Steve Thomas/Part 103 Ultralight PPC flight across America


	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ATTENTION MEDIA EDITORS AMERICAN SPIRIT FLIGHT ACROSS AMERICA II Steve Thomas/Part 103 Ultralight Powered Parachute Flight Across America Dexter, Kentucky USA January 15, 2005 -- Steve Thomas announces that he will attempt to fly across America in a homebuilt powered parachute in March, 2005. The flight will begin in Camarillo, California and end at Hilton Head, South Carolina. A powered parachute is an aircraft that uses a parachute for it's wing. The pilot sits in a cart that is suspended below the wing. The engine is situated at the rear of the craft and turns a propeller to push it along. The powered parachute being flown on this flight is an Ultralight class and weighs 225 pounds empty. It is also limited to a 5 gallon fuel supply. This will make it very challenging and require in the neighborhood of 50 refueling stops, depending on the winds. The powered parachute flies at an airspeed of only 28 mph. This will be Steve's second coast to coast flight in a powered parachute. He did it once before in 2000/2001 in a heavier 2 seat "Trainer" craft with a 10 gallon fuel supply. The upcoming flight will not be so luxurious and very limiting. There is no second seat to carry any gear in. The fuel supply is 1/2 and will require more refueling stops and accurate calculations of range in the winds that will be encountered. Volunteers will be providing ground support in various parts of the country since Steve will not have a dedicated chase crew on this flight. This too will add to the challenge of finding food, fuel and lodging, especially in the remote areas out west. With a lot of help from designers, engineers and fellow builders, Steve designed and built the new craft for this flight to be light, strong and efficient. It is made of 4130 Chromoly steel tubing and uses a small elliptical Thunderbolt E-310 wing. The elliptical wing is the most efficient wing available and adds a few miles per hour to the airspeed. The flight from California to South Carolina will take approximately 70-80 hours in flight time. However, to get 70-80 hours of flyable weather conditions it may take 2 months. Powered parachutes are limited to flying only in reasonably good weather and with winds under 15 mph on the ground. It is preferred for the winds to be under 10 mph and most pilots fly them in the early morning and late evening when the winds are light. For more detailed information about this flight including photos, maps, etc. visit www.americanspiritppc.com Contact Steve Thomas at phone 270-293-5909 or 270-767-9814 e-mail steve@americanspiritppc.com or americanspirit@earthlink.net

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