Amelia Earhart

[jim48]

I just watched a fascinating special about Amelia Earhart on the National Geographic Channel. So what do you think happened to her? I googled her and there's some interesting stuff out there. Did she end up in the drink or did she get captured by the Japanese?

[newsartist]

Forget the conspiracy theories. That was a tough flight in 1937.

Remember that almost all aviation accidents are chain events, For Amelia, the chain was getting pretty long when she left New Guinea.

Her trailing wire radio antenna, which had to be cranked in before landing, had been shortened in order to reduce her physical workload. This also badly detuned a tool needed to find the isolated island.

She probably would have climbed to increase her visual range. WW-II provided a huge increase in aviation medicine knowledge that wasn't known for her flight.

Among this knowledge came an understanding that fatigue and other circumstances can reduce the altitude where a person starts getting effects of hypoxia. Night flight, (not a factor here,) fatigue, and smoking require oxygen at far lower levels than 'normal'.

She was in contact with the "Itasca", but radio transcripts show her confusion over several points. This could easily have been caused by hypoxia. Then the gas ran out.

[jim48]

Forget the conspiracy theories. That was a tough flight in 1937.

Remember that almost all aviation accidents are chain events, For Amelia, the chain was getting pretty long when she left New Guinea.

Her trailing wire radio antenna, which had to be cranked in before landing, had been shortened in order to reduce her physical workload. This also badly detuned a tool needed to find the isolated island.

She probably would have climbed to increase her visual range. WW-II provided a huge increase in aviation medicine knowledge that wasn't known for her flight.

Among this knowledge came an understanding that fatigue and other circumstances can reduce the altitude where a person starts getting effects of hypoxia. Night flight, (not a factor here,) fatigue, and smoking require oxygen at far lower levels than 'normal'.

She was in contact with the "Itasca", but radio transcripts show her confusion over several points. This could easily have been caused by hypoxia. Then the gas ran out.

Makes sense to me. It's a lot of fun to entertain conspiracy theories--trust me on that one!!!--but in the case of Earhart I think she just ran out of gas. She might not have been off course, but she ran into strong headwinds. She might even have made it to some island, and there the trail stops cold. She was ahead of her time and died young so she is forever young and immortal.

[Kerberos]

Ack. Amelia was nothing but a living publicity stunt who got herself killed being stupid.

Look up Jackie Cochran. Now THERE was an aviatrix! And she looked better, too.

[jim48]

Ack. Amelia was nothing but a living publicity stunt who got herself killed being stupid.

Look up Jackie Cochran. Now THERE was an aviatrix! And she looked better, too.

I read a biography of Cochran a couple of years ago. She was a pistol, to be sure!

[drwayne]

My only reading about her was some references in one of Yeager's books, which were not totally
favorable....

Wayne

[jim48]

My only reading about her was some references in one of Yeager's books, which were not totally
favorable....

Wayne

I assume you're talking about Cochran, not Earhart.

[drwayne]

My only reading about her was some references in one of Yeager's books, which were not totally
favorable....

Wayne

I assume you're talking about Cochran, not Earhart.

Yes, I was. I apologize for the "*I* knew what I meant" moment.

Wayne

[greddytalon]

I also believe that she ran out of gas...but, I do think that she survived for a few days. There was a girl that heard her transmitting on the radio on the other side of the Pacific IIRC, I do believe that that was her; but as to what happened after that? Who knows...personally, I don't think that she was captured. The Japanese may have found some of her belongings, but I think that's about it.
I've always admired her courage though.

[jim48]

I'm bumping this one up for more discussion now that there is a movie out about Earhart with Richard Gere and What's-Her-Name.

[newsartist]

"She's dead, Jim."

[steve82]

I'm bumping this one up for more discussion now that there is a movie out about Earhart with Richard Gere and What's-Her-Name.

I finally saw the movie today and I thought it was better than the reviews led me to believe it would be. Yes, the accents were bogus-no Kansas lady I ever knew talked like that-and the dialogue was a little monotonous and the Vidal affair was distracting. But if you are a plane enthusiast, the airplane scenes were all good, I really liked the Fokker Trimotor. And Hillary Swank is still my favorite girl rocket pilot.

[ZenGalacticore]

She was definitely a pioneer for aviation and for women. She had set a record for time of a trans-Atlantic flight shortly before her doomed flight around the world.

Many of her contemporaries thought she was great pilot, and many others also thought she was a crummy pilot. (She flew across the Atlantic with two men, a navigator and co-pilot, IIRC). Lindbergh flew solo, also IIRC.

She got lost over the vast Pacific between New Guinea and Howland Island, ran out of fuel, and crashed into the ocean. No trace of her plane was found because most of it sank. By the time search and rescue ops were deployed, anything that floated had dispersed and floated away.

Or, maybe the Japanese forced her to land and murdered her because she saw them building illegal military bases on Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, but that's a weak argument. At the time, most Americans had never even heard of Guam, and wouldn't have cared. In 1937, Americans were in a very strong isolationist mood.

Maybe she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, survived on some atoll for a while, but there isn't much fresh water to be found on atolls.

[jim48]

I'm bumping this one up for more discussion now that there is a movie out about Earhart with Richard Gere and What's-Her-Name.

I finally saw the movie today and I thought it was better than the reviews led me to believe it would be. Yes, the accents were bogus-no Kansas lady I ever knew talked like that-and the dialogue was a little monotonous and the Vidal affair was distracting. But if you are a plane enthusiast, the airplane scenes were all good, I really liked the Fokker Trimotor. And Hillary Swank is still my favorite girl rocket pilot.

Nice to hear from someone who has seen the movie. As I write this on Tuesday, November 10th, the movie seems to be doing nothing at the box office. Thanks to modern day CGI they can do anything visually, including re-creating aircraft of long ago. I've never bought into Earhart conspiracy theories. She encountered head winds, burned up fuel too fast, got slightly off course then crashed. May or may not have survived the crash. The end, IMO. Mixed reviews on her piloting skills as she did crack up a few planes in her time but considering how close she was to completing her last flight I would give her kudos for that time and that technology.

[ZenGalacticore]

Jim- Hey Jim. Yeah, I'll need to go back and look at the books. (The ole memory-retrieval ain't what it used to be .) Can't remember all those Pacific islands.

Speaking of the Pacific Ocean, I lean towards your view that there is no mystery or conspiracy surrounding the disappearance of our American pilot/cool/chick Amelia Earhart. Folks need to consider the incredible vastness of the Pacific Ocean, regardless of the fact that parts of that Great Ocean is peppered with islands.

30 Continental United States' would fit into the Pacific Ocean.