- Wednesday, July 01, 2009
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Wings Across America 2008 Summer Update
We receive periodic emails from Frank G of Wings Across America 2008. His last update was packed full of information, so we decided to post it right on the site. The following is an email from Frank G himself. Enjoy!
Hello WAA-08 Pilots, I hope this email finds you well. I'd like to take a few moments of your time to update you on the status of the Wings Across America 2008 adventure and let you know the latest news.
Let me start off by saying the SQuiRT has been making excellent progress through the southern United States. I am very impressed by the way the Gulf Coast (FL, AL, MS, LA, & TX) pilots have safely flown and passed the plane along as quickly as possible. We have even had some great local newspaper coverage as the WAA-08 plane passed through south TX. At last count, we have had four local papers cover the project in central and south TX alone. That's excellent work fellas and much appreciated. Our goal in this adventure, as you know, is to promote the hobby of RC flying and using the supplied press release in an excellent way to introduce the hobby to your local community. Please take advantage of that when it's your turn to fly and help get the word out.
Speaking of news coverage, you should have already seen two articles about the WAA-08 adventure in this month's Model Aviation. I certainly appreciate MA for running those stories to help get the word out about our adventure and I also appreciate pilot #88, John R, of Statesville, NC submitting his flight summary of his time with the SQuiRT in our District IV's section of MA. Every time MA does a story on the WAA-08 adventure, we pick up a few more much needed pilots in areas of the USA that we have some big gaps. Be on the lookout for articles about the WAA-08 adventure in Backyard Flyer, hitting the streets 7 July, and also in October's Fly RC magazine. The inclusion of the WAA-08 adventure in these magazines is greatly appreciated.
Currently the SQuiRT is with pilot #127, Mike H, in Waco, TX. She is headed northeast into OK and then AR. Those pilots have been notified and are on standby waiting for the SQuiRT to get to their location. Our short term goal is to make sure we are through Colorado before the first snows hit the Rocky Mountains. I don't know when that is for sure, but I suspect September sometime. We are going right along the continental divide so we should be seeing the highest flight the SQuiRT is going make in her journey. With that in mind, we need to keep her moving along so we don't get stuck in the high country of CO. Route maps can be found on our website.
Breaking News
As well as having WAA-08 T-shirts and decals, the Wings Across America 2008 now has patches! These patches are the embroidered kind that can be sewn onto a ball cap, shirt pocket or sleeve, or anywhere else you might like to sew one on. The patches measure 4 x 3.5 inches, are 100% embroidered, has a merrowed border, with white pellon backing. The cost for one patch will be $4.05 plus .84 cents for the mailing costs. Please note that we are not making any money from the sale of these patches. We have to order a minimum of 50 patches at a time so we are taking pre-orders right now. Once we submit the order, you should have the patch(es) in your mailbox within four week's time. Don will post ordering info on our website as well info for multiple orders of patches. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Don at waatreasurer2@gmail.com
New Sponsor
For those that haven't heard, we picked up a new battery sponsor. The Apogee batteries that we were using were puffing and at least one of them stopped taking a charge. I contacted Bill at Apogee about the possibility of sending replacement batteries, and was told that Apogee didn't want to support us anymore. I have mixed emotions about that. I'm glad they did step up originally to sponsor our adventure, but disappointed that their batteries only lasted a year and that they were unwilling to provide continued support. After Apogee's denial to send replacement batteries, I contacted Jason at MaxAmps and he immediately returned my email saying he'd be honored to support us. I asked for three batteries and he is sending four, as well as including the Deans connectors on them. Way to go Jason and MaxAmps! I certainly appreciate that and for MaxAmps helping to keep the dream going.
Photos
I'd like to remind each pilot that a good picture of you holding the plane by your club/field sign or other local landmark is appreciated. The better the photo that you provide, the better looking your flight certificate will be. Don does an excellent job with them and works with the photos provided, but if you can help him out with a good photo, I'm sure he will appreciate it.
RC Forums
If you'd like to join in the WAA-08 discussions, we have four RC forums with threads on them. They are; RCGroups, WattFlyer, Flying Giants, and RC Universe. I try to stop by all of them at least once a day to answer questions and post updates as well as photos. Feel free to stop in and post some comments if you'd like. They are all free and simple to join. It's a great way to share information as well as keep current on the WAA-08 adventure. Of course, we'll always have the current location of the WAA-08 plane as well as other important information on our website if you are not a fan of RC forums.
Statistics
Since I really enjoy statistics, I am including them below. I'm not sure what else you would like to see, but these are the few things I have been tracking since we started this adventure back in March of last year.
WAA-08 Statistics (Current as of 27 Jun 09)
7,038 miles traveled.
154 pilots have flown the WAA-08 plane.
74 AMA Chartered clubs have supported our adventure.
23 states visited.
371 registered pilots.
227 AMA chartered clubs represented.
35 registered pilots in California –the most; followed by NY with 23.
1 registered pilot in Delaware and Vermont.
17 degrees –Coldest temperature that the WAA-08 plane was flown: Chuck W (#84) Gandeeville, WV.
102 degrees –Hottest temperature that the WAA-08 plane was flown: Fred H (#126) Temple, TX.
4,500+ emails sent in support of the WAA-08 adventure
Major Events Attended
Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) 12-14 Sept 2008
Southeast Electric Flight Festival (SEFF) 1-3 May 2009
The oldest and youngest pilots
Youngest Female: Nicole H: 8
Youngest Male: Aydin T: 7
Oldest Female: Sherilyn P: 45 (yes, we asked and it was OK)
Oldest Male: Frank J: 93
Club with the most WAA-08-pilots
Hawks R/C Junior Aviators
News Coverage
15 Online news stories
12 Local papers
5 nationally publicized magazines have run articles on the WAA-08 adventure
1 Weekly RC podcast that provides WAA-08 updates
1 Local television news story
Forum Members
149 on RC Groups
40 on WattFlyer
3 on RC Universe
Plane statistics
Plane: Simple Quiet Robust Trainer (SQuiRT)
Wingspan: 38"
Motor: GWS sp400
ESC: Castle Creations Pixie 20P and for a backup Spectrum 18 Amp from Medusa Research
Batteries: MaxAmps 1100 mAH 7.4V 25C LiPos
Props: GWS 7x3.5
Receiver: Spektrum AR6200
Servos: 2 Ea Hitec HS-55
Radio: Spektrum DX6i
Battery Charger: DBC-14 from Common Sense RC
AUW: 16 ounces
Built from: Balsa and vinyl covering
Manufacturer: Stevens AeroModel
Year Built: 2008
Sponsors
Stevens AeroModel
Horizon Hobbies
Redneck RC
Common Sense RC
Big Al's Hobby Supply
RC Pro Racing
MaxAmps
Hobby Hangar
Castle Creations
Grumpy Monkey Designs
E Cubed R/C
FliteLine Hobbies
R/C FlightCast
Vinyl For RC
Medusa Research Inc.
Steve Cranford (WAA-08.org Domain creator)
Desert Eagles Model Airplane Flying Club
That sums up my second quarterly update about the WAA-08 adventure for this year. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please email me and I will respond as soon as possible.
Thanks again for participating in our adventure and helping to "make it happen."
Frank
Promoting the Hobby
- One Pilot at a Time
www.WAA-08.org
