earhart, and she will meet with the daughter of the man who sold Earhart her first airplane, said museum director Giacinta Bradley Koontz.
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Linda Finch’s Flight Path
Millionaire Linda Finch is trying to fly around the world, completing the journey Amelia Earhart undertook in her mysteriously aborted flight. Her planned journey, which should conclude in May:
The Itinerary
Oakland
Burbank
Tucson
New Orleans
W. Palm Beach, Fla.
Miami
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Cumana, Venezuela
Zandery, Suriname
Fortaleza, Brazil
Natal, Brazil
Dakar, Senegal
Las Palmas, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Tunis, Tunisia
Athens, Greece
Luxor, Egypt
Dubai, U.A.E.
Karachi, Pakistan
Calcutta, India
Chang Mai, Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand
Singapore
Jakarta, Indonesia
Surabaya, Indonesia
Kupang, Indonesia
Darwin, Australia
Port Moresby, New Guinea
Nadzab, New Guinea
Buka, New Guinea
Tarawa
Canton
Canton/Howland/Canton
Christmas Island
Honolulu
Oakland
Lockheed Electra 10E
Using original drawings and photographs, the 1935 aircraft has been accurately restored to replicate Earhart’s plane.
Number produced: 15
Number existing: 2
Wingspan: 55 ft.
Length: 38 ft. 7 in.
Height: 10 ft. 1 in.
Maximum speed: 202 mph (at 5,000 feet)
Cruising speed: 90 mph
