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Author Topic: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland  (Read 416283 times)

C.W. Herndon

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #195 on: February 20, 2012, 02:50:56 PM »

Geez. Maybe she gave it him because the fourth of July was coming up and she heard they had no fireworks.  I can make anything up if you want me to.

What is a facility book?  It sounds official. She could autograph that and he would have a great souvenir.  Less dangerous. More valuable.

Irv, this is just an educated guess based on what I had to have as a pilot and things I have found on line. It probably was a book containing loose leaf copies of information about the airports to which they were going. I can see no reason to keep those for places they had already been. Probably left maps they no longer needed also.

I have attached a copy of the information for two of the places they had already landed. Hope this might help.
Woody (former 3316R)
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Ted G Campbell

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #196 on: February 20, 2012, 06:06:58 PM »

That is just what I was thinking!
Ted Campbell
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #197 on: February 20, 2012, 06:27:52 PM »

Geez. Maybe she gave it him because the fourth of July was coming up and she heard they had no fireworks.  I can make anything up if you want me to.

What is a facility book?  It sounds official. She could autograph that and he would have a great souvenir.  Less dangerous. More valuable.
It may be hard for people today to understand that in the past is was quite common for people to carry pistols for protection which is why there were so many "pocket" pistols made by every manufacturer. They also made "muff" pistols for ladies to carry in their muffs. Senators also carried pistols onto the floor of the Senate so don't turn your nose up at the idea of Earhart carrying a pistol for protection at all the stops while going around the world.

gl
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C.W. Herndon

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #198 on: February 20, 2012, 07:08:08 PM »

I don't know if AE carried a pistol with her for protection or what kind it might have been if she did but here is a picture of her shooting one. I'm sure it would look huge if you were looking at the wrong end of it.
Woody (former 3316R)
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #199 on: February 20, 2012, 09:52:27 PM »

Geez. Maybe she gave it him because the fourth of July was coming up and she heard they had no fireworks.  I can make anything up if you want me to.

What is a facility book?  It sounds official. She could autograph that and he would have a great souvenir.  Less dangerous. More valuable.
It may be hard for people today to understand that in the past is was quite common for people to carry pistols for protection which is why there were so many "pocket" pistols made by every manufacturer. They also made "muff" pistols for ladies to carry in their muffs. Senators also carried pistols onto the floor of the Senate so don't turn your nose up at the idea of Earhart carrying a pistol for protection at all the stops while going around the world.

gl

I'm not turning my nose up Gary. In fact I think carrying protection was appropriate. What I don't get is why she would give up something like her pistol. Probably something she was very comfortable with. Not just a pistol but her pistol.

Clarence, thanks for the info. Now I understand. The facility book of her trip would be a great souvenir. Better than the gun as it could be autographed.  I still wonder why she would give anything away or dump gear at Lae.  If she completed the trip, as intended, anything she carried on the trip would be a valuable momento. 
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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C.W. Herndon

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #200 on: February 20, 2012, 10:13:03 PM »

Very true. It's a shame she didn't make it all the way so she could capitalize on her fame.
Woody (former 3316R)
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #201 on: February 20, 2012, 10:33:58 PM »

I agree Clarence. Would she have retired or become the first female fighter pilot of WWII?
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #202 on: February 20, 2012, 11:42:32 PM »


Clarence, thanks for the info. Now I understand. The facility book of her trip would be a great souvenir. Better than the gun as it could be autographed.  I still wonder why she would give anything away or dump gear at Lae.  If she completed the trip, as intended, anything she carried on the trip would be a valuable momento.

If you don't believe Balfour about the automatic pistol then is doesn't make any sense to believe him about the "facility book" or the other papers he said that she left behind.

Where did the idea come from that she left behind her life raft and other emergency equipment, like parachutes. All Balfour says she left behind were "all messages received from her were forwarded to her husband together with some private papers she left with me at the radio station, she also gave me her automatic pistol and ammunition and some radio facility books, but these I do not have now they became lost in the war." Nothing about parachutes, life rafts or very pistol. There is no mention of anything being left behind by either Collopy on Chater. Amelia wrote, "Fred and I have worked very hard in the last two days repacking the plane and eliminating everything nonessential. We have even discarded as much personal property as we can decently get along without and henceforth propose to travel lighter than ever before." Did Earhart consider her life raft, very pistol and parachutes "nonessential" prior to launching on an over ocean flight to a small island, with two additional oceanic legs after that one about 6,500 SM in all? That wouldn't make any sense to me. In fact I always did the exact opposite, I didn't carry a life raft flying over the U.S. but loaded one aboard before flying out over the ocean. This IS common practice.
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Harry Howe, Jr.

