TEN ROMEO NEWSLETTER
FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT, Report 4
BERMUDA TRIANGLE CHALLENGE
November 4, 1985
Dear Friends:
TEN ROMEO HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!! An unusual and exciting flight was undertaken on October 29th through November 1st. Albany, Bermuda, St. Thomas, Ft. Lauderdale, and back to Albany - 3,578.4 nm. with everything to the firewall and 28 new speed records accomplished! BUT ---- I'm getting ahead of the story.
Let me pick up the thread of events from the last report to you of July 16.
Shortly following my last report, word reached me from a friend who is well connected with the Soviet hierarchy. It appears that approval for TEN ROMEO to use Soviet Air Space was intended as a signal that the Soviets were serious regarding action on the East/West Air Accords. You may have noticed that preliminary agreement on this matter has been accomplished, and it is my assumption that the Summit will provide the platform for this arrangement to be signed.
As you know, Vladislav Zakharov, my navigator on the Moscow record run, and his wife were invited to Washington to receive the record plaque for his part in that epic flight. The invitation was sent by General von Kann, President of the NAA, to The Honorable Boris Pavlovich Bugayev, Chief Marshall of Aviation for the USSR. Regrets were sent to NAA by Bugayev, and I had a nice note from Vladislav indicating that he had just been promoted by Aeroflot as Chief of their operations at Salzburg, Austria.
In early August, I received the following letter from Ambassador Hartman, signed by Mayor Promyslov, of Moscow, dated July 30th:
Respected Mr. Ambassador:
I thank you . . . . and ask that you convey my thanks and best wishes to the Mayor of Dayton, Mr. Paul Leonard, for the memorable medallion of his city.
I would also like to take advantage of this letter to ask that you., Mr. Ambassador, send to the pilot, Dr. Millard Harmon, my congratulations on his remarkable sporting success and my best wishes for further sporting achievements directed to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation between the Soviet and American peoples.
With Regards,
V. F. Promyslov
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In my response to Mayor Promyslov, I indicated I had passed his good wishes to Mayor Leonard, of Dayton, and would plan to drop by his office during my November Moscow visit. I thanked him for his warm thoughts relating to the FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT, and told him I had friends here at home who also considered the flight "remarkable" and that we were all hoping it would lead to increased contact between Soviet and American sport fliers.
In July, the decision was made to return to Moscow - commercially - on November 9th through 18th. The intent of this trip will be to do those things I was unable to do while under "house arrest" in June. This will be an exciting trip, filled with fun. I'll be able to have an enjoyable time with my friends. A list of objectives for this trip is made a part of this report. It is also interesting to note that my SOVIET VISA for this trip was received nearly a month before departure. (Perhaps a small CBM?) I will be carrying Vladislav's two record plaques with me. They will be left with Aeroflot,. or perhaps I will be able to deliver them to Salzburg. At least, it will be my hope to see my friend again.
Jim Walsh, of BEECH, felt that "all those who made the SVO flight of TEN ROMEO a success" should have a small momento of that epic flight. Thus, I will be taking a few gold BEECH-36 lapel pins with me, courtesy of BEECHCRAFT, for Bugayev, Promyslov, Posner, et al. Speaking of BEECHCRAFT generosity, NAA has a display at Dulles International Airport in Washington, and because of TEN ROMEO's accomplishments and visibility, a model was requested. I mentioned this need to my friends at BEECHCRAFT, and their response was instantaneous! (Thanks1 Virgil!)
Some of you have asked how my plans for flying for Belafonte in Africa are progressing. Since there has been no follow-up from Harry, I must assume that a review of TEN ROMEO'S useful load by experts in the African Hunger movement has come up short. While I pledged my service and my aircraft to saving lives in North Africa, to find I am not needed is not a major disappointment. As one of my best friends said, "Mil - the Soviets are tough but the Africans are erratic!" (You can stop worrying, Kirk!) Also - my insurance colleagues will also sigh in relief - right, John?
Thought I might share with you an exciting time I had recently. It is my policy to drop in on my EQUIPMENT SPONSORS now and then, and in September I went down to East Hampton and went through Jim Shaw's factory. Jim operates SHAW AERO DEVICES, INC., and he (as well as his father before him) spends his time dreaming up safety items and then putting them on-line. Much of Jim's interest is directed toward military aircraft, but there is much available to light aircraft as well, such as: lockable fuel caps, lightning resistance fuel caps, polyurethane fuel cap lanyards, low level oil sensor - to mention but a few. I hope Jim's safety items become more readily available to light aircraft soon. We would all benefit.
It may be of interest to share with you how the next interesting flight of TEN ROMEO came about.
J. Thomas Whitehurst, III is President of Whitehurst Press, one of the best printing houses on the eastern seaboard. Tom has been a friend for many years and on September 9th I was having lunch with Tom to discuss the printing schedule of a book I had been working on for four years which was to come out under HARMON ASSOCIATES. The printing schedule was set, and the books would be off the press by October 20th. At this point, I mentioned that I had not managed to my satisfaction the distribution of the last book published by HARMON ASSOCIATES, and asked how he thought we might improve the process. Tom's comments, as always, were very positive. "With the unusual flying you have done with TEN ROMEO, and with the visibility you are receiving, your distribution problem will soon be over. All you'll need to do is put one of the books in your back pocket when you eventually get to Johnny Carson's show, and you'll have orders for more books than either of us could imagine!"
