Fascinating article. I hope you are successful in finding suitable
sponsorship.

I once discovered aircraft remains in the jungle in Belize, Central America.
It was in 1979 and I was on a patrol moving along the line of the Belize /
Guatemala border south to north. On about the 4th or 5th day we found
wreckage very badly smashed up and corroded. We had a good look around the
site for a couple of hours but could'nt find any cockpit section just small
wing and fuselage sections and a bit of undercarraige. It had clearly been
there for many years. We could'nt ID the aircraft type or any registration.
There were no airfields within 100 miles so I can only assume it had gone
down through some serious technical trouble.

In those days there was no GPS and the maps of the Belize central highlands
were not very accurate, most being marked 'No relief data available'. We
navigated mainly off a series of air photos combined with the map and good
old bearing, pacing and timing. It was very hit and miss although we did'nt
get seriously geographically embarressed very often. We reported the approx
location of the wreckage on our return to Salamanca Camp in the standard
patrol debrief. I returned to Belize several times and often wondered if
anyone ever found the aircraft again or if anyone knows what it is.
I was a19 year old paratrooper at the time and most of my interest in planes
came from jumping out of them. I have held a PPL for several years now and
found David Billings article to be very interesting, not only from the
'mystery of the lost pilot' angle, but also from the technical navigation
and aviation aspect, as well as my own experience in Belize many years ago.
There are lessons to be learnt by all pilots in his article. Well done
David, I wish you well with the project.


"david_billings" wrote in
message . ..

If you Ladies and Gentlemen want to know what is happening in this part
of the world regarding Amelia Earhart, then please look at:

www.electranewbritain.com/

This website describes evidence that the Electra is on New britain
Island in Papua New Guinea.

Regards,

David Billings


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david_billings
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