Category: FlightBlogger

CarolAnn Garratt has her eyes set on a world record: circle the Earth in just seven days on the wings of a single-engine piston Mooney 201J, all in the name of a great cause.

The current speed record for a ’round-the-world journey has held since May 1988, when a Beechcraft Bonanza circled the Earth at an average speed of 54.6 mph. CarolAnn, along with co-pilot Carol Foy, will alternate three-hour flying shifts to dash around the globe at an average speed of 140 mph.

The real goal, beside the record-breaking dash around the globe, is to raise $1,000,000 for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

So far, the duo has raised $116,000.

The pair plans two-hour stops at each of the seven refuelling points; giving them just long enough to stretch their legs, let nature call, gas up and go.

“We have no hotel reservations,” says Garratt a 3100-hour instrument rated private pilot.

In-flight meals are still in the works, though Foy, who is a tri-athlete, is toying with the idea of bringing GU Energy Gel packs to get the nutrition the pair needs for the flight.

The journey, which is expected to begin the first week of December, will depart from Orlando and head west with stops in San Diego, Hawaii, Guam, Thailand, Oman, Gabon, Cape Verde and then back to Orlando again.

The Mooney will be equipped with two 50 gallon wing tanks and one 120 gallon tank in place of the passenger seats. The fully loaded single-engine prop will have a 24-hour endurance on 220 gallons of 100 octane LL gasoline.

With such long legs and brief stops along the journey, Garratt says the biggest obstacle on the flight is fatigue. She adds that because the average speed is so much higher than the previous record, if necessary the duo will stop for sleep on the ground.

In addition, Garratt is looking forward to celebrating her birthday December 8th in the sky.

Garratt, who lost her mother to ALS in 2002, is paying for the world record-breaking attempt on her own. One hundred percent of the donations will go directly to the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

DONATE HERE

Evergreen Flight 4249 – KPAE – KOSH

OSHKOSH — The Chinese Government has grounded the first Liberty XL-2 aircraft built in China ahead of the Beijing Olympic games.

The aircraft, which wears a United States N-registration, had completed its taxi tests, but was grounded citing security concerns.

The Chinese Government went so far as to ask Liberty to remove the engines of the aircraft to guarantee their grounding, according to Paul Everitt, Business Development Manager of Liberty Aerospace.

Everitt added that after discussions with local officials, the XL-2 was permitted to keep its engine installed.

The grounding is part of a nation-wide security initiative to tightly control the movement of aircraft during the summer games which begin August 8.

Earlier last week, Olympic security officials in Beijing confirmed that anti-aircraft batteries have been placed near the Olympic green to protect against a potential air attack.

The first flight of the Chinese built XL-2 is expected to take place following the conclusion of the Olympic games August 24.

The first two aircraft are part of a 600 aircraft order from the Chinese Government for pilot training.

Of the 600 ordered, the first 25 will be fabricated in Melbourne, Florida then delivered via 40-foot shipping container to Anyang, China. The remaining 575 aircraft will be built start-to-finish in the newly assembled factory.

One down, fifty-seven to go
Emirates took delivery of its first A380-800 (MSN011 A6-EDA) this morning in Hamburg. The super-jumbo can seat 489 with amenities like showers for first-class customers. Emirates’ first five A380s will hold 489, followed by a 570-seat layout arriving in late Summer 2009. 

The aircraft will enter service on Friday flying between Dubai and New York. To boot, Emirates signed an LOI for 60 more aircraft (30 A330s and 30 A350s). I do find it interesting that airlines like Etihad, Qatar and Emirates are buying two generations of aircraft simultaneously.

In other delivery news, TAM should be taking it’s first 777-300ER this week.

Rocketeer?
Indications are everywhere that a commercially viable (read: amazing) jetpack is about to be unveiled here at Oshkosh. We’ll be seeing an announcement here 9:30 CT on Tuesday. MUCH more on this later. Perhaps a test flight?

Twitteriffic
Once again, I’ll be twittering (tweeting?) from here at Oshkosh. Rather than upload photos from my mobile to the blog directly, I’ll be sending them straight through twitter. So, rather than bog down the main page with small photos, you’ll be able to get them through twitter.

Much more to come this week. Dreamlifter, Raptor, Osprey, Kodiac, Dakota, Flying Fortress, Mustang.

OSHKOSH — The world’s busiest airport is now in Wisconsin.

An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 aircraft are expected to descend upon (and land) here at Whitman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

AirVenture, hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association, is the Woodstock of air shows. Massive fields host campers who pitch tents, not next to RVs, but underneath the wings of their own aircraft.

Every show has its own personality, and Oshkosh is no exception. Five thousand volunteers, known for their Midwestern friendliness, help coordinate the event which is expected to attract a half-million people during the course of next week.

I spoke with one gentleman yesterday who had been coming to AirVenture since 1970. In the thirty-eight years he’s been attending, each year has been better than the one before.

Though there hasn’t been an official tally, the number of people who camp out with their planes appears to have slowed.

A native of Oshkosh said that the fields around the airport are typically full by the Thursday before the show begins on Monday. The high price of fuel may be the cause. As of Saturday evening, the always impressive aviation-tent city appeared to host fewer guests than usual.

Though Oshkosh brings aviation enthusiasts together to celebrate a common passion, the show is also evolving for aerospace businesses to make announcements, unveil and highlight new products. This will be a significant focus of this page as the week progresses.

This year’s AirVenture will host many “celebrity” aircraft including the the V-22 Osprey, F-22 Raptor, Boeing 40, Lockheed U-2, the Goodyear Blimp, and an aircraft well known to readers of this blog, Boeing’s Dreamlifter Three.

With much airborne action ahead this week, there’s also plenty going on here on terra firma, including a free concert by Foreigner on Monday and appearances by aviation addicts Harrison Ford, John Travolta and Gary Sinise. In addition, AirVenture’s first-ever Blogger Fest is set for Monday afternoon, which will bring together aviation bloggers from all over the world to discuss the role of social media on the industry.

There’s no shortage of things to do, see and fly here at Oshkosh, though if you get really bored (which I doubt) there’s Dr. Mann’s Neurosurgery Hut right at the airport.

Welcome to Oshkosh, world’s busiest airport.