Just got my TIGHAR Tracks today (hardcopy!), and enjoyed the two chapters.
The story you describe regarding aerial navigation faux pas with Manning finally puts the whole story together and coherent for the first time. Similarly, the notes about Mantz and taking off the two-engine tail-dragger now makes the Luke Field crash understandable.
Thanks Randy. Earhart biographers (Lovell, Rich, Butler) had most of the dots but, perhaps because they are not pilots, never really connected them. I have the advantage of having sat there with my hands full of overloaded twin-engined tail-dragger. That accident was entirely predictable and, given Earhart's "bullheadedness," almost inevitable - and Mantz knew it.
What's still unexplained is how improper grease got into one of the propeller hubs but not the other...very strange.
I need to fix that. Both hubs had the improper grease and the left side was also damaged, but not as badly as the right. From
Lt. Arnold's report:
"We then overhauled the left hand propeller and found that slight galling had occurred. Both propellers were cleaned and lubricated with Mobile No. 2 lubricant which is Air Corps Specification for summer use."
So who screwed up? The guy responsible for servicing the airplane prior to both flights was Bo McKneeley.
I thought I had captured most of the correspondence regarding the pre-flight preparations during my many visits to the National Archives and other sources, but somehow you've scavenged even more sources!
The "big find" were Doris Rich's papers at the NASM Archives. They're a real treasure trove of correspondence and notes but not available online and only accessible by personal visit. I spent an entire day there. Their photcopier was busted so I took photos of each document with my iPhone. Example below.