Warbird Information Exchange

Does anyone know just how much flying experience she really had? Noonan was one of the most qualified navigators in the world at the time - an ideal choice for the job - but AE aparently maybe was a little over her head on this one. For my money it's a big ocean, it was a little island, her last transmissions to the Itasca were pretty strong... That airplane is on the bottom somewhere in VERY deep water. It'll take somebody like Dr Ballard to find it if it even exists anymore in any condition.

Whatever became of his plans to search for her with a rebuilt PBY?

Dan

Actually ZRX61, I was referring to the claim that the aircraft was on a reef at the island, so I would assume some steel parts survived in the water, and seperately that other lighter parts may have washed up on the beach as the wreck eventually broke up over time, ie wheels/tires etc.

But you are right, if the a/c came down in the open sea, little could be expected to make it anywhere.

I am surprised that the ship wreckage is uesd to justify not exploring for any identifyable aircraft parts, surely identifiable airframe component is going to be better pointer to the confirmed identity than suposition on who was wearing brands of clothes that might have a zipper? in the middle of the Pacific.

One of the problems in science is when someone stops being impartial and starts unconciously reading their test results to meet their prediction / hypothesis, I am concerned the ongoing focus on this one scenario with such circumstantial evidence is suffering the same problem.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

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20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
"from Wrights to Armstrong in 66 years -WOW!"

My one and only encounter with Mr Gillespie was when he and his wife made their first public outing (Sun and Fun) in the mid eighties. At the time I had a P-51 project and was recovering P-40, P-51, and other parts from eastern U.S. crashes and scrap yards. Myself and a like minded friend exited the TIGHAR tent in utter confusion as to how they could expect the public to just send them money to support a misguided non profit organization with him in charge. Well, I guess I was COMPLETELY WRONG!

I do not see one single verifiable physical contribution to the preservation of aviation history since then. However I am not the judge of this matter.

I hope this is not viewed as an attack, but only my observation.

Pirate Lex
http://www.BrewsterCorsair.com

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An ego is no match for gravity.

gillespie's goals are noble, but his grandstanding with any scrap of crap is questionable to his credibility. he's beat the horse relentlessly. he needs to re-evaluate how he projects tighar's goals to the public. bad media presentation has made him look like elmer gantry in more than 1 instance. remember chicken little??.... if he cleaned up his act as to his publicity & public relations he could probably find a versatile source that would be allied to his goal with dr. ballard from woods hole institute. a smart guy keeps his mouth shut until tangible results are rendered.

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tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

Aloha Inspector,
I catagorically deny that it was a "crystal" punchbowl, it was actually silver and was used to hold the ice to cool down the wine bottle that AE brought with her. lol
Cheers,
David

Usually, when I speak without thinking things through I get into trouble, but here goes.... Somebody help me understand.... They found a zipper pull, from the same island that the shipwreck was??? What year did the ship run aground on the island? Were their women on this ship? Could a female passenger have lost a zipper pull during that time? I remember from a documentary a while back when they found the grave of a small infant child on one of those islands. They claimed the AE was pregnant at the time of her flight.

Excellent point about the zipper thingee and the shipwreck. I suppose the shoe could also be from the shipwreck. I wonder if anyone attempted any salvage on the shipwreck between 1929 and 1937 that might also account for some of the stuff they have found.
I think some piece of the a/c that can be positively identified is the only way to solve this one. Maybe the money might be better spent searching the ocean bottom around the area for that.
Or go to Fiji and look for the sextant box Sooner or later it will turn up on ebay.

Metal detectors? More gadgets..more specialists sucking up resources? Can't these
guys EVER come up with a simple solution? A scuba dive to 90 feet is not that big of a deal.
Various mixed gas certifications are common to sport diving these days if they want
to get fancy with it!

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

It is all very clear to me now.
We must salvage that ship for in it we'll find a small sliver of wood from the white bird

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Don't touch my junk!!

"Get your snake oil here, solves all mysteries, defines all undefineables, and cures the vapors, crapula, and swamp miasma!"

Sounds like a load of BS. Sometimes you want to believe something so much that it becomes true. And if you have a mouthpiece to the public, and no competitors with real credentials, you get a free audience. History is so boring to most people that the only thing that grabs attention are sensational statements. People want to believe that the fantastic displaces the commonplace. Claims like this reach so deeply into the dreams and fears of people that they are readily accepted without much real scrutiny. Senator Joseph McCarthy knew this, and his whole showboating ride was based on premises that were generic enough to almost be irrefutable, i.e. "There are communists among us" turned into "There are communists in key positions that will undermine our way of life." The premise of these guys is, "Amelia Earheart's remains are somewhere." And they go on to eloquently describe where they "might be." Eventually "might be" turns into "are."

My follow-on question is- Are there any serious Amelia E. scholars out there? Or are we fated to have to listen to these Indiana Jones wannabees for the remainder of their lives?

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

Sounds a lot like the 'scientist' who found the tooth in Nebraska , claimed it was the "missing link". Then conjured up a fantastic image of "pre-man"
and his life. But it turned out to be a pig's tooth. Just somebody desparate to keep a dead theory alive, in order to drum up public support and $$$$$.

Hahaha, Indiana Jones! He would have found her by now.