| News Release ... damit Hilfe Flügel bekommt … Wings of Help CONTACT: Patrick Barry 562-773-4266 Frank Franke 011-49-172-609-9499 Oshkosh, Wisc. July 30, 2010 Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies Help Launch World Children’s Flight at AirVenture; 1928 Sikorsky S-38 to Cross the Atlantic in August Eighty-two years after the first 1928 Sikorsky S-38 Flying Yacht tried crossing the Atlantic – a mission that ended with disastrous results – Tom Schrade will take on the same challenge in his restored “Osa’s Ark” in August 2010. The mission, dubbed World Children’s Flight, is being organized as a unique fundraiser for Wings of Help. Pratt & Whitney has kicked off the effort by pledging $10,000 at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisc. “The spirit of early aviation pioneers still fuels the Experimental Aircraft Association,” said Jeffrey P. Pino, president of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a unit of United Technologies. “It is fitting that we are announcing our pledge at EAA’s KidVenture area where United Technologies works to ignite the passion for flying in the heart of future generations of pilots and aviation enthusiasts.” Wings of Help, known as Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen (LOG) in Europe, is a charity that provides airborne disaster relief and children’s medical mercy flights around the world. Shrade’s co-pilots are Bruno Gantenbrink, a former world soaring champion, and Ulf Merbold, a scientist who has completed missions aboard both the Space Shuttle and MIR. Both serve on the charity’s board. The flight is receiving technical support from Condor Airlines, which is commemorating the 60th Anniversary of Snoopy and the Peanuts comic strip. “With today’s radar, weather forecasts and fixed base operators, the flight may be more reliable logistically, but it is dangerous nevertheless,” Schrade said. “The fact that we’re helping bring relief to the disadvantaged children of the world through Wings of Help makes the adventure all worthwhile.” Wings of Help is collecting pledges at $10 per mile. “Pratt & Whitney’s pledge covers the first 1,000 miles of the 5,000- mile flight,” said Frank Franke, president of LOG/Wings of Help. “Donors will receive a route map certificate for their flight segment signed by the pilot and his famous crew. It is a great way to follow the flight.” Pledges can be made online at www.wingsofhelp.com. Shrade will begin the flight near Minneapolis, and fly to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands before landing in Europe. Once there, Osa’s Ark is expected to visit Scotland, England, France and Germany. The actual take- off date will depend on weather forecasts. --more-- Tom Schrade’s S-38 With its distinctive zebra-stripe paint job, Osa’s Ark is a replica of the flying boat owned Martin and Osa Johnson, the husband-and-wife team that studied the wildlife and peoples of various parts of Africa and the South Pacific. They learned to fly in 1932 at the airfield in Osa's hometown of Chanute, Kansas. Once they had their pilot's licenses, they purchased two Sikorsky amphibious planes, a S-39-CS "Spirit of Africa" and S-38-BS "Osa's Ark." The Johnsons utilized the planes during their fifth African trip, from 1933 to 1934. (The plane was shipped by sea from the U.S. to South Africa.) They flew the length of Africa, getting now classic aerial scenes of large herds of elephants, giraffes, and other animals moving across the plains of Africa. They were the first pilots to fly over Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya in Africa and film them from the air. The 1935 feature film Baboona was made from this footage. Artifacts from their travels can be seen at the Martin and Osa Johnson Museum in Chanute (www.safarimuseum.com). Work on Schrade’s S-38 began in 2000, and was completed in 2002 after 40,000 man hours. He located original tail booms and the center wing section that had been fabricated in the late ‘20s. All other parts were manufactured according to Igor Sikorsky’s original engineering drawings. The work was completed by Born Again Restoration of Owatonna, Minn. The plane was used in scenes from The Aviator where Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed the life of Howard Hughes. “This beautiful aircraft is like a flying billboard for United Technologies,” said Pino. “It represents the living legacy of Igor Sikorsky – the namesake of our helicopter company – and features Pratt & Whitney 450 Wasp Junior engines and Hamilton Standard props. Like Wings of Help, this plane is an inspiration to young people, and a great source of pride for our family of companies.” Schrade’s S-38 cruises at 90 knots and has a range of 650 nautical miles. The longest planned flight segment over water is 477 nautical miles. The transatlantic flight is expected to take seven days, barring any weather delays. S-38 History After Charles Lindbergh showed the way in May of 1927, there were another 20 attempts to cross the Atlantic, and a few succeeded. According to Sergei Sikorsky, Igor’s eldest son, there were three attempts by S-38s, including the first one in 1927 which was undertaken by Mrs. Kathleen Greyson, the wealthy niece of President Woodrow Wilson. She hired two pilots and was determined to become the first woman to make the transatlantic flight. Despite warnings about the North Atlantic winter weather, she departed in mid-November. No trace of the ship or crew was ever found. In July 1929, an S-38 owned by Colonel Robert McCormick, owner of the Chicago Tribune, departed Europe -- without McCormick -- to map the route and establish Chicago as the “Aviation Gateway to Europe.” The S-38 made it to Cape Chidley, Newfoundland where it was fogged in. Unable to fly in zero-zero weather, it was crushed by drifting ice flows and sank. In August 1932, the Flying Huchinson Family (mother, father and two pre-teen daughters) tried to become the first family to fly around the world. In mid-Atlantic, they departed from Julianhab, Greenland and promptly ran into very heavy fog which eventually forces them down on the --more-- ocean. After floating for two days, the wind drove the S-38 ashore near Cape Farewell. The plane was destroyed in the surf and a passing trawler rescued the family two days later. The S-38 was the first flying boat created by Sikorsky Aircraft, and 110 were produced and used by adventure seekers and fledgling airlines. The Chalks Airlines of Florida, the oldest continuously operated airline in the world, began operations in a S-38. Inter-Island Airways, now known as Hawaiian Airlines, began service 80 years ago with two of these aircraft. Pan American World Airways flew the S-38 on flights from Minneapolis to such remote locations as Duluth, Minn. during the same period. The U.S. Army put many of the S-38s to use during World War II. Charles Lindbergh himself surveyed South America and Pacific Ocean routes for Pan Am and also opened the mail routes from Miami to Rio de Janeiro, and Miami to Panama. Herbert Johnson of the S.C. Johnson family explored South America in his S-38. In 1935, he completed an expedition in search of the carnauba wax palm, the source of the world’s hardest natural wax. His late son, Sam Johnson, had Born Again Restorations create a replica of the Spirit of Carnauba for a 1998 flight over the same route. It now hangs as the centerpiece of Forazela Hall on the SCJ Campus in Racine, Wisc. as a tribute to both Sam and Herbert. --#-#-#-- |