Linda Finch

Over sixty years after Amelia Earhart vanished mysteriously in the Pacific during her attempt to become the first person to circumnavigate the world along the equator, Linda Finch, a San Antonio businesswoman, accomplished pilot, and aviation historian, recreated and completed her idol's last flight as a 1 to the aviation pioneer's spirit and vision. On March 17, 1997, Ms. Finch and a navigator took off from Oakland International Airport, California, in a restored Lockheed Electra 10E, the same make and model aircraft that Earhart used on her last journey. The mission to fulfill Amelia Earhart's dream was called “World Flight 1997.” Although Ms. Finch was not the first to 2 Earhart's around-the-world journey, she was the first to do it in a historic airplane. Linda Finch closely followed the same route that Earhart flew, stopping in 18 countries before finishing the trip two and a half months later when she 3 back at the Oakland Airport on May 28. Over a million school children and others were able to follow the flight daily through an 4 web site part of a free multimedia educational program called “You Can Soar,” provided by the project's sponsor.