(Mr. Geoff
Sjostrom is trying to get a Seabee to volunteer their Seabee to cross
Lake Michigan. Anyone interested can contact him at the address/phone
below. Sounds like fun! - Steve)
The first flight
across Lake Michigan was made on July 1, 1913, by Logan A. “Jack”
Vilas, in a Curtiss flying boat (the Smithsonian has the hull of this
flying boat). He flew from St. Joseph, Michigan to Chicago. This
100th anniversary year, his granddaughter, Faith Vilas, a single- and
multi-engine rated pilot and astronomer, now a Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science institute in Tucson, intends to
reenact that flight.
Since the original flight was in a seaplane, we are
hoping to re-enact it in an amphibian, and a Seabee would be perfect.
We seek two things from the
Seabee Club or a generous member:
1. An aircraft, obviously. We’re not rich
people, so it would be great if a generous owner would also pay for the gas in
exchange for the honor of being part of the event, but that can be
negotiated.
2. Adequate training so that Ms. Vilas can
fly the whole mission, from takeoff to landing. It’s perfectly OK if the owner
of the aircraft wants to accompany her or send a safety pilot. The first flight
wasn’t solo.
By the way, Ms.
Vilas lives in Houston, so if a member in that area wanted to provide her
training while a second member near Lake Michigan provides the aircraft for the
flight, that would work out nicely. We will, however, accommodate ourselves
according to the generosity of the members of the Seabee
Club.
If being part of
this historic reenactment interests you, please contact me. Maybe we can team
up!
Geoff
Sjostrom
5431 N. East River Road
Apartment 1215
Chicago, IL
60656-1032
773-867-0249
geoff@alumni.northwestern.edu
He adds...
We’re not rich
people and we don’t have a sponsor, unfortunately. We have tried to get
amphibian and float manufacturers to provide an aircraft and training at no
cost, in exchange for the publicity that the event will generate. That may
happen, but we’re looking for a way of getting this done any way we
can.
We need two things
from the Seabee Club or a generous member:
1.
An aircraft,
obviously. It would be great if a generous owner would also pay for the gas in
exchange for the glory of being part of the event, but that can be
negotiated.
2.
Adequate training so
that Ms. Vilas can fly the whole mission, from takeoff to landing. It’s
perfectly OK if the owner of the aircraft wants to accompany her or send a
safety pilot. The first flight wasn’t solo.
You know best how to
deal with your membership. What I have to say to them is pretty much what I’ve
said to you. But I’ll put it all in a shorter form in another message that you
can just paste into a message to your members.
========================================================
