Thomas Daschle: “on March 17, 1937, Amelia Earhart took to the skies in her Lockheed 10E to fulfill her dream to be the first pilot ever…”

“on March 17, 1937, Amelia Earhart took to the skies in her Lockheed 10E to fulfill her dream to be the first pilot ever to circumnavigate the globe at its longest point--the Equator. Today, she stands as one of our greatest American heroes. Through her vision and spirit, she demonstrated to the world that limits are more often perceived than real. This morning, 60 years after Ms. Earhart began her journey, Linda Finch took off from Oakland, CA, to re-create and complete Earhart's heroic expedition. Spanning 5 continents and making more than 30 stops in 20 countries, Linda will closely replicate Earhart's route. The flight is expected to take 22 months, and is the first to re-create Earhart's flight using the same make and model aircraft, a Lockheed Electra 10E, with only a pilot and navigator at the controls. Indeed, the aircraft has been meticulously and accurately restored to replicate Earhart's Electra right down to its rivets. Linda hopes that her journey, called World Flight 1997, will inspire millions of American children with Earhart's belief that with faith in yourself, anything is possible.”