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Author Topic: Adler, "Will the Search for Amelia Earhart Ever End?" (Smithsonian, Jan 2015)  (Read 38765 times)

Monty Fowler

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I am moved to recall that a regular forum poster recently remarked in here that, "The mind of a conspiracy theorist is an awesome thing to behold."

Best for TIGHAR if it does not embark down that muddy and dung-strewn path. We have enough on our plate right now with Niku VIII and 2-2-V-1, to bother expending any energy on what amounts to the annoyance of a few yap dogs, frantically trying to attach themselves to TIGHAR's ankles.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
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JNev

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For what it is worth -

Auger in on details like an argument over a single artifact and you've just sacrificed what is supposed to be the greater focus and mission of TIGHAR.

Take the broader view of the hypothesis, press it for the strengths you can demonstrate that it has - and yes, that you do lead expeditions 'out there' to learn all that can be learned - including by inclusion of interested enthusiasts, and don't apologize for that - and you may be onto something bigger and more defendable; maybe even not just 'defendable', but perhaps 'attractive'.

Also, as to the artifact temptation - again, point to 'process' - and do the process demonstrably 'right', and you also have something - whether a given artifact 'survives' or not.

Consider it: these things can leave you with two things that others may just find to be positives:

- A strong hypothesis as to where to go look for the airplane

- A strong internal process that fears nothing, even failing articles that we had hoped would point to bigger things

Maybe that is the bolder approach - and maybe it can yield something more like what TIGHAR has been envisioned to be in a shareable, perhaps even more infectious way. 

Quit worrying about who is calculating what or who nips at whose heels.  Just stand up for the big picture - and make it one you can be proud of and that others can truly want to sign on to.  That can be - and must be - bigger than any written article, or any artifact.

Do less and drown in the mire of these small things.  Sorry to be blunt, but what are friends for.
- Jeff Neville

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« Last Edit: December 24, 2014, 10:08:20 AM by Jeffrey Neville »
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Mark Appel

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Nodding my head in approval... The Smithsonian article is, as Ric said, a shallow piece--unfortunately written to an agenda. Here's one of the many things about TIGHAR they don't get (and don't want to): A high functioning research organization is self-correcting. When we're right, we're right and when we're wrong, we're wrong. It's all good because it's part of the process driven by objective, verifiable, evidence. Our horse is not hitched to any single artifact. Our horse is hitched to the process.

The Smithsonian's behavior is so disappointing; they besmirch their own brand and reputation with bias and ad hominem rhetoric. I'm sure that if the Smithsonian had enough rope, they would have tied the knot around our necks multiple times. As it is, the only way they hurt us is by leaving 99% of the TIGHAR story out. And we can fix that!

Merry Christmas to my fellow TIGHARs. It's a real joy and privilege to participate in even the small way I do. I believe 2015 will be a happy new year for the Amelia Earhart saga.
"Credibility is Everything"
 
« Last Edit: December 24, 2014, 01:04:38 PM by Mark Appel »
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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Just out of curiosity, who pays for the Smithsonian and the employees there?

Some facts about the Smithsonian from the Smithsonian news desk.

Quote
And what are the qualifications of the two so-called curators?

I don't know, and I'm not anxious enough about their credentials to look them up.   ;)
LTM,

           Marty
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Ric Gillespie

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And what are the qualifications of the two so-called curators?

From the NASM website:

Tom Crouch is senior curator, Aeronautics Department, National Air and Space Museum. A Smithsonian employee since 1974, he has served both the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History in a variety of curatorial and administrative posts. Prior to coming to the Smithsonian he was employed by the Ohio Historical Society as director of education (1969-1973) and as director, Ohio American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Commission (1973-1974).

Dr. Crouch holds a BA (1962) from Ohio University, an MA (1968) from Miami University and a PhD (1976) from the Ohio State University. All of his degrees are in history.  In addition, he holds the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, conferred in June 2001 by the Wright State University.

********
Dorothy Cochrane curates the collections of general aviation aircraft; flight materiel (specifically personal, business, and utility production aircraft); aerial cameras; and the history of general aviation and women in aviation. She holds a BA in history from Ithaca College and a MEd from Lehigh University.
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Krystal McGinty-Carter

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"Some of the technical points are in dispute. Skeptics point out that the nominal flying time for the Electra on full tanks was 24 hours, not 20. But Earhart had faced head winds of 26.5 miles an hour, roughly twice as strong as forecast. Early in the flight a storm required a fuel-wasting climb to 10,000 feet. In 1999, an analysis by Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Center concluded that her tanks were almost certainly empty as she approached Howland. “She probably should have turned back to Lae at the halfway point,” says David Jourdan, the president of Nauticos, an undersea exploration company, which has sent two expeditions to look for the wreckage. “She knew she was going in,” Long says. “She couldn’t find the island and was running out of fuel. Her voice showed that.”

