Dreaming A Little Dream

By ANN Correspondent Tyson V. Rininger

We've all had dreams and aspirations of doing things that most would snicker at or at the least, divulge their extent of caution. Four months ago, 32 year old Jared Aicher became one of those dreamers, or would that be realist?

Aicher, who is a traveler by nature, decided a few months back to take it a bit further, around the world further. But, before you go through the been there, done that routine, check out what he's flying; a 1232 lb. Escapade with an 80hp Rotax 912 engine at a 110mph cruising speed. Talk about putting the new Sport Pilot class aircraft to the test!

The most comparable aircraft to make a round the world (RTW) journey was Jon Johanson (Australia) in his RV-4 in 1995 and Hans Georg Schmid (Switzerland) in a Long Eze in 2000.

As an EAA member, Aicher has much more in mind besides just a trip around the world. Riding along the success of the Young Eagles Program, students located near each stop of his trip can voluntarily write an essay along the lines of "Why I want to be a pilot". The winning essays will result in a Young Eagles ride. This is of course in addition to Aicher's proposed companion, a now infamous volleyball named Wilson.

Departure is scheduled for June 5th, 2005 from Boise (ID), weather pending. Initial plans are to head east, devoting between five to eight hours per day for flying. Supplies such as oil and routine wear parts will be drop-shipped to each intended destination based on calculated mileage.

For those following other RTW efforts, Barry Jones in his Gyrocopter was recently forced to put on hold his attempt do to monsoons in India and will resume in late August, early September. The most recent person to complete their RTW trip was Thomas Scherer in his Europa on June 20th, 2004. To date, 242 aircraft have flown around the world.

Aicher's demonstration Escapade aircraft as pictured, took home the Grand Champion Award at the 2004 Sun n' Fun Fly-in at Lakeland (FL). Flying alongside Aicher in the newest variant of the Escapade, the Highlander could only be described as a real-world thrill. Piloted by Gary Schmitt as the photo ship, it's monstrous backcountry tires and beefy suspension combined with the enormous 30sqft of cargo area in the rear make this a very contentious aircraft for a whole new class of buyers.

FMI: www.slowflight.com, www.earthrounders.com