The world’s last known original 1935 Lockheed Electra L-10E named “Muriel” will be displayed in Wamego over the weekend on its way to Atchison, according to a press release from the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation on Friday.
The plane will arrive in Wamego Saturday night and will be on display from 11 a.m. till noon Sunday at KanEuip, Inc., on Highway 24.
After that, the plane will return to the road and end its journey in Atchison Monday morning with a ceremony at Amelia Earhart Airport at noon.
“Muriel” is the only survivor of the 14 L 10Es built and identical to the plane Amelia and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were flying in 1937 on their attempt to be the first to circle the globe as closely to the equator as possible.
Amelia and Fred had been given faulty coordinates for Howland Island, a tiny mile and half spec of land 2556 miles east of Lae, New Guinea. Discovery of the faulty coordinates was made in 1983 by aviatrix Grace McGuire..
For 34 years Grace McGuire owned, maintained and restored Muriel. When Muriel was at risk of being relegated to the trash, McGuire rescued the aircraft, seeing its potential as an aircraft with a story. Grace planned to recreate Amelia’s world flight the old fashioned way using the same model airplane as Amelia’s, but a severe bout of Lyme induced MS caused her to shelve her plans. An exact duplication of the flight has never been made using the same model plane as Amelia’s. McGuire explained, “Several airplanes have been converted to look like Amelia’s plane, but Muriel is the real McCoy. In all the world she is the only one.”
Muriel, named by McGuire to honor Amelia Earhart’s sister Muriel, is being transported by truck from El Cajon, Cali., to Atchison. The Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation recently adopted the restored aircraft from Grace McGuire with plans to build a hangar/museum as her permanent home. Karen Seaberg, Director of the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation, explained, “Our goal is to use Muriel as the anchor of the new museum to bring Amelia Earhart’s story to life from her hometown.”
This attraction will be in addition to Amelia Earhart’s childhood home and the annual Amelia Earhart Festival. Both already draw admirers from all around the world every year.
“We’re thrilled to carry on the amazing Earhart legacy through this aircraft,” Seaberg said. “At a time when it could have been discarded, it was instead impeccably cared for and restored and will now live on to educate future generations. My husband Ladd always envisioned Muriel in Atchison, and now the Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation and Grace have made his dream a reality.”
Wichita-based trucking company, Landstar, Inc., and a cavalcade of highway police and escort cars are transporting Muriel as a super wide load. The journey began at Gillespie Field Airport in El Cajon then continued through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma before arriving in Kansas.
