Linda Finch

Linda Finch's Electra 10E in 2007

Linda Finch's Electra 10E on tarmac.

Grumman Albatross was Finch's emergency and spare parts plane that traveled with her on the flight around the world in 1997.

Finch flew a 1935 Lockheed Electra 10E, restored to the specifications of Earhart's Electra 10E plane.[13] She believed the flight should be of the same type plane as Earhart's for historical purposes.[14] She searched for three years to acquire the remaining parts from just one of only two such planes in existence, neither flight-worthy. She found it stored in a garage at a small grass strip airport near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. It had been sitting there for years. Various parts were missing and the wings and engines were taken off and sold.[15][lower-alpha 1] Besides being in pieces, the plane was rusted and corroded.[7] Finch spent a total of $330,000 (most of her savings) to purchase the hulk and haul it back to her hometown in Texas.[15][16]

Pratt & Whitney, the manufacturer of the Wasp radial engines that powered Amelia Earhart's Electra, donated one and a half million dollars to help Finch restore the airplane in March 1995.[7][12][16] Pratt & Whitney underwrote the cost of the $4 million flight[17] and the Hartford Courant newspaper was a sponsor.[1] The Electra plane was methodically and meticulously put back together with great attention to original specifications.[13] Pictures of Earhart's plane and original drawings and photographs from Lockheed helped with the restoration.[1] While reconstruction was not complete until 1997, the plane was able to fly in July 1996.[7]

Earhart's radio gear was antiquated, however Finch's Electra was designed with the latest state-of-the-art radio navigation.[13] Finch's aircraft was outfitted with weather radar.[18] She had a GPS receiver that used the Global Positioning System for world navigation and tracking her exact location.[19] The fuel tank was increased from 800 pounds to 1,800 pounds for island hopping across the oceans.[9][lower-alpha 2] The National Geographic Society supplied a video camera for the plane.[10][16] In addition to access to the internet, the plane was outfitted with a fax machine.[18]

Finch added modern equipment to aid in navigation and communication, but it was still a dangerous trip, flying a heavy plane built for short distances (800 miles (1,300 km)). She had to contend with the loud engine noise and heat from the engine of the vintage plane during flying time.[3] Another plane was outfitted with modern communication and navigational equipment to travel alongside Finch.[10][16] Her team for the flight included Pratt & Whitney employees, two navigators, and a staff dedicated to promotion of the flight.[20]

Map showing her route in red, at the Oakland Aviation Museum.

Display commemorating her flight, at the Oakland Aviation Museum, accompanying map.

Finch's recreated flight began from Oakland International Airport at Oakland, California March 17, 1997,[9] 60 years after Amelia Earhart's 1937 around-the-world flight attempt from the same airport.[12][16] Finch's flight plan was patterned after Amelia Earhart's route.[21] It involved stopping at 30 places in 20 countries.[22] The trip took 73 days and ended May 28 at the Oakland Airport.[12][13] The trip was 26,000-miles,[12] during which her cruising speed was just 90 miles per hour.[18][lower-alpha 3] She generally flew in increments of 8 to 12 hours at a time.[9] There were 225 total flying hours involved in the trip.[23] The Electra's cabin was not pressurized and it did not carry oxygen and, like Earhart, Finch flew below 10,000 feet (3,000 m) for most of the flight.[10][16]

Finch touched down on five continents, mirroring Earhart's route and its stops.[10] She flew a total of 224 hours, visiting 18 counties and making a total of 34 landings.[7] She flew an additional 1,000 miles to drop a single wreath over Howland Island from her aircraft to honor the pioneering aviator.[10] (Amelia Earhart disappeared on her way to Howland Island on July 2, 1937.[24]) Finch's last leg, the longest of the world flight, was made on May 28. It was an estimated 18-hour flight to cover 2,000 miles (3,200 km) between Hawaii and Oakland, California.[12][18][lower-alpha 4] At the time of the flight in 1997, Finch was 46 years old, seven years older than Earhart's age on her final flight.[3][10]

Finch hoped children around the world would understand Earhart's courage, hope and determination, and find heroes in their own lives - heroes that would teach them to also "reach for the sky".[11] She tied her flight adventure to the educational series You Can Soar.[10] The flight's purpose was to tell Amelia's message, "That you can have your dreams - and they should be big dreams".[10]

Finch's flight and education programs were supported by Pratt and Whitney.[10] Finch's team and Pratt & Whitney developed a comprehensive free multimedia curriculum which was sent to schools, targeting 5th through 8th-grade students. The curriculum taught geography, time zones, weather gauging, as well as Earhart's legacy. Picking up on the countries that she visited, the cultural studies portion of the program also taught poetry, language, and art.[12]

Finch stopped at many places throughout the United States and Europe to meet with groups of admiring school children.[10] The high-tech computer equipment in her aircraft communicated her daily progress to children via the Internet to nearly 200,000 classrooms worldwide.[10][16] The website was accessed approximately 30 million times in ​2 ¹⁄₂ months.[12] Finch used a laptop in the cockpit of the Electra to communicate details of her journey[12] and answer school children's email messages.[18]

The country is magnificent! The mountains are covered with jungle, and some of the small hills are covered with what looks like moss. It is very smooth, almost like a carpet in many shades of green.

— Linda Finch, a message about Papua New Guinea written on May 16, 1997 [12]

After finishing the historic flight, Finch said to the spectators and media gathered at Oakland International Airport:

Now that I'm home I can confidently say that Amelia Earhart's message is as alive and vibrant today as it was 60 years ago. We learned that the differences in the people we met are far less than the distance we traveled. We saw the same hopes and dreams in the faces of children around the world, eager to learn about their own power and possibilities. It's been a wonderful ride, filled with memories I will never forget for as long as I live. But the world truly is getting smaller and smarter. And my wish is that good work carries on. I also want every one of the children we touched to remember that you too can soar on the wings of your own dreams and how wonderful those dreams are. I will continue to spread that message to anyone who will listen.[10]

Finch appeared at numerous aviation-related events, schools, businesses, museums, and children programs, to continue to deliver her message and encourage others to tackle big dreams and make a big difference in our world. The Museum of Flight in Seattle has acquired the Electra.[25] She was honored by the Gathering of Eagles Foundation in 1999.[7]