Linda Finch arrives here on round-world flight
JAKARTA (JP): Linda Finch, an American aviator who plans to be the first woman to fly around the world along the equator in a 1935 Lockheed Electra 10E, landed smoothly here yesterday at 2:05 p.m., where she was greeted by a gentle wind at Halim Perdanakusumah Airport in East Jakarta.
After refueling, she taxied the 62-year-old airplane to a runway where she was welcomed by a crowd, including U.S. Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy, top Indonesian Air Force officers, executives of the Indonesian Aero Sports Federation and members of the media.
Shortly after the plane came to rest, Finch, who was wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, opened the glass window on top of the cockpit, stood up and waved to the crowd.
The 46-year-old mother of three sons from Texas then got out of the cockpit by exiting through the upper side of the left wing of the all-metal, two-engine plane and softly jumped onto the runway.
"Everything is fine and the trip was very smooth," she told the crowd of reporters, who ignored the barricade line of Air Force security officers.
There was no red carpet rolled out for her yesterday like the service she received when she landed at Luxor International Airport in Egypt on April 18.
According to Ita Munaf from Jakprom, coordinator for her arrival in Indonesia, Finch and navigator Fred W. Patterson from World Airways, took off from Singapore at around 11 a.m. local time.
While on the way from Singapore to Jakarta, Finch, who has 8,000 flying hours and 21 years experience with old aircraft, wrote in her website as follows: "There are beautiful clouds and some thunderstorms around."
"The ride is very smooth, but we will hit some bumps before we land in the afternoon. There are thunderstorms forecast for the area," she said in her message.
Finch is on her final leg of her mission to recreate and complete the 1937 attempted journey of Amelia Earhart, who used a similar type of airplane.
Patterson strongly believed that Finch and the 10,500-pound plane could make the journey. "She's a brave woman and the plane is in very good condition," Patterson told The Jakarta Post.
Patterson was the previous owner of the plane before he sold it to Finch for US$350,000 a few years ago.
In comparison, Finch's plane is three times slower than the latest modern aircraft of Boeing 777.
If everything goes well, Finch will complete her 24,500-mile expedition on May 26 when she returns to the same hangar in Oakland, the United States, from which she and Earhart began their trips.
Finch started her World Flight 1997 mission on March 17, the same day Earhart did 60 years ago.
According to her map, Finch needs three or four more stops to end her expedition. Jakarta is the 23rd city in the five continents in which she has stopped.
Linda and her 550-horsepower plane will leave for Surabaya today at 10 a.m. (bsr)