David Binney Putnam Sr., who explored the Galapagos Islands at age 12 and piloted a stunt plane at 17 after being tutored by Amelia Earhart's technical adviser, died on Monday at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, Fla. He was 79 years old and lived in Fort Pierce.

He died of heart failure, said a son, Douglas Shields Putnam.

The grandson of a founder Binney & Smith, the company that makes Crayola crayons, Mr. Putnam made his first expedition as a cabin boy about the yacht Arcturus under the naturalist William Beebe. He described it in a book called "David Goes Voyaging," published in 1925.

"I promised Dad to write a little story about it all," he said in the book. "He told me to try to tell what we did and what I saw, just like fellows telling each other about their adventures. That's pretty hard to do. Then when I got back they let me make this little book out of what I wrote most every day on the boat. It's meant for boys and girls. Mother helped me fix up the spelling and make the grammar right." Books on Voyages

He chronicled his three other journeys in "David Goes to Baffinland," "David Goes to Greenland" and "David Goes to Iceland."

After his father, George Palmer Putnam, married Amelia Earhart, Mr. Putnam began flying and joined Miss Earhart and other aviation pioneers in setting up Northeast Airlines.

"Flying north out of Boston," he once said, "we had no weather reports and used to call the railroad stations along the way in Morse Code to check the weather. If it was snowing, we would fly along the railroad tracks."

He joined the Army Air Corps as a pilot in World War II and flew everything from fighters to B-29's. He also flew for the Air Transport Command, ferrying planes, troops and supplies to Europe, North Africa, the Mideast and India. He was discharged at the end of the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the war, he became a real-estate developer in Fort Pierce.

In addition to Douglas Putnam, who lives in Fort Pierce, he is survived by a daughter, Sally Chapman, also of Fort Pierce; another son, David Jr., of Vero Beach, Fla.; a brother, George P. Putnam, of Boynton Beach, Fla.; 14 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.

David B Putnam