TEN ROMEO NEWSLETTER
TEN ROMEO TO MOSCOW, Epilogue
FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT, Report 1
February 12, 1985
Dear Friends:
The enclosed is a Transition Report - a wrap-up of the 1984 project, TEN ROMEO TO MOSCOW, and the first report on the 1985 project, FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT.
Last week was mighty exciting - McCAULEY ACCESSORY DIVISION OF CESSNA became an EQUIPMENT SPONSOR, and TEN ROMEO now has a new prop. (Thanks Walter and Al!) On the way to Dayton, a stop was made at GOODRICH, and new tires and tubes were installed, and a set of prop de-icers were put in my back pocket for the new prop. (Always nice to visit, Jim and Norman - you folks have a great crew:)
Dayton is an exciting city - with a great aviation heritage. The local media found TEN ROMEO interesting, and a Rotary presentation was well received. Contact was made with Dr. William Shaw, of CROSSCURRENTS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE, a spin-off of the KETTERING FOUNDATION. More on this later. The return trip to Albany was fast, as you will see from General von Kann's telegram, but mighty cold.
FLASH! ------- Speaking of the NAA, Col. Brown has the statistics pulled together for the NAA records for 1984, and TEN ROMEO is number five in the United States for records acquired in 1984! Don't forget - 1984 was a learning year for me and my bird. If I obtain the sponsorship I expect for 1985, I'll be shooting for the number one spot!
This week I am returning the SPERRY IONS-1020 to Phoenix, and it's like parting with a friend. The equipment is a bit complicated, and I hadn't used it long enough before the European flight to be comfortable with it. My work with it was pretty concentrated upon my return, and the unit gave me perfect flights on the four December records that were flown. (Many thanks, Don, Marty, and all of my Phoenix friends!)
It is pleasant to report that all 1984 EQUIPMENT SPONSORS whom I've contacted have been willing to remain with the 1985 TEN ROMEO project. There are still a few to reach, and the number of static displays planned for the months ahead should make it worthwhile from a PR viewpoint.
The aircraft needs little for the June 18th flight into Moscow. I have made contact with an expert on flexible internal tanking, (thanks, Jeana!) but it would be possible to fly the Moscow mission with the present 80 gals. of fuel. I am also attempting to locate a "quick-release" door. Tried all last year to locate one without success. It would be nice to have both of these items in now, but they are really needed for the excitement following Moscow. Once I have acquired about 100 low level speed records, and this should be done by the fall of 1985, there will be a whole new set of accomplishments for TEN ROMEO to shoot at in 1986. Initial steps have been taken, and the real visibility and excitement for TEN ROMEO may be in the 1986 activity - who knows?
But - back to June 18th. I plan to be in Moscow the last part of May to make a final check on arrangements. It will be a pleasure to see Mikhail, and to have further contact with General Titov and his staff. Also - it will be my hope to break loose additional information on the Soviet Loran-C chain for my ARNAV friends. We need a more precise location of their stations, and need additional information on the pulse system they are using. (Guess we should also pass on CONGRATULATIONS to ARNAV SYSTEMS, INC., and SILVER INSTRUMENTS. The new combined operation has some mighty advanced options down the road, and TEN ROMEO will be one of the first flight data beds!)
Steps have been taken for funding support for TEN ROMEO in 1985. As you know, that pretty wife of mine has said, "No more exotic flying of TEN ROMEO on HARMON equity - find sponsorship money or stay home!"
The following steps have been taken:
- PAGE OF ALBANY: My HOME BASE has been asked to
cover 2/3rds of my maintenance costs for 1985. This is often the way
my colleagues in the record flying game do it. Besides, over $100,000
of my salary in recent years has gone to PAGE, most of it at Albany.
Now that I'm retired, I need their help, and besides, they can afford
it. (They may even cover 100% - they are considering it.)
- TEXACO: I've asked this American oil company to
cover 1,000 gals of fuel per month for 1985. This would allow flights
to static displays anywhere in the country, and would allow a record shot at
the drop of a hat - (or when the winds are right!).
- TELEDYNE: This conglomerate has been asked to
cover Sanctions and Registrations to the NAA for 40 records at $15,600 or
$390 per.
- ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL: The Collins Navstar unit
is the navigation system of the future. All of us were excited with
the recent record flight of the Sabreliner 65 from Cedar Rapids to
Paris. This ROCKWELL aircraft used the GPS (Global Positioning System)
for its epic flight, but it will be a while before this system will be
available for light aircraft. At present, TEN ROMEO has two complete
navigation systems and it is my hope that one of the first light NAVSTAR
units will become my 3rd system in TEN ROMEO. Obviously, Collins will
have a promotional budget to acquaint General Aviation with their new
system, and I think there could be mutual benefit if details are worked
out. Two contacts have been made suggesting the partnership.
- ALBANY SUPPORT: The city of Albany, New York, has a great aviation heritage starting with Glenn Curtis' first long distance flight from Albany to New York City on May 29, 1910. It is my hope that the Albany business community will provide $6,000 support for fuel, air space use, and RONs from Albany to Moscow and return.
In addition to the above, there are a couple of opportunities that are under way, but they have not progressed sufficiently to mention now.
Since my retirement, I learned quickly that corporate giving has undergone major modifications since 1958 when I had ten of the greatest US corporations helping with my Soviet Field Study. Today, corporate giving is under tight government controls. Money may not even be given to individuals, and contributions must generally go to tax exempt organizations.
GOOD NEWS!
Arrangements have been made with two tax exempt organizations to receive corporate donations for support of the FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT. Those interested in the aviation aspects of the project may send money to the NAA. Those with an interest in the cross-cultural potential of the project may contribute to CROSSCURRENTS. Contributions should be identified as "for the HARMON project", and may be addressed as follows:
NATIONAL AERONAUTIC ASSOCIATION
821 15th Street, N.W. - suite 430
Washington, D.C. 20005
Attention: Col. Milton M. BrownCROSSCURRENTS INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE
259 Regency Road
Dayton, Ohio 45459
Attention: Dr. William P. Shaw
In closing out this report, I once again want to thank those of you who have been so helpful in the last twelve months. To those who have elected to remain aboard as EQUIPMENT SPONSORS for the excitement ahead, many thanks to you, too. Others, who would like to receive the new series of reports on FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT, drop me a card and I'll be happy to have you share with me the progress ahead.
Also - have made a part of this report a reprint of the ABS NEWSLETTER spread of January. Didn't they do a beautiful job?!? (Thanks, Cliff:)
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P.S. Just; received a note from Rev. Alexei Bichkov. His Baptist CONGRESS, which meets every 5 years, is set for April. His visit will be delayed.
