Lockheed Electra 10E Special - NR16020

"The airplane, a Lockheed No. NR 16020, was really fascinating. It was obviously engineered and equipped for very long non-stop flights. The fuselage was solid gasoline tanks, two rows of them, from bulkhead to bulkhead, with just enough room between the tops of the tanks and the overhead for a person to be able to crawl from the stern to the cockpit on their tummy. Located in the stern, just opposite the main entrance door was a small table for the navigator's use. The radio transmitter was installed above this table. Jammed in what space they could find was a toilet." Joe Gurr to Fred Goerner, 3 May 1982.

"Gurr's recollections do not correspond exactly to what is known about the aircraft: there was just one row of tanks, the transmitter was below the table, and the toilet was in a standard location." Ric Gillespie, 2 March 2009 Forum.

Lockheed Electra 10E Special at Burbank, California on May 21, 1937 just prior to the departure of the second world flight attempt. Noonan can be seen beside the open trunk of his Terraplane roadster. His wife, Mary Bea, stands near the front of the car. Amelia is talking with someone near the cabin door of the airplane.

Gallery

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Related articles

• Radio equipment on NR16020.
• "The Earhart Electra, part I: A Star is Born," 31 May 1995 TIGHAR Tracks.
• "The Earhart Electra, part II: Around the World," 9 November 1995 TIGHAR Tracks.
• Lockheed Martin archive