Forty years ago, Elgen M. Long and his late wife Marie started researching the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. They published the book Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved" in 1999, it was used as a major source for the movie Amelia to be released in October 2010.

Regarding the flight across Antarctica, Elgen Long's 22-year-old grandson Justin Long quotes his grandfather: "I was flying at 13,000 feet toward the South Pole with zero visibility and the heater went out. It was 37 degrees below zero and I had a six-hour flight ahead. I layered on extra clothing and tried to keep warm. And nothing ever looked better to me than McMurdo Air base, I can tell you that." This quote comes from an interview with Justin published in the Reno Gazette Journal in September 2010 (no longer online). More information about the family, the Earhart book, and a photo of Elgen in front of the aircraft he used for his 1971 round-the-world trip, are available in this This is Reno article published in September 2010.