THE DREAM LIVES ON
HUEY TO LEAVE FROM MOTHER RUCKER 9/19/02
Note: The following edited
email messages are the latest updates on the film project about the flight
of the Huey across America. This is from Cheryl and Pat Fries of Arrowhead
Films. It was sent out on May 30th to all those involved in the
project.
Friends,
We're thrilled to tell you that the "Shadow of the Blade"
mission is set for liftoff from Mother Rucker at noon on September 19,
2002! A detailed update from Patrick follows, and you can check
the latest news at www.intheshadowoftheblade.com.
Please note that the flight
plan/stories are still being modified and are subject to change.
The time is now for us to renew contact with you as we
chart the actual flight plan and ask for your support in promoting the
mission in your hometown....
Donations (see Patrick's note below). It's looking good for
corporate sponsorship, but, as you are well aware, the Huey isn't known
for its fuel efficiency!
Please email me as soon as possible with your information and ideas about
ways you can help. Of course, your willingness to share your story
is the most important; that's what this is all about.
I'll look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Cheryl
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From: Pat Fries
Date: Mon, 27
Subject: Huey update
Hello Friends,
We're back!
Most of you have felt like us, that this project was destined to happen.
We are now happy to tell you that on September 19th, 2002 at
noon we will be escorted off the ground of Fort Rucker on our
mission to come see each of you.
We have quite a bit to tell you about, and we have a shopping list of
things that we need from each of you. So grab your favorite beverage
and we'll tell you about our exciting news.
New Crew, New Huey
We were sad to see the Five-O-Deuce dismantled and left out to
rust, but with Bob Carr's blessing we have moved on to another ship.
She was born in 1965 inside the Bell factory in Hurst, Texas and
spent many years as a trainer at Fort Rucker. It was purchased two
years ago by David Clark an Air Force guy in Fort Worth, and
has been lovingly taken care of by Bruce Lemoin and Jim Palmersheim, both
of whom are American Airline pilots. Both of them are former
Huey drivers and Bruce holds an AP certificate and has ability to
tear the ship apart and put it back together. Bruce is also an
Instructor Pilot. John Lipski, one of our original crew
members is still with us.
David Clark, the owner, has the Huey as part of his Texas Air Command
Museum (nonprofit 501 (c) ) It is a Bell UH1-H, s/n 65-10091, US
registration N565TX. John Flannigan (Huey driver, 1st of
the 9th) has actually sat at the controls of this helicopter and his words
were "this is the real deal."
The Mission is Alive
General Curran, who oversee's all army aviation from Fort
Rucker has given us permission to begin our mission on Sept. 19th
from Fort Rucker. It should be a wonderful occasion, filled
with excitement. We encourage all of you to come see us off and
whisper "those crazy bastards are really going to do this!"
The Route
Please refer to the website often to check our proposed route, but keep in
mind that it is likely to change once we finish our planning. Right
now we are planning to go west first and then up to Washington state and
down through the Midwest and over to NYC and down the east coast into
Pensacola. The flight team is suggesting reversing that route, so
stay tuned.
The Sponsors
For those of you who wondered why Bell wasn't on board with us all along,
you can put those thoughts behind you. Bell Helicopter will likely be
providing two support helicopters as well as the ground support for our
mission. In addition, we will likely be able to bring our ship into
the factory where it was built for a little sprucing up. Also, since part
of our flight team is made up of American Airline pilots, we are hoping
that AA will come on board as a sponsor. We are also making pitches
to other companies and organizations to help get the funds that we need.
The Cash Crunch
Our sponsorship with Bell will save us approximately $200,000, but we
still need the money to pay for insurance, fuel and other related costs of
the trip. Our estimate is that it will take $150,000 to fly the Huey
across the country and another $150,000 to pay for crew and production
costs. Some of these costs can be deferred, but most cannot.
Every dollar that comes in will go straight to the Huey
fund and is tax-deductible. We'd like to ask each of our friends to
help us find folks who can help us out. You'll find the donor values
on the website under "how can I help?"
Support
We're going to need lots of help on our route...places to stay, eat and
get jet fuel. In the coming weeks, a detailed route will be posted
and we'd like everyone to see if they can adopt the flight team part of
the way. We also need you to help garner media support for
us...newspapers, magazines and television. Good media coverage will
make the sponsors more willing to get on board.