The next step in our "brain-storming" moved to what might be done in late October to specifically generate media attention that might spill over and benefit not only the book coming off the press, but also the release of the PBS documentary film, THE FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT being done by Channel 17. If an exciting project were placed on-line toward the end of October, there might be many radio talk shows, as well as TV opportunities to talk about the book and the film. I mentioned I had been considering flying TEN ROMEO to Bermuda, and also would like to break 100 speed records by the end of the year.
AND FROM THAT POINT ON, WE WERE OFF AND RUNNING
We would call the project, THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE CHALLENGE. We would place TEN ROMEO against whatever challenge the triangle might offer. Tom would fly as the official NAA observer, and we would schedule 28 speed records from city to city. (With each record, two accomplishments are usually registered - both a National, and a World mark. Thus, with 28 more records, my total would be 56 x 2 or 112. If these 28 records were accomplished, my calculations indicated I would be the top man in the flight record business world-wide.)
Preparing for the Albany, Bermuda, St. Thomas, Ft. Lauderdale Albany swing was fast and complicated. There was no fuel available on Bermuda (perhaps the Navy does not want small single engine aircraft out over that desolate Bermuda Triangle Ocean?) so we had to modify TEN ROMEO to carry the additional fuel required. Permission to land on Bermuda must be obtained from the US Navy, which operates the only landing field on the island. Special insurance was required, and a very careful eye was focused on the weather with the help of our local specialists.
Attention given to this project was unbelievable, but understandable. One of Tom's colleagues or associates, Bob Slocum, handled the press coverage with his friend, Ed Lewi. Bob's great-grandfather was the first famous person lost in the Triangle, so with this personal interest, the "hype" was on!
SPONSORSHIP was an important item from the very beginning of this project. The budget established was $20,000.00 with half of this going to NAA as sanctions and registration payments. I was told that there are two groups with money for sponsoring projects - alcoholic beverages, and cigarettes - and would I be willing to have one of these industries named on the front of TEN ROMEO?
I indicated that I had reserved a place for a sponsor on the front of TEN ROMEO, but that I would far prefer an oil company, such as TEXACO, or PEPSI. My preference was noted, and Bob Slocum moved for a sponsor for the BERMUDA TRIANGLE CHALLENGE.
The "window" for the project was set between October 28 and November 6. (I had to be back for my November 8 departure for Moscow!) Departure for Bermuda was at 9:28 A.M. on October 29th.
There is not time nor space to share with you in this report the excitement of the preparation for this trip, nor give appropriate detail to the challenges met in the TRIANGLE. A few highlights:
- Media coverage was excellent - heavy in New York State,
present at Bermuda, heavy at St. Thomas where my daughter and son-in-law
wrote a press release and had the media standing in line at the
airport. (I also met my new granddaughter who was three months old!)
- Good tail winds from Albany to Bermuda gave me a 214.7
mph record as certified by NAA. What a help to have Tom along for NAA
tasks!
- The flight from Bermuda to St. Thomas was difficult and
used most of my 40 years of experience to manage successfully.
- Twenty-four hours before the trip I approved a liquor
company as a sponsor for a quick $20,000 check. This fell through
because of the sponsor's fear of our "buying-the-farm" in the
Triangle, and I have withdrawn my approval for any follow through.
- For reasons too complicated to mention here, the book I
had planned to have off the presses by October has been cancelled in favor
of doing a short book on THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE CHALLENGE. I never
dreamed there was such interest in the TRIANGLE mystery, and we have a dozen
radio stations asking us to tell them as soon as the book is available!
- We still have our fingers crossed regarding the release of the PBS FRIENDSHIP FLIGHT film. We hope it will appear before the Summit.
Soooooo - guess that's about all for now. Will close off this report with a thank-you to all for your interest, and a promise that you will have my next report upon my return from Moscow. I have enclosed the following three sheets as a part of this report:
- My letter to Mayor Promyslov, of Moscow
- Objectives of the November trip to Moscow
- MAILGRAM from General von Kann, of the NAA
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Moscow Trip - November 8th through 19th
Dr. Millard HarmonObjectives to be Accomplished:
- Turn PBS film copy over to Vladimir Posner
- Turn record plaques over to Vladislav Zakharov
- Exchange HALL OF FAME book with Aeroflot
- Visit Mayor Promyslov
- See Ken Olsen, AP
- Chat with Sport Pilots, and Tyrsin
- Visit Aeroflot Headquarters
- Turn report over to NOVOSTI (Requested in June)
- See friends at US Embassy
- Contact Director Valery Zima, INTOURIST
- Visit School #29 and Principal Inna
- Visit Boarding School #38
- Have lunch with Rev. Bichkov
- Contact Church friends
- Spend time with Dr. Johannaber
In addition, there will be a number of friends with whom I'll plan to spend time.
I will also plan to return to the Hotel at SHEREMETYEVO with a few gifts to those I met while under house arrest.
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