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Author Topic: Amelia mystery: Could this 1932 Essex-Terraplane been hers?  (Read 12886 times)

pilotart

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Amelia mystery: Could this 1932 Essex-Terraplane been hers?
« on: August 09, 2014, 12:26:54 PM »

This is from this past week's Hemmings Motor News' Daily Blog and contains a July 1932 PATHE Newsreel featuring Amelia christening the new automobile introduced by Hudson.

"...Earhart reportedly snapped the left wing :'( off the car’s flying-Phoenix hood ornament, but failed to break the bottle. ... At the ceremony, Earhart was given the keys to a 1932 Essex-Terraplane, and many believe it was the Special Sedan with the hood ornament that was damaged in the christening dry run. ..."

This was a plain brown (one of 2,000 Hudson built for this introduction-day event) four door 'low-priced' sedan and I know that Amelia served as a spokesperson celebrity for Terraplane.

I have seen a photo of her with a convertible model of the Terraplane, but her Cord Phaeton was a much more interesting automobile.
Art Johnson
 
« Last Edit: August 09, 2014, 12:49:14 PM by pilotart »
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John Ousterhout

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Re: Amelia mystery: Could this 1932 Essex-Terraplane been hers?
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2014, 11:24:16 PM »

A friend (interested in TIGHAR) has an identical Cord in his barn (along with a bunch of other interesting stuff).  His question is: what was the serial number of "her" Cord?  There's no previous owner's registry, but it seems unlikely that Amelia's Cord could end up behind a barn in Eastern Washington.
(he also has over 100 Ford "A"s, and several Packard Diesel engines, along with some other old stuff).
Cheers,
JohnO
 
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pilotart

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Re: Amelia mystery: Could this 1932 Essex-Terraplane been hers?
« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2014, 12:16:51 PM »

According to Bill Hammond of the ACD Club "Ray Foster owns her Phaeton." At least in 2005.

And from  wiki.answers What kind of car did Amelia Earhart own or drive?
Quote
By the way she was briefly employed as a truck driver so her knowledge of motors extended to ground level as well as aircraft engines. as far as personal cars, Amelia owned a Kissel kar- now in a museum in Denver area, and her last motor mount, a Cord model 8l0 , vintage l936, both Yellow by the way, this car still exists also and will be used as a prop in the upcoming (Amelia) film with Hillary Swank, What a car! The 8l0 differs from the better-known 8l2 in that it lacks outside exhaust pipes.

No mention of Terraplane.  From the movie note, this information is also several years old.

I do like yellow aircraft, cars and homes, easier to spot...
Art Johnson
 
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pilotart

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Re: Amelia mystery: Could this 1932 Essex-Terraplane been hers?
« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2014, 12:49:13 PM »

...behind a barn in Eastern Washington.
(he also has over 100 Ford "A"s, and several Packard Diesel engines, along with some other old stuff).
Looks like there will be an interesting auction in the future.

Are those Packard Aircraft Diesel's?  Prior to the recent activity from Diamond and Cessna, Packard was the only Aircraft Diesel Engine as far as I knew.

As a 16-17 year old, I used to sit at the feet of Clarence Chamberlain and listen to his stories.  He showed me a newsreel of his landing a Packard Radial Diesel powered Biplane on the George Washington Bridge as it was under construction.  He was Test Pilot for Packard and the Popular reason for their lack of success was weight and cost...  He told me that their stink was overpowering, perhaps due to the open cockpit.

Would think that their range advantage would have made it for them, especially if they were mounted out on the wings (no smells) for something like an Electra.
Art Johnson
 
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John Ousterhout

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Re: Amelia mystery: Could this 1932 Essex-Terraplane been hers?
« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2014, 04:39:47 PM »

Correct - Packard radial aircraft engines - smelly, noisey, but very fuel efficient.  Also not related to Amelia in any way that I know of, so sorry for thread drift.  They were introduced just in time for the depression.  He's also got some Guiberson diesel radials, developed and improved from the Packard, originally designed for aircraft, but mostly used in tanks in WWII.
Cheers,
JohnO
 
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