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To
qualify for a Transcontinental record, a pilot has to have a
starting point within 30 miles of the West Coast and a finish
line 30 miles from the East Coast. Thus, he chose San Diego's
Lindbergh Field and Jacksonville, Florida as his log in/log
out sites. He set up his record attempt with representatives
for NAA and flew over to Ramona, CA on Friday, March 3, 2006.
Early the next morning, March 4, after de-icing his aircraft
with a garden hose, he took off with 104 gallons of fuel, climbed
to 17,000', activated his flight plan and overflew the tower
at San Diego. With a diminished fuel load, he went up to FL
190 at Imperial, CA, to FL 210 at Wink, TX before leveling off
at FL 230 abeam Mobile, AL. 100 miles out of Jacksonville, he
asked for a slow letdown and descended to FL 190 before passing
over the tower at 296 mph. A Transcontinental Eastbound Record
is based on average speed enroute. Hammer covered the distance
in 8 hours, 5 minutes and 21 seconds, giving him a ground speed
of 258 mph, nearly 57 mph faster than the previous C-1.b attempt.
That record, set two years earlier, was in a Glasair I RG that
averaged 201 mph.
Hammer logged a total of 9.5 hours on the flight, taking into
account the takeoff, climb and descent outside the official
course. He burned 76 gallons that day. Besides a panel mount
Garmin 155XL GPS he carried two portable Garmins, a 396 and
295, for backup. He spent a total of 2 hours in IMC, picking
up a coat of frost which cost him 15 mph. While in the clouds
he experienced moderate turbulence. A total of 20 people sponsored
his flight and Sky Ox gave him an O2 system that he used in
combination with a finger blood oxygen sensor for safety reasons.
Hammer reports that he felt a sense of euphoria and relief that
are difficult to describe once he crossed his finish line.
"I seriously doubt that any certified aircraft could even
come close to that kind of accomplishment," said Hammer.
"Most of them are based on technology that's so old, there's
no way they could be competitive. The only possible contender
for that record would have to be another homebuilt aircraft
and there aren't many out there that can be considered for that
kind of mission profile. The Glasair was designed for speed
and economy and it scores very high on both counts."
For more information on Glasair aircraft kits visit www.GlasairAviation.com
or call the factory at (360) 435-8533 Ext. 3.
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