On the 2nd March my Trike and wing was carefully loaded into a container at the Mainair factory at Rochdale by Jim Cunliffe of Mainair and Paul Crosby of Lombard Shipping together with five beautiful pristine White 503 Mainair Blades [my next colour choice] which will be sold from the Mainair/Atlantic Sports stand at Sun n Fun to some lucky American flyers.

The container will take about 2 weeks by sea to Florida, and then I will join it on the 4th April at Trevor Sayer's field at Dunn Airport, Titusville, once assembled I will fly it across to Sun n Fun at Lakeland.

Meanwhile my employers in Oxfordshire “Low Power Radio Solutions” have learned of my imminent departure, promptly threw a party in the local pub, presented me with some high class crystal from the staff, and have become almost as excited by the trip as I have! even offering sponsorship, [see the list] maybe I wasn't as irreplaceable as I thought I was, everybody seemed very happy??? sadly I leave them on the 17th March.

In The Granada Studio with John North

Over the last 6 weeks I have received plenty of local publicity for the Cancer Research cause including 6 newspaper articles 3 radio interviews and a 3 minute slot on peak time local north-west “Granada Television” in front of millions of people live! My own machine is now on the high seas so I borrowed Colin Bodile's Blade 912 from Mainair [around the world in 80 days by Ultralight] to very quickly demonstrate the control technique of the Flexwing to the viewers, nearly banging the cameraman on the head. Afterwards I somehow expected to be chased down the street by half naked women and an immediate movie contract alongside Tom Hanks but nothing happened? Kerry my wife thinks I am a star anyway?

After the article by Kevin Rutland in the American Ultralight Flying mag, I got 20 emails from U.S. coast and border Ultralight Fliers offering help it was wonderful they are scattered all around the route I hope to drop in on all of them, many thanks ladies and gents, get the tea bags ready!

My halfway point will be with Jack Laffin up in Lake of The Woods Minnesota right on the Canadian border, I should be able to land in his garden. Jack is borrowing a radio and will light a smoky fire to guide me in after a long trek from the east coast. Jack was the first contact I had in the USA and we have emailed for more than a year despite being well into his seventies and with a bad back he flies around in a Powerchute!

Also worth a mention is Sean Scott a paraplegic Trike flyer he was shot by accident when a boy, losing the use of his legs and now flits around the skies of North Carolina with a big grin on his face in his specially adapted Trike, amazing! take a look at his website Paraplegic Triker

If Jack and Sean are typical of the spirit of American Flyers it should be a very interesting 6 months.

Meanwhile back in the UK the Clatterbridge Cancer Research appeal is going very well with people requesting donation forms every day, typical is an offer of 50p or £1 every 1000 miles flown. All money donated for the cause will go straight to Clatterbridge Hospital via a free of charge Girobank account 10% will go to employ fundraising staff and events the rest straight into the kitty for research and equipment. Thanks everybody so far in the UK for your generous pledges, and all you Americans for your offers of help during my trip, see you over there soon.