If I might ask a silly question. Is he implying that he knows what her voice sounded like? We have heard widely varying recounts of how she sounded on her final transmissions...everything from cool as a cucumber to near-hysterical.  Do they have some kind of secret recording that we dont know about? Im not trying to discredit anyone but its seems like there is some speculation being presented as fact.

Oh well, anything that keeps Earhart in the spotlight will ultimately draw people here.
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Martin X. Moleski, SJ

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If I might ask a silly question. Is he implying that he knows what her voice sounded like? We have heard widely varying recounts of how she sounded on her final transmissions...everything from cool as a cucumber to near-hysterical.  Do they have some kind of secret recording that we don't know about? I'm not trying to discredit anyone but its seems like there is some speculation being presented as fact.

There is no recording.

Earhart was advised en route to "pitch her voice higher":

Ric Gillespie, Finding Amelia, p. 74.   

On July 1, before having the plane fueled for the flight to Howland, Amelia made a short test flight to confirm that everything was working. She was, at last, able to establish two-way voice communication with the ground, transmitting to Lae on her daytime frequency of 6210 kilocycles and receiving Balfour’s reply on Lae’s frequency of 6522 kilocycles. Balfour’s assessment of the aircraft’s transmitter was that the 'carrier wave on 6210 kc was very rough and I advised Miss Earhart to pitch her voice higher to overcome distortion caused by rough carrier wave, otherwise transmitter seemed to be working satisfactorily.'


Nothing in the official logs indicates panic.

See the first post in the thread, "Did Earhart panic?" It has an excellent attachment at the end of it, a "Memorandum for Assistant Secretary Gibbons" by Admiral Waesche.
LTM,

           Marty
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Krystal McGinty-Carter

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Im aware that there isnt a recording.  ;) 
 
I was just curious why they are claiming to know how her voices sounded in her final transmissions. The line "She couldnt find the island and she was running out of fuel. He voice showed it." We have varying descriptions of how she "sounded."  Furthermore, how she sounded can be interpreted in many ways.  Someone could SPECULATE that her voice indicated someone who realized they were up you-know-what creek, but it seems imprudent to present it as a fact. Just my bystanders opinion.

Krystal "You forgot your paddle" McGinty
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Ric Gillespie

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The February issue of Smithsonian Magazine arrived yesterday. I was eager to see if they had published our response or, indeed, any of th scathing letters to the editor regarding their egregious January cover story. As you see, the only comment they chose to publish was from a male reader who asked, "Would we still be as fascinated with Amelia if she wasn't so gosh-danged pretty?"
In the words, do we still value women only for their appearance?
How do you think Amelia would have responded?
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Monty Fowler

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Of more interest to me is the lengthyyyyyyyy correction on the righthand side of the page regarding a different story - dates, locations, titles, all wrong. Whoopsie! But it does give you reason to wonder about their standards for accuracy.

LTM,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
Ex-TIGHAR member No. 2189 E C R SP, 1998-2016
 
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Ric Gillespie

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But it does give you reason to wonder about their standards for accuracy.

I don't have to wonder about their standards of accuracy.
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William G Torgerson

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Re: (Smithsonian, Jan 2015)
« Reply #26 on: March 05, 2015, 12:07:59 PM »

Gentlemen:

Remember .... the Wright Flyer sat over 20 years in the Science Museum in London (not being moved back to the USA until 1942 mostly due to German bombing as I remember)
due to a little dispute the Wrights had with the Smithsonian over who demonstrated power flight first.

Bill Torgerson
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Bruce Thomas

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The online Smithsonian site, carrying a March 2015 date, has a short item that contains Ric's response to them, about how TIGHAR is not a one-man show.
LTM,

Bruce
TIGHAR #3123R
 
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Monty Fowler

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Better than nothing, but only by the tiniest amount, akin to, "OK, we admit it, the sky really is blue. Except when it's not."

LTM, who will go back to his morning coffee now,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP
Ex-TIGHAR member No. 2189 E C R SP, 1998-2016
 
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