The Road to Niku VIII

[Dan Swift]

No Ric...you are right.  No one would want one, spend a lot of money on one, and it not be accurate and to scale. 

[Ric Gillespie]

P.S. - Ric, it could be worse, they could try to peddle that Godawful 10-E that's in the National Air and Space Museum ...

Of course, the BEST model of NR16020 is Bill Harney's magnificent work derived from the meticulous drawings he later donated to TIGHAR.  The Harney model is now on exhibit at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome museum in upstate New York. I'll be giving a talk, answering questions, and signing books at the museum on Saturday, June 29.  Weather permitting, there will be the usual demonstration of vintage aircraft in the afternoon. If you've never heard the buzz-blip-blip-buzz and smelled the burnt castor oil of a rotary engine on a Nieuport, Sopwith, or Fokker your Bucket List is incomplete.

[Charlie Chisholm]

Williams Brothers makes an odd-scale (1/53) Electra that includes decals to render it as Amelia and Fred's 10-E. Other than being an odd scale, it builds into a reasonable facsimile of our favorite Electra - http://www.williamsbrothersmodelproducts.com/planes.html .

They don't have an actual picture of the built model, and apparently no way to contact them.

I wonder if it has the correct engine size on them - website says "The Lost Electra" but to be accurate it has to have the right engine size.

Price is right - I would buy one instantly if they only had a picture...

[Ric Gillespie]

I wonder if it has the correct engine size on them - website says "The Lost Electra" but to be accurate it has to have the right engine size.

The kit is no longer in production.  We auctioned a Williams kit at the symposium last year.  As I recall it was basically a 10A - wrong engines.

[Charlie Chisholm]

The kit is no longer in production.  We auctioned a Williams kit at the symposium last year.  As I recall it was basically a 10A - wrong engines.

The website says "Back in Stock", I wonder if that's an old reference.

It's almost better if the one they offer to the general public (through dealers) has the wrong engines. That way, you could contract with Williams for the version with the correct engines, as well as doors, windows, markings, vents, antennas, etc. and Tighar would be the only place to get them. Tighar pays like 40 bucks each and sells them as part of a donation for like $150 - good for fundraising...

[Ric Gillespie]

The website says "Back in Stock", I wonder if that's an old reference.

Dunno.  Maybe all the TIGHAR publicity prompted them to fire up production. 
I would expect that tooling up to produce a model with the correct engine size, etc. would be almost a start-from-scratch project.

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Not really an off the shelf kit but, this RC Electra is really a pretty good job. Link takes you to the model construction gallery, very impressive, lots of pics'



http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/thumbgallery.php?t=1829939&do=threadgallery&type=img&group=none&starter=no

[Bruce Thomas]

Not really an off the shelf kit but, this RC Electra is really a pretty good job. Link takes you to the model construction gallery, very impressive, lots of pics'

There's a YouTube video from several years ago showing this particular RC Electra flying.

[Dale O. Beethe]

Beautiful work, but obviously not a very accurate model as far as performance;  It didn't ground loop and it didn't get lost!  (I know, I probably shouldn't have gone there.  If it's too inappropriate, go ahead and remove this post.)

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Thanks for that link Bruce. A very capable model of the Electra indeed, flown very well. Halfway through the display I was praying he would get it down in one piece, wouldn't like to see a great RC model like that trashed.

[Brad Beeching]

42Extraneous exchanges / Could become Valuable
« on: May 13, 2012, 10:39:13 AM »
I didn't search to see if anyone else posted something like this, but this could become pretty valuable should TIGHAR find the Electra at Niku.

Amelia's Electra

Brad

The model is still available.. I have one in my collection of kits

Brad

[Oskar Erich Heinrich Haberlandt]

Hi!
Maybe I'm naive, but there's a thing I don't understand. AE is not just a lost pilot. AE is an AMERCAN HERO and an icon of feminism. In the USA many rich people are living. (Not ALL are rich, of course!) Why cannot some really wealthy  people be found, who say: "Yes, we want to know where the Hero was lost and we've got enough money to donate?" Such people should know their names will be  published and praised if Amelia is "found" and the mystery is solved.
USD 20.000.- isn't very much for many, many people (or organisations), and TIGHAR has to find only ca. 100 of them. (Or find 1000 to donate 2000.-, but this won't work!)
If you tell them: "We want to find the WHITE BIRD", I would say: No, nobody interested. But AMELIA EARHART is another case. And IF the mystery ist solved, a lot of money will be made (books, movies, games etc.), and maybe the investors can get their money back. Is there nobody out there who wants to be a shareholder?
OK, Mr. Melone is such a man, who donated a lot of money, and it his really cool what he did. It's a pity he feels cheated now.
Oskar Haberlandt
(maybe a dreamer...) ;)

[Christine Schulte]

I think that the terms of the Agreement with the Republic of Kiribati, if nothing else, speak against that.
But most of all, there are numerous and very tricky ethical issues. Essentially, it would imply making two people who possibly died lonely and under terrible circumstances into an object of commercial exploitation. That simply won't do.

[Ric Gillespie]

Oskar, I share your frustration that more people with the means to make large contributions have not (yet) stepped forward to help, but I need to correct one misimpression.

But AMELIA EARHART is another case. And IF the mystery ist solved, a lot of money will be made (books, movies, games etc.), and maybe the investors can get their money back. Is there nobody out there who wants to be a shareholder?

TIGHAR is a non-profit public charity.  Under the U.S. system, U.S. taxpayers can contribute money to charities and take a deduction on their taxes.  A public charity like TIGHAR cannot distribute profits.  There are no investors.  There are no shareholders.  The only thing TIGHAR can offer to contributors is a tax break (if you pay U.S. taxes) and the satisfaction of knowing that you're part of an epic saga of discovery.  That's important to some people - not so much to others - but that has always been true.  I think it's a good system.

OK, Mr. Melone is such a man, who donated a lot of money, and it his really cool what he did. It's a pity he feels cheated now.

Mr. Mellon participated in the system. One of the ways wealthy people make contributions to charities is to donate stock that has appreciated in value since they purchased it.  They get to take a tax deduction for the appreciated amount even though the stock originally cost them only a fraction of that amount.  If they had sold the stock instead of giving it to a charity they would have to pay taxes on the increased value.  So Mr. Mellon's contribution toward the 2012 expedition, generous as it certainly was, did not cost him nearly the amount that TIGHAR received by selling the stock.  Again, it's a good system that encourages wealthy people to contribute to charities.

Nobody cheated Mr. Mellon and we don't pretend to understand his motives for suing TIGHAR.

(maybe a dreamer...) ;)

The best of us are.

[Ric Gillespie]

I think that the terms of the Agreement with the Republic of Kiribati, if nothing else, speak against that.
But most of all, there are numerous and very tricky ethical issues. Essentially, it would imply making two people who possibly died lonely and under terrible circumstances into an object of commercial exploitation. That simply won't do.

I think you make an excellent point. Can you expand upon that thought?