One of the things I absolutely adored about my team was how well we all worked together with little discussion or fanfare to get the job done. Everyone understood their role and took care of it and also chipped in to give a hand to others.
The success of the Coast to Coast was the team effort. I was just the idiot doing the flying
Harley Milne – Pilot
The total weight for the launch was upwards of 90-100 lbs. This is heavy, even with training for an older guy. Around 30 lbs of fuel, 10 lbs in electronics and flight deck, motor at 57 lbs.
The hardest job is on the ground and the team treated me like a rally driver to minimize fatigue and saving my strength for the launch itself.
Preparation
What soon became routine, we started the day with our morning briefing and equipment preparation. Cynthia got tea & coffee going and preparing posts for Social Media and connections with the press. Tom got my electronics and fuel for me on the motor. Greg started filming and Ray fine-tuned my motor and completed pre-flight checks before joining me for our Weather Briefing with Meteorologist Dave Wert.
Go Time
Looking at the time, I remember being the catalyst to start moving. We all grabbed up equipment(Bench, Motor, Wing, Flight Deck, Radios, iPad, inReach, Fuel, Helmet, Safety Gear…) and made our way to the launch site on the beach.
This wasn’t going to be the easiest launch. The wind was coming from the east to the water which required a slight uphill run away from the incoming tied and over a sand burn before having to clear a 10-foot fence to a Navy facility. It was a lot of gear and it took about 20 minutes to get hooked in. Shortly after first light, and about 20 minutes before Sunrise it was Go-Time.
A few of the Ugly Raptors were there as wingmen to escort me through the valley and were quickly airborne.
I vaguely remember the wing not coming up perfectly the first launch and after the team scrambled to reset my wing I put my mind to it and pushed hard and the wing came up and I throttled up and quickly gained speed before….
The next 16 seconds have been a closely guarded secret for all who were there and will soon preview in a Documentary which Greg Anthony Harris who is a renowned Videographer on YouTube is producing.
That day I completed about 100 miles on the first flight landing near Calexico south of the Salton Sea on the Mexican/USA border and went on to make 3 flights and covered a distance of 245.6 and finished near Gila Bend, AZ.
Join us tomorrow as the adventure and drama continues…
Whoops! Well that was one hell of a Ride
Harley Milne – Pilot
