The film calls for several water landing and takeoff sequences. The background plates for these shots were created using a real Cessna on location. The modern plane was then painted out and replaced it with CG models of the Lockheed Vega and the Fokker FVII b Friendship, two of the aircraft flown by Earhart. Shooting the scenes with the Cessna provided the basic water interaction for the final shots, which was augmented with CG water splashes and spray.

Providing all of this within the constraints of the production budget required ingenuity. One scene, depicting a crash landing, made use of an restored period aircraft. “The owner let us use it on condition we didn’t get a scratch on it,” laughed Zielinski. The team at Mr. X ‘crashed’ the plane with great care and the shot was captured using an articulated crash rig. The rig was replaced in post with damaged CG landing gear and propellers, accompanied by CG sparks and smoke. “You’d think we had ruined his plane, but in fact we returned it in perfect condition!”