Texas businesswoman aims to retrace Earhart's routeMarch 14, 1997Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. EST (CNN) -- Sixty years after renegade aviator Amelia Earhart began her ill-fated quest to fly around the world, another woman will attempt to recreate and complete the journey. On Monday, Texas pilot and businesswoman Linda Finch takes off from Oakland, California in a restored Vintage Lockheed Electra, just like Earhart's. Unlike her predecessor, Finch will have technology on her side. 
Finch said she is making the trek to pay homage to her flying heroine, while teaching kids about Earhart. A collaborative interactive educational program, "You Can Soar," will appear in schools across the U.S.
Finch's journey is set to follow closely the route traced by Earhart, who vanished over the Pacific in July 1937. 
Of differences between the two flights, Finch said, "I have lots of advantages in navigation, in communication equipment, in satellite equipment that will report our position every 15 minutes as we fly around the world. We have just tremendous advantages that Amelia didn't have." The trip, sponsored by Pratt & Whitney and officially called "World Flight" will take an estimated three months. Finch will travel over three continents and touch down 20 countries. What will she take along? "Not very much," said the pilot, "because the airplane can't carry very much." However, she noted, "We have to take everything we need because we can't be sure we can find anything along the way, from extra oil to medications to emergency medical supplies."
When asked if she was nervous about the flight, Finch answered no; she's more concerned with getting ready amid last-minute changes. For instance, she said, a few days ago she had to change her path because of some unrest in Sudan. And on a lighter note, she added, "I [remembered] that I have to file my tax returns." CNN Correspondent Janine Sharell contributed to this report. 
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