The Joy of Aviation

I overheard “we’re going around the world in a small prop plane” and my pilot radar locked in on the conversation. It was Gail Lynne Goodwin talking about how she and her pilot husband are going to circumnavigate the world to deliver 100,000 hugs, and $1,000,000 to important causes. Wow! How cool is that?

I introduced myself, told her that I too was a pilot. We were both busy attending an internet marketing conference in Las Vegas so we swapped cards with the intent to get “the rest of the story” to share with other aviation enthusiasts.

Gail and Darryl are confident that they’ll be able to get a Socata TBM850, Piper Meridian, or perhaps a King Air donated to them for their four month adventure. They have some leads and some owners about to commit.  What may happen is that they set up a short term plane lease and then have it paid for by a corporate sponsor. That’s probably the cleanest way – liability and insurance wise.

The global hug tour will take off May 10, 2009 and land mid-September 2009. Fifty stops around the world are planned and at each stop at least 2,000 hugs will be shared. They’ll be launching from Boulder Colorado and heading west. A westbound route offers many advantages such as stretching daylight hours and avoiding major seasonal weather systems. Gail and Darryl estimate that the flight will be 30,000 miles and 150 hours.

Darryl is a G400 driver for NetJets. I talked with him on the phone about his choice of planes:

Bob: Gail tells me that you’re hoping to secure a TBM850 for this adventure. Of all the planes you could choose, how did you pick the TBM?
Darryl: Actually, we haven’t locked in on the TBM yet, but it is my top pick. Other planes that we are considering are the Piper Meridian and the Cessna Conquest I / II.

Bob: What are the primary things you are looking in the plane?
Darryl: First of all we wanted something that was fairly low profile, from an aesthetic point of view. We expect that there will be a lot of photos of the plane and we don’t what it to overwhelm the mission’s message. We also considered Pilatus and Kodiak but they just look too big on the ramp. We could have easily chosen a small jet too, but we felt that would simply send the wrong message.

Another important criteria is that the plane needed to be single-pilot IFR certified. Although Gail has some Student PIC time in a light aircraft, her principle flying role will be as a valuable cockpit resource with radio, navigation, etc. (Before we leave, she’s also going to learn how to land the plane too, you know, just in case).

The third major criteria is that it needs to meet the mission’s needs “out of the box”. There are some long legs over water, inhospitable terrain and European regulations to consider. We want to avoid having to modify someone else’s aircraft with long range tanks or special radios. The TBM fits those needs nicely.

Bob: Single engine?
Darryl: The main criteria of safety and reliability that I settled on early was to go with a turbine engine. Of course a turboprop fits that bill while still keeping with our desire to fly a smaller prop plane. Additionally, the safety record of twin and single turboprops are nearly identical.

Honestly, I would prefer a twin, and the King Air or Conquest fits the bill nicely. But in looking at the operating costs we could get slightly better performance and lower operating costs from the TBM line.

You can become a Hug Ambassador by purchasing hugs for $10 each.

100% of the money raised from hugs will dedicated to the $1,000,000 they want to distribute to important causes throughout the tour. They are looking for sponsors to carry the travel costs. Click here to buy a hug or learn about sponsorship opportunities.

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Do you have any questions for Darryl or Gail?

Planes discussed in this article. Click for larger view:

 

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