AMELIA EARHART RIM????

PinkFloydCa · **Joined:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:40 am **Posts:** 4

So this was changed in 1937 by my great grandfather who worked for BF Goodrich in Oakland, Ca. It was said to be on Amelia Earhart's plane during a stop in Oakland, Ca. I have photos of this, please let me know any info you might be able to give me about this piece. THANKS!

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 5:54 am

cool background re: your grand dad's part in the relic, but with out actual provinence or actual documentation it's just a rim. at least you have some nomenclature / numbers / etc to possibly trace it to her, but i think such info wasn't as thorough or even thought of in those days.

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2304

Tighar will be right over to dig up your lawn... :lol:

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 9:53 pm

Contact the History Detectives at http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/
They already did a segment about another piece of Amelia Earharts plane. They should be able to help you out.

gtokid · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:08 am

I'm wondering if the Electra's maintenance logs are still around. Most like they went with the aircraft, but there maybe something in the George Putnam collection at Purdue University. Maybe something that referances a wheel change while in Oakland, part numbers, and/or log sign off?

Todd

Something I just noticed, the manufacture date on the rim is Feb. 8th, 1937; definately not original to the aircraft delivered in July of 1936. But it could have been installed before the March 17th, 1937 flight to Hawaii.

51fixer · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:08 pm

gtokid wrote:

I'm wondering if the Electra's maintenance logs are still around. Most like they went with the aircraft, but there maybe something in the George Putnam collection at Purdue University. Maybe something that referances a wheel change while in Oakland, part numbers, and/or log sign off?

Todd

Something I just noticed, the manufacture date on the rim is Feb. 8th, 1937; definately not original to the aircraft delivered in July of 1936. But it could have been installed before the March 17th, 1937 flight to Hawaii.

The Aircraft was damaged in a Groundloop in HI at some point.
In repairing the LG I wonder if upgraded brake technology was installed.

JohnB · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:27 pm

51fixer wrote:

The Aircraft was damaged in a Groundloop in HI at some point.
In repairing the LG I wonder if upgraded brake technology was installed.

The groundloop/take-off accident happened during her first (westbound) attempt.

Since the plane was fairly new, it's a good assumption to make.

I wonder if the wheel is still true (in round)? That would explain why it was replaced after the incident...or as you guess, it could have been part of an upgarde to better accept higher take-off weights.

PinkFloydCa · **Joined:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:40 am **Posts:** 4

Took some more photos also with a tape measure. Here they are...

PinkFloydCa · **Joined:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:40 am **Posts:** 4

It might have been changed in Burbank instead of Oakland. I'm not sure. I would have to ask my grandfather (his son).

Russ Matthews · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:43 am

The main gear of Earhart's Electra was wiped out on the morning of March 20, 1937 as a result of the ground loop / take off accident at Luke Field in Hawaii during her first (westward) world flight attempt.

Shipped back to the mainland by sea, the plane arrived at Lockheed's Burbank plant on April 2 for $12,500 worth of repairs over the course of six weeks.

On May 19 an inspector from the Bureau of Air Commerce certified the rebuilt NR16020 as fit to fly. The next day, Amelia flew the plane to Oakland, CA to pick up six thousand commemorative first day covers (that had now been restamped Second Take Off) and then continued on eastward across the US to Miami, arriving on May 23. A week later, on May 30, Earhart confirmed that she had already begun her second try at a globe-circling flight.

I'm not aware of any major repairs to Earhart's 10E after the damage from the Hawaii crash was fixed .. andit hardly seems as if she was in Oakland long enough on the second attempt to have time to swap out one of the wheels.

If great-grandpa performed that job for AE, it would almost certainly have to have happend while her plane in the Lockheed shop in Burbank.

Russ Matthews · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:21 am

I was studying these photos again tonight and something struck me as odd. Look at where the ID plate is attached .. it's been riveted so that it completely covers one of the (lug?) holes.

In addition, the bottom corners appear to have been trimmed by hand to make it fit in the limited flat space between the angled supports.

Please understand that I'm just making observations about something out of the ordinary and not suggesting it's some kind of deliberate "fake out." In fact, it kind of seems to me like this thing was considered special by someone with a certain degree of mechanical skill .. which he used to ensure that the item and the information were kept together.

51fixer · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:59 am

The late 30s and early 40s were a time of considerable advancement in technology of all areas of aircraft design and construction.
1st is this a type of wheel known to be fitted to the Lockheed aircraft?
Hayes probably had one size of data plates. This wheel wasn't designed around the data plate but the wheel design and construction probably forced them to be creative in the application of the plate.
A wheel to handle 5000 lbs of weight is quite alot in a wheel for a smaller A/C. With 2 wheel it means 10,000 lb gross weight.
However the Model 10E is listed as a gross weight of 10,500 lbs and FAA TCDS lists Goodyear for tires and wheels.
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guida ... /TC590.pdf
Nothing that says the origin of the wheel isn't as stated as things changed as the aircraft was modified and technology advanced.
Perhaps if someone looked closely at photos perhaps the wheel type could be identified by dated photos.

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:39 am

here are pictures of Amelia Earharts plane at Wheeler March 19 1937 showing the wheel.
http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/aviati ... .jpg/image
http://media.kansas.com/smedia/2009/10/ ... ate.80.jpg

51fixer · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:33 am

Wheel appears to be from Lockheed Model 12-
http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guida ... /TC616.pdf
Check Item 43.

Taigh Ramey · **Posted:** Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:01 am

The photos show what looks to me like a Goodyear Airwheels like what was used on the early Beech 18's of the time. The Airwheels were pretty small as shown in the photo and also used a multiple disc type of brake pack. The wheel in question here looks to me to be a lot larger and used a drum type of brake.

It would be fairly simple to scale up the wheel in the photo and compare it to the wheel here if we had a known outside dimension of the wheel in the 1937 photo or some other item in close proximity like the gear leg. Anyone have ready access to the correct Lockheed landing gear?

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AMELIA EARHART RIM????

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