We invite you to join us for a flying adventure of a lifetime as we launch the Epic Odyssey 2016 Around the World Tour! After months of planning and anticipation, we are finally ready to depart! N900RB and N850DV depart KBDN for KOSH around 7:30 am, with clear skies and a nice tailwind. Loaded with 4-6 people each, plus luggage, survival gear, aircraft equipment and supplies, this is certainly a compelling testimony to Epic’s impressive payload and volume capabilities.
Upon arrival at KOSH, we are greeted by N35PZ, who graciously stopped in Richmond, Virginia to pick up several east coast participants, including our videographer, whose impressive assortment of video equipment would have exceeded the capacity of most comparable aircraft! Conveniently, we are able to taxi directly to the Hilton Garden Inn to unload and greet our fellow adventurers. By late afternoon, all six planes have arrived, eager and excited to begin this Epic adventure. Specially-designed Odyssey World Tour decals are placed on each plane to promote the tour and recognize the valued support of our sponsors, including Pratt & Whitney Canada, Garmin, Hartzell, Jeppesen, Spidertracks, Globalstar, and GoPro. We then gather for our first tour flight briefing, which covers a host of critical information, including a few memorable ‘takeaways’:
- Never hit the mountains.
- Avoid landing in the pond.
- Don’t be fooled that English is the international language of aviation.
As we ponder those words of wisdom, we head off to cocktails and dinner, toasting the beginning of this Epic Odyssey.