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #203 on: February 21, 2012, 11:17:53 AM »


Re: Papers left at Lae
erhaps she was concerned about them falling into non-friendly hands if she went down while flying over the Mandated Island Territory belonging to an ever increasingly belligerent empire?
No Worries Mates
LTM   Harry (TIGHAR #3244R)
 
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Erik

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #204 on: February 21, 2012, 11:44:14 AM »

Where did the idea come from that she left behind her life raft and other emergency equipment, like parachutes.

This article suggests she left some of the emergency equipment behind.  If the plane's fuel tanks were designed to intentinonally dump/seal fuel in emergency, it wouldn't be far-fetched that she may have left behind the life raft too.  Parachutes too - maybe?

Los Angeles Times | 9 July 1937
Mantz Continues to Hope for Safety of Aviatrix
Mantz, who personally supervised much of the technical preparations for the flyer's second attempt to gird the globe by air, disclosed for the first time that the expedition carried no water condenser.  "It ws left behind," he said.  "I learned yesterday that 'A.E.' deposited both the machine that manufactures water out of human breath and her hand-crank generator for the radio somewhere along her route from Miami to New Guinea.
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C.W. Herndon

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #205 on: February 21, 2012, 01:34:26 PM »

I agree Clarence. Would she have retired or become the first female fighter pilot of WWII?

Irv, I doubt she would have retired, flying is one of those things that gets into your blood. Since we didn't have any female fighter pilots in WWII I don't see her doing that. We did, however, have a fairly large group of female pilots that ferried all types of wartime aircraft from the factories to locations were they could be used either in training or in the actual war effort. I could see her possibly doing that. I could see her wanting to try out those newer, faster more exotic planes.
Woody (former 3316R)
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Irvine John Donald

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #206 on: February 21, 2012, 03:10:21 PM »

Thanks Clarence.  I threw my idea of a WWII fighter pilot out there to see what people might think.  I believe that, if she survived, she would have made a huge impact on women in aviation.  I believe she had reached far into the White House once already and would have tried again to get the military to open up the fighter ranks.  I believe she would have fought hard to win the chance to get women pilots into the battle.  As you point out Ferry Command used very skillful women pilots.  AE may have been able to convince the powers of the day that women could do it.  After all we have women combat pilots now.  It is only public opinion that held this back for many years, not the skillset.
Respectfully Submitted;

Irv
 
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #207 on: February 21, 2012, 03:30:27 PM »

I agree with your logic on over water gear, Gary - it seems like what a reasonable crew would do. 

Can you provide a link to AE's written message above?  Somehow I've missed that before.

Thanks.

LTM -
Sure, it on page 6 of the last message she sent to the Herald Tribune and was published in her book as the second part of the last chapter and is available at Purdue.

gl
« Last Edit: February 21, 2012, 06:02:14 PM by Gary LaPook »
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #208 on: February 21, 2012, 03:35:52 PM »


Re: Papers left at Lae
erhaps she was concerned about them falling into non-friendly hands if she went down while flying over the Mandated Island Territory belonging to an ever increasingly belligerent empire?
Check these links which should disabuse you of those thoughts. Link 1 and link 2.




gl
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #209 on: February 21, 2012, 03:38:16 PM »

I agree Clarence. Would she have retired or become the first female fighter pilot of WWII?

Irv, I doubt she would have retired, flying is one of those things that gets into your blood. Since we didn't have any female fighter pilots in WWII I don't see her doing that. We did, however, have a fairly large group of female pilots that ferried all types of wartime aircraft from the factories to locations were they could be used either in training or in the actual war effort. I could see her possibly doing that. I could see her wanting to try out those newer, faster more exotic planes.
That's what Earhart's friend/competitor/bitter rival Jackie Cochran did, she set up the WASPs.

gl
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