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of June 30, 2001 For the last few months, Dana and Ken have been whizzing back and forth along the runways at the Sanford Airport in Maine, conducting high-speed "taxi-tests." The purpose of these was not the fly, but to get the aircraft light on its feet. This, in turn, allowed them to gauge the effectiveness of the controls and make minute corrections in the center of gravity, angle of incidence, position of the landing gear, and a thousand other details that need to be addressed to create a safe, airworthy aircraft. And finally, it happened. On June 25, their Vin Fiz replica popped off the ground and sailed down the runaway centerline, 5 to 10 feet off the ground, for about 1500 feet. Since then, they have been conducting short, low flights, continuing to fine tune their aircraft and get it ready for its eventual FAA inspection and, hopefully, certification. That's the good news. Although the Vin Fiz gets more and more airworthy every day, the status of the Flight of the Vin Fiz -- the re-enactment of the first flight across America -- gets more uncertain. Their one-time sponsor, Inventing Flight of Dayton, Ohio, seems to have lost all interest in the project. Although the first flights of the Vin Fiz made the national news, they have (at this writing) not even contacted Wright Recreations to congratulate them, inquire about the status of the project, or discuss the next steps. Dana and Ken, in turn, don't know how to interpret this silence since Inventing Flight has not given them a yes or no, but Wright Recreations is actively seeking other sponsors, either to work with Inventing Flight or fund the transcontinental flight without them. Dana and Ken still hope to make a "ground survey" sometime soon, meeting with town councils, chambers of commerce, and airport managers across America to schedule and coordinate the landings and take-offs. This needs to be done not only to insure that the transcontinental crossing goes smoothly, but so the flight has maximum visibility. Wright Recreations maintains that every landing and take-off is a potential news event that needs to be coordinated with local media. For more information about the Vin Fiz, you can write or ping Dana and Ken at:
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Click on a picture to
enlarge it. Morning breaks in the Vin Fiz hangar in Sanford, Maine.
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| While Dana and
Ken have had no trouble finding most of the materials necessary to
complete the Vin Fiz replicas, they haven't yet found one
important component. Cal Rodgers kept a bottle of Vin Fiz lashed to the
forward strut of his faithful "Betsy" for the duration of the
first transcontinental flight. Dana and Ken would like to do the same, not
just for good luck, but also to honor the memory of the man who paved the
way for long distance cross-country flight. If you have an old bottle of
Vin Fiz in your collection, or you know of a collector who has one
available, please write of ping Dana at the address above.
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 Got Fiz? We sure could use one. |
