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Author Topic: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland  (Read 416173 times)

Ric Gillespie

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #345 on: March 07, 2012, 06:43:35 AM »

They might have had a water-proof canvas tarp, perhaps engine covers.

See the Luke Field inventory, Item 84.
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Erik

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #346 on: March 07, 2012, 07:37:37 AM »

Thanks for the info on the digging a hole in soil to obtain a basic solar-powered water still.  It's kinda funny, my earlier 'backyard' comment was a figure of speech not intended to literally mean digging in the backyard, but rather to imply building a crude mechanical unit in one's 'backyard'.  I have to admit, both concepts are intriguing.

Changing subjects a bit...

I just found this article after a some searching around.  This article is referring to a crew of four airmen in 1925, that went down at sea.  By the seventh day, the crew used a 'water still'.  This was in 1925!  So some type of 'still' must have been available by '37.

The Evening Independent - Jul 3, 1937
John S. Rodgers and his four navy fliers were rescued by a cruising submarine after drifting for nine days, most of the time without food or water, on a flight to Honolulu in 1925.  They managed to get a portable water still working and on their seventh day afloat had a half canteen full.
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Erik

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #347 on: March 07, 2012, 08:11:26 AM »

And as to a "breath condensing machine" I pointed out before that the laws of physics doesn't allow such a device. And if the news reports got this wrong why do you think they got anything else in those stories right?

I would have to say for the most part, news reports tend to fairly accurate.  In the cases where they are wrong, it is usually a case where they got the main concept correct, but didn't elaborate on specifics.  Very rarely do we find a news report being completely wrong or embellished.  It happens but, for the most part, newspapers have a tendency to be correct.

If I were an underwriting agent dealing with actuarial tables, or a bookie betting on the newspapers, I would pick 'correctness' over 'incorrectness' any day.

They key here is to compare various sources and come up with a likliehood of the facts being reported.  In the end, you are correct, every story (to a certain degree) might not be right.
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Chris Johnson

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #348 on: March 07, 2012, 09:17:05 AM »

Ughhh!!!!!

From Wikipedia

"Where no water sources are readily available, shredded vegetation , wet soil/sand, urine or covered feces, can be used inside the pit."
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Chris Johnson

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #349 on: March 07, 2012, 09:24:55 AM »

Doh!

If AE/FN fashioned a solar still on Niku they could just add seawater to the pit to get fresh water.  Though of course the nature of a coral island is that water perculates down until it reaches the water lens.  However some water must be trapped near the surface in the sub soil for some of the flora to grow.

Just an out of the box thought as you guys argue the history of portable solar stills and breath converting machines.
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Harry Howe, Jr.

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #350 on: March 07, 2012, 10:15:13 AM »


John O
In my "Waxed Paper" item, I wasn't suggesting that AE/FN had some on their plane, just that the hole in the ground technique was known at lleast in the '40s and plastic wasn't needed for the technique.
As I recall my ScoutMaster's demo, he had a roll of the waxed paper and a roll of what we then called "cellophane tape" (now morphed into "Scotch" tape).  He cut a square of the paper and 4 equilatoral triangles.  He folded  the square on the diagonals and attached the triangles to each edge of the square making a sort of hasty inverted pyramid.  In the "hole" he placed a canteen cup, then the inverted paper and weighted the edges down on the surface with rocks.  Crude?, yes but it collected a cup of drinkable water while we were out on our day hike.  What was even more impressive was when he had us make a  frame out of  branches and elevated it on wood "legs" over a grassy area to collect the morning dew on the waxed paper "collector" and into a pot.

A lot of work, but it worked.  What I learned hen, but prolly didn't realize it cuz I was only about 12 years old,  was to use what is available and use your brain and you have a good chance of surviving.
ood "legs"As I said, Nothing new under the Sun.
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Harry Howe, Jr.

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #351 on: March 07, 2012, 10:45:39 AM »


John O
Tarp?
Yep, a big one, humungus and heavy and bulky but made a great "Dining Fly" on an island campsite in a lake in Northern Manitoba on wilderness fishing trips.  Also a great gathering place for that evening "story telling" session while enjoying the closing of the day with coffee and/or one's favorite libation.

