How would you like be part of an expedition to find Amelia Earhart? Do you want it enough to pay $80,000 for the privilege?
That was the minimum bid for an Amelia Earhart Adventure Silver Package and Hawaii trip for one, put up for bid on eBay by Nauticos, a company that specializes in deep sea search and recovery missions. The auction is a fundraiser for the SeaWord Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides educational and scientific discovery opportunities in the ocean.
According to information on the auction site, the winner gets to spend five weeks in the South Pacific as part of a 30-person crew looking for Earhart, her aircraft and navigator Frank Noonan. The pair disappeared July 2, 1937. No trace of them has been found, so far.
By using computer models of everything from Earhart’s flight plan to radio signals, Nauticos officials think they’ve found the final resting place of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra.
This is a working expedition, not a pleasure cruise, so the winner needs to be ready to work. Before setting out on the grand adventure, the winner will have a chance to recreate Earhart’s last visit to Hawaii by visiting several historic airfields and staying at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
The expedition is slated to depart March 1, 2005, weather permitting.
Six spaces have been reserved among the crew for non-professional researchers. One space is allotted to a teacher and another to a student, while the remaining four slots are being auctioned to the highest bidders.
The item was to remain on the eBay auction site for 10 days. As this issue of General Aviation News was going to press, the auction was closing. No bids had been placed.
FindAmelia.com, eBay.com.