BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole

Subject: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 02:34 PM

Gus McLeod (pronounced McCloud), an enormous man took off from College Park airport MD (the first airport in the US) to fly solo pole to pole.

It won't be carried on the Today show like the important news of Michael Jackson and Brittiny so I put the story to music narration.

Making a hero of an average black man outdoing every aviator to date is NOT in keeping with the American news media. The FAA made every attempt to prevent him from going (damaging his plane, taking away instrument license etc.)

I would like the people of the world to get on board this man's incredible journey. I don't know how that is done exactly but you guys are the smartest folks I have come across and trust your ability.

here is my first attempt

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/customviolins/sky.WMA

composed and performed by Don Hakman

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 02:35 PM

By BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press Writer


COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Gus McLeod wiped frost off the wings of his small airplane and departed Monday with hopes of becoming the first person to fly over the North and South Poles in a single-engine plane.

The 49-year-old amateur aviator said he was "scared to death" but "psyched up" for the voyage, which he estimates will be roughly 28,000 miles. "I can't wait until this is over," he said before taking off from the College Park Airport and swinging around to buzz the airfield.


His wife, Mary, and more than 100 friends and well-wishers came to see the Gaithersburg pilot take off into a bright sunny sky.

McLeod made history three years ago when he became the first pilot ever to fly to the North Pole in an open cockpit plane.

He planned this pole-to-pole trip to coincide with the 100th anniversary of powered flight. His plane is equipped with a modernized version of the Wright brothers' canard wing design. The one-of-a-kind prototype is a modified Velocity aircraft.

McLeod said he was making the journey to show that amateur aviators can still break new ground in aviation.

The black aviator also said he was making the trip in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed black fliers of World War II, and some members of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. came to see him off.

"We wanted to give him all the support we possibly could," said Sam O'Dennis, 77, of the group's Chicago chapter.

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, president of the Women in Military Service Memorial Foundation, said she came to wish McLeod well, saying the trip was a way of paying tribute to pioneers in flight.

"I applaud him for having the courage to do it," Vaught said.

After a stop in Florida for extra fuel tanks, McLeod plans to fly along the eastern coast of South America, making stops in Belem, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and Ushuaia, Argentina.

He is hoping to buy extra fuel that was stored for another aviator near the U.S.-New Zealand McMurdo-Scott base in Antarctica. If he can, he plans to fly on to New Zealand before going up through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, through the Fiji Islands, to Hawaii, up to Alaska and back down to the East Coast.

If he can't get the fuel near McMurdo, he plans to fly over to Africa and over Europe en route to the North Pole.

McLeod isn't the first to try the pole-to-pole trip this month. British pilot Polly Vacher gave up after having problems with strong winds and delays in getting fuel in Antarctica. Also this month, a man and woman had to be rescued after crashing a helicopter while trying to make the pole-to-pole flight.

McLeod estimates the trip will take about two months, flying every day for between 8 and 10 hours. One leg at the South Pole will require 27 hours of straight flying, McLeod said.

http://www.angelfire.com/md2/customviolins/gus3.jpg

digital painting

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Bobert
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 05:34 PM

Yo, Donuel, I started a thread about this guy a couple weeks ago but didn't get much response. I followed his first flight to the North Pole in his open cockpit by-plane. Talk about a brutal flight

Now this one os just as brutal. The cockpit is not larger than yer average sleeping bag. He will be flyin' thru temps that will drop to 60 below zero and the temp in the plane will drop well below zero. And to top it off, the plane he's flyin' is no more than a prototype with a prop fore and aft yet with a singtle engine and drive shaft. Yep, Gus is in for another brutal flight...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jan 04 - 07:33 PM

I'm not sure why people work that hard to do things "just because", but I wish him EVERY bit of luck and good weather possible!

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Padre
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 12:57 AM

Godspeed Gus!!

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Bobert
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 08:56 AM

Hey, Bill. Ain't Gus from yer neighborhood?

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Bill D
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 12:25 PM

yeah...purty close...maybe 10 miles away. Not that I've ever been to his airport...OR in a small plane.

Subject: RE: BS: Gus McCloud flying solo pole to pole
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Jan 04 - 01:58 PM

Donuel-

Could you please past your lyrics here. I just get gibberish from your first link and it seems to be a huge file.

Charley Noble