Tag Archives: Java

27 June 1937

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special, NR16020, over Java, Dutch East Indies, June 1937.

27 June 1937: Leg 26. Bandoeng, Java, to Koepang, Timor, Dutch East Indies.

“Finally on Sunday, June 27, we left Bandoeng. I had hoped to be able to keep on to Port Darwin on the northern coast of Australia, but the penalty for flying east is losing hours. Depending on the distance covered, each day is shortened and one has to be careful to keep the corrected sunset time in mind so as not to be caught out after dark. For instance, between Koepang and Australia there is a loss of one and a half hours. So, as our landing in Koepang five hours after our start was too late to permit safely carrying on to Darwin that day, we settled down overnight in the pleasant Government rest house, planning to leave the airport at our conventional departure time, dawn. Koepang is on the southerly tip of the island of Timor, the last outpost of the archipelago of Holland-owned islands which string out southeasterly from Sumatra. As a matter of fact half of Timor is not under Dutch but Portuguese control. In the flight from Bandoeng the first 400 miles was over the lovely garden-land of Java. Then we looked down briefly upon Bali, much photographed island of quaint dancers, lovely costumes, lovelier natives, a well-publicized earthy heaven of dulce far niente. Thence we passed over Sujmbawa island, skirted Flores, and cut across a broad arm of the Arafura Sea toward Timor.

“As we left Java the geographic characteristics began to change. From lush tropics the countryside became progressively arid. The appearance of Timor itself is vastly different from that of Java. The climate is very dry, the trees and vegetation sparse. There was little or no cultivation in the open spaces around the airport, the surface of which was grass, long, dry and undulating in a strong wind when we arrived. The field, surrounded by a stout stone fence to keep out roaming wild pigs, we found to be a very good natural landing place. There were no facilities except a little shed for storing fuel, consequently we had to stake down our Electra and bundle it up for the night with engine and propeller covers. That is an all-important job carefully done; no pilot could sleep peacefully without knowing that his plane was well cared for. Our work much amused the natives from a near-by village. When we had to turn the craft’s nose into the wind, all the men willingly and noisily helped us push it as desired.”

—Amelia Earhart

Photo of a replica of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E, flown by Linda Finch. (Tony Bacewicz / The Hartford Courant)
A replica of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special over the Arafura Sea, flown by Linda Finch, 1997. (Tony Bacewicz / The Hartford Courant)
Great Circle route from Bandoeng, Java, to Koepang, Timor, Dutch East Indies, 976 nautical miles (1,124 statute miles/1,808 kilometers). (Great Circle Mapper)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

25 June 1937

25 June 1937: Leg 25. After flying from Bandoeng to Soerabaya the previous day, a problem with Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special, NR16020, could not be repaired there, forcing her to return to Bandoeng.

“In the air, and afterward, we found that our mechanical troubles had not been cured. Certain further adjustments of faulty long-distance flying instruments were necessary, and so I had to do one of the most difficult things I had ever done in aviation. Instead of keeping on I turned back the next day to Bandoeng. With good weather ahead, the Electra herself working perfectly, the pilot and navigator eager to go, it was especially hard to have to be “sensible.” However, lack of essential instruments in working order would increase unduly the hazards ahead. At Bandoeng were the admirable Dutch technicians and equipment, and wisdom directed we should return for their friendly succor. So again we imposed ourselves upon these good people to whom I shall be grateful always for their generosity and fine spirit. A particular niche in my memory is occupied by Colonel L.H.V. Oyen, Commander of the Air Force, H.A. Vreeburg, chief engineer, and so many K.N.I.L.M. personnel to whom I would like again to say ‘Thank you’.”

— Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special, NR16020, at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, June 1937. (Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)
Bandoeng to Soerabaya, 352.26 miles (566.91 kilometers). (Google Maps)

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

22–24 June 1937

Amelia Earthart, Fred Noonan and W. Hanlo at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, 22 June 1937. (Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)

22–24 June 1937: Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special, NR16020, undergoes maintenance at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, while Amelia and Fred Noonan visit a volcano.

“I went for an inspection trip myself. My first objective was an active volcano, to the crater rim of which one can drive in half an hour up a beautiful mountain road. . . At 5,000 feet the trees began to dwarf and the vegetation became less dense. At 6,500, only scrub trees which bred in and soil persisted. I could smell sulfur fumes for some time before rounding the last curve leading to the lower edge of the pit. Hundreds of feet below, emerald water had collected in a pool at the bottom. Here and there jets of yellow-white steam issued from crevices. . . .”

—Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special, NR16020, undergoing maintenance at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, 21–27 June 1937. (Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)

© 2015, Bryan R. Swopes

21 June 1937

Amelia Earhart climbs out of the cockpit of her Lockheed Electra at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, 21 June 1937. (Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)

21 June 1937: Leg 23. Singapore, Straits Settlements to Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, 538 nautical miles (619 statute miles/997 kilometers).

“From Singapore early in the morning, we headed for Java. Our course first lay over the open sea, then along the westerly shores of Sumatra, finally cutting deep across its southeast portion. In the first hour of flying we crossed the equator for the third time in our air voyage and definitely passed ‘down under’ into the nether world of Australasia. . .

“The landscapes of the southern hemisphere were beautiful to look upon. . . countless tiny islands, glowing emeralds in settings of turquoise. . . narrow ribbons of beach, separating the deeper green of their verdure from the exquisite turquoise tones that mark the surrounding shallow water, which in turn merge into darker blue as the waters deepen. . .

“After my plane had been comfortably put in its hangar and K.N.I.L.M. (a local organization, sister company to Netherlands Airline, famed K.L.M.) mechanics had begun their inspection.”

Amelia Earhart

Steel drums of aviation gasoline pre-positioned for Amelia Earhart at Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies. (Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)
Great Circle route between Singapore, Straits Settlements, and Bandoeng, Java, Dutch East Indies, 538 nautical miles (619 statute miles/997 kilometers). Great Circle Mapper)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes