Finch had 30 years of experience in the construction industry, making prefabricated buildings, and operating healthcare facilities.

Finch's Electra was modified, with a Global Positioning System, increased fuel capacity, and modern communications equipment.

When Linda was a teen, the family moved outside the city limits to a neighborhood with good schools where they would have a better standard of living.

[3] She studied accounting to further her career at Southwest Texas State University[4] and she earned her high school equivalency certificate.

[6] Laird was critically injured in April 1999 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at an annual event of the Experimental Aircraft Association.

[6] Finch has owned and operated retirement communities, nursing homes, and a construction firm that manufactured prefabricated buildings.

[3] About the time that Finch was landing at Oakland International Airport on May 28, 1997, completing her World Flight 1997, her name was added to a suit filed by the Texas Attorney General's office.

[1] About $1 million more in donations was needed to cover the total cost of the World Flight 1997 trip and educational program.

[10][20] The navigational equipment for the Electra and the plane that flew along with Finch were donated by the Universal Avionics Systems Corporation out of Tucson.

[17] Finch rebuilt and refurbished the plane over two years,[21] guided by Lockheed's manufacturing plans and photographs of the Electra 10.

[2][10] Finch flew back and forth to Breckenridge, Colorado, where stronger landing gear was installed and maintenance was performed on the wing tips, engine cowlings, and gas tanks at an aviation repair shop.

[10] Finch's flight varied from Earhart's in that she had modern satellite tracking and communication equipment,[2][8] and Global Positioning System navigational gear.

[21] Finch and her navigator, Denny Ghirendelli,[22] began their journey on March 17, 1997, when they took off from the Oakland International Airport in California.

[18][e] Her stops included the Martin Luther King School for Girls in Dakar and, in Egypt, at the Queen of Hatshepsut temple.

At the time that Earhart made her trip, geo-political events were leading up to World War II, including Japan's occupation of some of the islands in the Pacific Ocean.

[1][20] In planning her route, Finch had to ensure that every city that she stopped in would have the type of fuel needed for the Electra 10.

[18] During the flight, Finch noted her position every half hour, aided by satellite navigational equipment.

It is very smooth, almost like a carpet in many shades of green.When she flew over Howland Island, Finch honored Earhart and Noonan[14] by releasing three wreaths from the plane.

[30] An educational program entitled You Can Soar [12] allowed participating 5th through 8th grade students to hone their mathematical skills as they also learned about time zones, aerodynamics, weather gauging, and geography.

Addressing the countries that Finch visited, the program's cultural studies portion taught poetry, language, and art.

[8] An internet site tracked the progress of Finch's flight, with hourly updates,[1][31] which allowed more than a million people around the world to observe and participate in her journey for free.

[18] Finch states that the program intended to "emphasize Earhart's pioneering spirit, her vision of limitless human potential and her belief in individual accomplishment.

Due to the number of violations that they found, Finch agreed to have the nursing center operated by a trustee.

Finch's firm, World Flight, sought and obtained a court order to prevent Markel from speaking with sponsors of the Earhart re-creation.