Press enter after choosing selection

'Earhart' Crew Due Monday Night At Willow Run

'Earhart' Crew Due Monday Night At Willow Run image
Parent Issue
Day
7
Month
July
Year
1967
Copyright
Copyright Protected
Rights Held By
Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

‘Earhart’ Crew Due Monday Night At Willow Run

YPSILANTI — The 1937-vintage airplane piloted by Mrs. Ann H. Pellegreno of Saline is due to touch down at Willow Run Airport near here between 9 p.m. and midnight Monday--33 days after the plane departed from here for the 27,000-mile air odyssey around the world.

The plane, similar to one flown by Amelia Earhart 30 years ago before she disappeared near Howland Island in the South Pacific, left Honolulu yesterday afternoon for the 2,400-mile, 19-hour return flight to Oakland, Calif. The craft is expected to land at Oakland this afternoon.

On board the Lockheed Model 10 is Air Force Col. William Payne of McLean, Va., the copilot. William Polhemus of Ann Arbor, the navigator; and Lee Koepke of Ypsilanti, the owner of the plane and the flight mechanic.

Original plans called for Koepke to take a commercial plane from Honolulu to San Francisco and meet the crew at the latter city because the plane was overweight due to its fuel load. However, since the crew expects to get a good tail wind and will have a long runway at Honolulu, Koepke will stay aboard.

Polhemus only flew on the long over-water legs of the trip because of business commitments in Ann Arbor. He is the principal owner of Polhemus Associates, Inc., on Research Dr.

Polhemus said in Honolulu the plane would be flown 180 miles north of the course previously planned because of wind conditions. Plans called for flying at 1,000 feet the first three hours, gradually building up to 9,000 feet.

Although the plane experienced some stormy weather in the United States and in South America, and political unrest in the Middle East which delayed the flight about a day, the plane is reported to be on schedule.

The plane has been in daily contact with Polhemus’ office since its departure and phone conversations have been arranged between crew members and their families during the flight.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Mrs. Pellegreno’s husband, Don, also a licensed pilot, will leave from Ann Arbor’s Municipal Airport off State Rd. He will be accompanied by the wives of the crew members and Payne’s daughter. They will fly to Newton, Kans., to meet the crew. The city of Newton will honor the crew and their wives on Sunday.

At 2 p.m. July 15, Saline will hold a ticker tape parade in honor of the crew. Mrs. Pellegreno will also receive the key to the city from Saline Mayor George G. Johnson.

Mrs. Pellegreno said that “a lot of historical stuff and human interest items” had been collected in retracing Miss Earhart’s route.

The former Saline school teacher commented in Honolulu that the adventure is costing her and her backers between $30,000 and $40,000.