Elgen Long
| Elgen Long | |
|---|---|
|
Elgen Marion Long c. 1972 | |
| Born |
August 12, 1927 McMinnville, Oregon, United States |
| Occupation | Aviator, author, and researcher |
| Known for | First man to fly solo across both poles, and valid research on Amelia Earhart's disappearance. |
| Spouse(s) | Marie K. Long |
Elgen Marion Long (born August 12, 1927) is known for his accomplishment of setting fifteen aviation records and firsts from his 1971 flight around the world over both poles, and received the FAI Gold Air Medal for his accomplishment. He is also known for his "Crash and Sink" theory explaining the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.[1] Elgen has devoted over thirty-five years of research explaining what happened on the last leg of Amelia's flight and determining where her Lockheed Electra could have crashed into the sea. He and his wife Marie K. Long are also responsible for an effort to document the people and data involved in Earhart's disappearance, a historical collection that now resides with the SeaWord Foundation.[2]
Accomplishments
Elgen and his late wife Marie Katherine Long wrote the book Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved. The book was first published 1999 by Simon and Schuster and has since enjoyed worldwide distribution and sales.[3] It is considered by many to be the definitive work on Amelia Earhart's last flight, and Captain Long is the originator and leading proponent of the book's "Crash and Sink" theory. Long believes that relatively near to Howland Island, the electra ran out of fuel and Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan ditched at sea.
Movie rights to the book were purchased for Fox Searchlight Studios and Captain Long was hired as technical consultant for the major motion picture titled Amelia (2009). The screenplay was written by Ron Bass. Two time Best Actress Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars as Amelia Earhart with Richard Gere cast as her husband George Palmer Putnam. Filming of the epic movie was under the direction of Mira Nair mainly at sites in Canada and South Africa. Amelia was released in late 2009.[4]
Captain Long received worldwide acclaim in 1971 when he flew solo around the world over both the North and South Poles setting fifteen world records and firsts. Long was the first man to have crossed Antarctica alone via the South Pole. He was also the first to use inertial navigation in crossing the Antarctic Continent. For those feats, he was awarded the Federation Aeronautique International "Gold Air Medal" as the world's outstanding sports pilot, the Institute of Navigation Superior Achievement Award for outstanding performance as a practicing navigator, and the Airline Pilots Association Award for Outstanding Airmanship.
Since 1971, Captain Long, and his late wife Marie, interviewed and collected data from over a hundred surviving individuals that had a direct connection with Amelia Earhart's last flight. Using the data they collected, Captain Long - a former accident investigator for the Airline Pilots Association and Member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators - used his special expertise in radio communications, navigation, and aircraft operational performance to collaborate with his late wife Marie in writing the book about Amelia Earhart's last flight.
A Navy veteran who flew in seaplanes throughout the Pacific during World War II, Elgen retired as Senior Boeing 747 Captain from The Flying Tiger Line in 1987, after serving for over forty years as pilot, examiner, instructor, radio operator and navigator. With a lifetime of aviation experience behind him he has devoted most of his retirement years to researching and writing about Amelia Earhart's last flight. He has led two expeditions to the mid-Pacific Ocean where Earhart disappeared, and in 2006 participated in a search that attempted to locate Amelia's downed aircraft on the ocean floor near Howland Island.
Not inclined to sit-and-rock in his chair at home, Captain Long is still working to help further efforts to locate Amelia's downed plane.