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The flight of the Vimy across the Atlantic

National Geographic magazine’s website (www.ngm.com) will be the official site for the Vickers Vimy’s transatlantic voyage. Go to www.ngm.com/vimy. In their only nod to modern technology, Fossett and Rebholtz’s plane will transmit live images from four onboard cameras following take-off, and these will be posted to the National Geographic website. National Geographic and the Vimy organization began their long standing relationship in 1994 when National Geographic sponsored the England to Australia voyage, and featured it on the cover of their May, 1995 issue. National Geographic Explorer televised a one-hour documentary of that dramatic flight.

The completion of the “Triple Crown” has been a twelve year labor of love for the Vimy team, a consortium of impassioned aviation buffs, led by San Franciscan, Peter McMillan, who assembled the team that created the Vimy replica, and who has piloted it on previous voyages. McMillan says it best; “From an ambitious dream in 1993, this primitive flying machine has now cast her graceful shadow over most of the Earth, as did her predecessors in the early days of aviation. Wherever she has traveled, she radiates the spirit of the pioneers and reminds us all that adventure leads the path to progress. Seeing the sunrise on the hills of Ireland will be her crowning moment.”

About the Vimy Project: The Vimy Project was organized in 1993 by Peter McMillan and Lang Kidby to build a flying replica of the 1919 Vickers Vimy and relive its historic first flights across the globe. The Vimy has flown nearly 40,000 miles to date, touching down in over 30 countries, reminding all who see her of the proficiency and self-reliance demonstrated by the pioneers of aviation. This machine has truly become “The Galleon of the Skies” as she was known in 1919. The project has been driven entirely through volunteer enthusiasm with the critical assistance of corporate and media partners, including the National Geographic Society.

About Steve Fossett: Steve Fossett is perhaps the world’s best known adventurer, holding current world records in five sports – balloons, sailboats, gliders, airships and powered aircraft. Steve’s extraordinary 67 hour flight in March 2005 in Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer – the first solo non-stop round the world aircraft flight makes a unique match for his equally remarkable 2002 Bud Light Spirit of Freedom, the first solo round the world balloon flight. In 2002, Steve received aviation’s highest award, the Gold Medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).

About Mark Rebholz: Co-pilot and Navigator Mark Rebholz is a long standing member of the Vimy team, having piloted many of the Vimy’s previous flights. Mark is responsible for all flight related activities, including flight planning, clearances, meteorology, and navigation. Mark was chief test pilot for the Vimy’s FAA certification, and has over 20,000 flying hours, 4,500 of which are in 24 different vintage-type aircraft. Mark is currently a Boeing 747 Captain for United Airlines.

In the picture: the flight of the Vimy across the Atlantic