AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2012 - 44

PILOT BRIEFING

expedition will launch in July to recover evidence of wreckage believed to be that of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Model 10 Electra, lost 75 years ago during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. The airplane and its occupants were never found, in spite of a massive air and sea search that spanned 150,000 square miles of open ocean. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) will lead a deep-water research team to an island in the Pacific chain of atolls known as the Phoenix Islands. There, a University of Hawaii vessel will conduct a detailed search and mapping of the area. The search stems from a clue that has been spotted in the original negative of a photo taken three months after Earhart’s disappearance of the western shoreline of Nikumaroro. The negative shows a protrusion from the reef resembling the landing gear of an aircraft. Photo analysts from the State Department say it appears to be the landing gear of a Lockheed Electra.

S FOR H CONTINUE ART’S AIRPLANE SEARC ELIA EARH AM

“If you ever want a case of finding a needle in a haystack,” Earhart’s disappearance is it, said Robert Ballard, professor of oceanography and president of the Ocean Exploration Trust. “I was totally convinced it couldn’t be found.” Ballard, whose previous explorations have led to the discoveries of the RMS Titanic, the USS Yorktown, and the torpedo boat PT-109 commanded by John F. Kennedy during World War II, said he was brought in to review TIGHAR’s research strategy.

Art Carty, a TIGHAR board member, points to the area off Nikumaroro where the coming expedition will search for Earhart’s aircraft.

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said the voyage to recover Earhart’s aircraft is only possible because of what Earhart accomplished as a record-setting pilot. “Because of Amelia Earhart, our world is smaller,” he said. —Jill W. Tallman

KATHLEEN O’NEIL

Plus— View a video of the Amelia Earhart story.

‘Uncle Joey’ is a pilot
n the “guess-who-stopped-by-the-office” category is Dave Coulier, best known as Uncle Joey from the 1980s TV series Full House. Coulier was a hit at AOPA’s Frederick, Maryland, headquarters—especially with the women, who remember him as the funny uncle of the Olsen twins and best friend of Bob Saget. Coulier is a clean-talking stand-up comedian (he tours with the Clean Guys of Comedy). Coulier toured AOPA headquarters just like any other member—he has been a private pilot since Plus— View a video 1979. “My dad had a friend who flew a Cessna 180 interview. at an uncontrolled field in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. When I was just 5 years old, my father took me along. That first flight on a cold winter day got me hooked on aviation for a lifetime. When I was a teenager, I got my private license at that same airport,” he says. Coulier, who has about 1,000 hours, is instrument-rated. He based his Bonanza B35 at California’s Santa Monica Airport for a number of years. “I got tired of being grounded on foggy days and started instrument training with Mark Doolittle—yep, he’s related to Jimmy Doolittle of Raiders’ fame—and six months later I was filing IFR and was a safer and more knowledgeable pilot too.” The actor once flew his airplane from Santa Monica to the Full House set in Burbank. “It took 12 minutes. I was so tired of sitting in LA traffic. But when the studio heard about it, that was the last time.” Coulier has agreed to serve as a co-chair for the AOPA Foundation Hat in the Ring Society. He joins aerobatic pilot Mike Goulian, celebrity chef Alton Brown, and author Stuart Woods. Actor Morgan Freeman is the honorary chairman. The Hat in the Ring Society supports the work of the AOPA Foundation. —Julie Summers Walker
AOPA PILOT •

Fun facts
How many members fly tailwheel airplanes?

Nine percent of all aircraft covered by AOPA Insurance are tailwheel aircraft.

9%
members in the

11%
Eleven percent of AOPA insurance system say they have tailwheel experience.

10%
So that means about 10 percent of our 400,000 members are tailwheel pilots or owners.

44 • MAY 2012

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2012