Geetings all, my name is Dave Potratz.
I am delighted to become a new member at this poignant time. I must admit I've been fervently following the astonishing Earhart saga via TIGHAR for more than a year-and-a-half now. This was my first feasible opportunity to “pony up” (props to Monty Fowler for the timely nudge. Who’s next?), at least in a modest way.
Marty & Ric encourage members to thoughtfully express themselves, so I'm gonna, with appreciation.
By profession I am an Announcer/Network Operator for Wisconsin Public Radio. I also work sometimes as a Videographer and a Sound Guy.
Though I've not the credentials of the many notable members of this august society, my personal, if tangentially relevant, experiences include 3-weeks ground support with the Astronomy Payload Science Team for Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-67. Also, I had the distinct privilege of producing a video documentary of a University of Wisconsin/NASA suborbital rocket launch with a telescope payload.
Alas, I am not a pilot. However, I am an avid PC Flight Simulator enthusiast. As such, I have “flown” a “virtual” Lockheed Electra, but not the 10E Special variant. Not a bad ship…virtually speaking. Hey, when you can’t fly the real thing, you do what you can.
Oh, I am also currently constructing a 1/53 scale model of the Lost Electra...paying special attention to the landing gear.
My enthusiasm for the TIGHAR Niku Hypothesis lies at the nexus of my lifelong interest in Aviation/Spaceflight, History, and a dash of Archaeology, all of which for me embody the best of the human spirit: the pursuit and revelation of the (previously) unknown. I can think of no better example than the TIGHAR Earhart Project. If there is an organization that is now closer to the apex of this noble search, then I am unaware.
I'll add another of my personal interests to the above: the attempt to understand what I accept as the universal maxim of the human need to explore, the will to push back boundaries, discover the “undiscovered country,” sometimes with untoward and tragic end. Again, the endeavor to “find Amelia” satisfies the reverence for, and the hypothetical testing of, that maxim. In the process, as we honor the life (and death) of an unequivocal aviation icon, we satisfy a basic human instinct: to know.
And if I may press this personal muse just a bit further, (and with homage to Robert Browning) I believe that the epic story of the Last Flight of Emilia Earhart is illustrative of Classic Tragedy, i.e., like Icarus, our tragic heroin was ultimately guilty of perhaps the ultimate human frailty: Her reach exceeded her grasp.
The exception is that,
unlike Icarus, I do not believe Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan fell into the sea and drowned.
I humbly supporting the search.
Thanks for the “air-time”.
LTM,
Dave
