Amelia Earhart Project in PNG
Brian Abraham:
Brian the first bit concerns the wire...rumour.
"Down to the Wire"..... Did your father happen to mention anything that would support a "rumour" that aerial wire was found on the strip after Earhart left. Knowledge of PNG is a good thing here and my money would say that a New Guinean employed to cut grass would find the aerial and take it to an operator in the hope of being rewarded.
That would cause a fleet check of all the aircraft at LAE...especially if there was an aerial mast hanging at the end...
We would have known about the aerial in 1937 not found out about it from America in the 1990's. That is my opinion and I'll stick with that until someone comes up with the evidence.
Radio Reception ..."nil"
As far as Radio Rx was concerned, her Rx WAS on the fritz. Stan Rose, an RAAF Sergeant had given her some fuses at Darwin in case the Rx fuse blew again. DCA in DRW castigated her (mildly) for her lack of Radio procedure on the approach into DRW. What say the Rx actually burnt out ? Then we can blame poor old Stan Rose for giving her the wrong amperage fuses ? Who knows how the Receiver behaved after she lost two-way contact, anything could have happened. An aerial connector could have come loose, furthermore, Radio experts from the 1930's onwards say that the UPPER aerial was for Rx/Tx via a relay just as my "Whistling Wheelbarrow" conveyance had the same set-up in the 60's. Until I hear proof that the lower aerial was for Rx, I'll believe the Radio gurus who say it was for beacon reception.
"Aah, the sun....line":
Commander Clarence William's strip maps show that the approach MAGNETIC heading for the last phase of the flight out at and on the approach to Howland was 068 degrees MAGNETIC. What say Noonan told her to steer 067 Magnetic as a correction ? At 1912 she is saying "Must be on you but cannot see you..." then starts a search "perpendicular to her last course steer of 067 MAG... What do we get then ? 157-337 MAG.
She said, "We are on the line 157-337", NOT "We are on the sunline 157-337". There is a difference. Furthermore, "if" she was meant to say "148-328" and that went through Howland, it goes nowhere near Gardner.
I rest my case. As I said earlier if Noonan gave her a steer off the TRUE sunline (which they were late to see anyway as that existed at sunrise) he would have subtracted the MAG Variation and given her 148-328 MAG and that is what she would have said. I'll accept rebuttals if I am wrong.
Regards,
David Billings