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Historic Global Odyssey gaining momentum

May 3, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
The historic, made-in-King travel story is taking flight in terms of support and big plans for the pilots of this ground-breaking adventure.
Kingscross resident Steven Dengler and his father Bob have created the C150 GlobalOdyssey (C150GO). It will be the world’s first Canadian around-the-world helicopter flight, and the first-ever father-son global circumnavigation by aircraft.
In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, the Canadian crew – comprised of Bob, Steven, and helicopter ace Rob “Dugal” MacDuff – will fly a Canadian-made Bell 429 Global Ranger helicopter over 37,000 kilometres in just over one month. Starting in Ottawa on July 1 and zigzagging the globe, the crew will visit more than 100 airports in 14 countries. Along the way, they will be joined by notable Canadians such as astronaut Dave Williams and hockey legend Guy Lafleur.
Dengler explained they did an impressive photo shoot for the Discovery Channel in Arizona. They’re going to be featured in an upcoming Daily Planet.
Media coverage is growing, since the story first appeared in the King Weekly Sentinel. The Toronto Star is doing a feature on the adventure, as are university publications from OSPE, Western and Queen’s.
The team will be treated to a reception at Alexander Graham Bell National Historical Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.
“That will be cool!” Stephen said.
The team’s inaugural stop (and official sendoff) will be the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.
The team lifts off from Bolton’s National Helicopters on July 1, heading to Ottawa for Canada Day celebrations that day.
From there, they head up the coast to Baffin Island, then off to Greenland and Iceland. The route goes from west to east to take advantage of the prevailing winds and Dengler pointed out a tail wind is always an advantage. The Bell 429 can comfortably travel 400 nautical miles at a time, and two legs of the journey push the envelope.
Two of the longest stretches run from Baffin Island to Greenland (392 NM) and Greenland to Iceland (400 NM).
150GO is a registered Canadian not-for-profit organization supporting both the Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation and True Patriot Love Foundation.
To learn more about the C150 Global Odyssey, to become a sponsor or to view the complete C150GO itinerary, please visit www.c150go.ca

Tags: Dengler, Global Odyssey

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