Amazing what one can get in/on a float plane like a DeHaviland Beaver and/or  Otter.
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #352 on: March 07, 2012, 07:24:27 PM »

Thanks for the info on the digging a hole in soil to obtain a basic solar-powered water still.  It's kinda funny, my earlier 'backyard' comment was a figure of speech not intended to literally mean digging in the backyard, but rather to imply building a crude mechanical unit in one's 'backyard'.  I have to admit, both concepts are intriguing.

Changing subjects a bit...

I just found this article after a some searching around.  This article is referring to a crew of four airmen in 1925, that went down at sea.  By the seventh day, the crew used a 'water still'.  This was in 1925!  So some type of 'still' must have been available by '37.

The Evening Independent - Jul 3, 1937
John S. Rodgers and his four navy fliers were rescued by a cruising submarine after drifting for nine days, most of the time without food or water, on a flight to Honolulu in 1925.  They managed to get a portable water still working and on their seventh day afloat had a half canteen full.

Except no plastic or wax paper was involved, it was not a solar still. Rogers and his crew improvised by burning wood torn from the airplane to boil seawater and condense fresh water. The crew was not in a life raft but in their seaplane that they landed at sea after they ran out of gas. The plane remained afloat for ten days while they made a sail from fabric torn off the plane and the crew sailed it 400 miles to Kauai. They used the water they had on board and they collected some rain water. On the seventh day they distilled seawater by burning wood for five hours and collected half a canteen full off fresh water.

(BTW, maybe it should be "potable" not "portable." )

gl
« Last Edit: March 08, 2012, 01:12:44 AM by Gary LaPook »
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Erik

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #353 on: March 08, 2012, 05:30:48 AM »

(BTW, maybe it should be "potable" not "portable." )
gl

No.  It's "portable".

Let's continue the water machine discussion over here on the Deserted Island, Castaways, Survival
thread.  Then we'll come back here to finish the parachute discussion.

Hurry, before Marty chops this thread in half with a meat cleaver.

« Last Edit: March 08, 2012, 05:33:03 AM by Erik »
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Gary LaPook

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #354 on: March 08, 2012, 11:57:11 PM »

Now that's interesting Gary.  A photo with the pilots wheel removed and stacked on a pile of parachutes. Were they coming off the plane or going on?  could go either way.
Shown in the picture are the control wheel which is listed in the Luke Field Inventory as item 64, and the tail wheel as item 26.

gl
« Last Edit: March 09, 2012, 01:47:53 AM by Gary LaPook »
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Erik

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #355 on: March 09, 2012, 08:02:31 AM »

Does anybody know the where to find an clean copy of this picture?  Without the white annotation boxes.




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C.W. Herndon

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #356 on: March 09, 2012, 01:15:03 PM »

Eric, this picture is part of the Purdue University earhart earchives collection. Here is the lower part of the picture. If you want to see it all it is #389 of the collection.  http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/
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« Last Edit: March 09, 2012, 01:35:29 PM by Clarence W. Herndon »
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richie conroy

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #357 on: March 09, 2012, 03:56:37 PM »

i have often wondered what the arrow feature, by seven site was,

first i thought it was a marker to search planes, then i wondered if it was a sea water filter, as i have read if u were stranded on a island if u built a feature similar to a waterfall with rocks, an poured sea water down it by time it reaches, beaker, bottle, cup, etc it would be drinkable

anyway after rotateing image is it possible it cud be a cover i.e tent useing a parachute ?

 
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richie conroy

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #358 on: March 09, 2012, 04:09:38 PM »

came across this an wondered if earhart being a nurse earlier in life wud have been taught or read about sea survival as a castaway http://www.caske2000.org/survival/survivesea.htm#Drinking sea water
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Heath Smith

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Re: Did Earhart carry parachutes on the flight to Howland
« Reply #359 on: March 11, 2012, 06:19:06 AM »


According to this documentary posted on youtube, they left both the parachutes and raft in Miami.

See: Amelia Earhart: The Price of Courage at about 43:50 in to the video.

It is an interesting documentary if you have not yet seen it.

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