Retiree Bob Vance is leaving Cordova Bay to start 2018 on an epic adventure in the sky.
Come January the 81-year-old frequent flyer is heading off on the first leg of a 60-day tour around South America, and heB次元官网网址檚 doing it as a passenger in a two-seater airplane that would fit in most garages.
B次元官网网址淭he planes are very small which makes it an interesting flight,B次元官网网址� Vance said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no washroom, thereB次元官网网址檚 barely room for your suitcase, and the flights are only about two to four hours, usually once a day, sometimes two in a day.B次元官网网址�
VanceB次元官网网址檚 longtime friend Dave McElroy will pilot the plane for all 60 days in an Oregon-built VanB次元官网网址檚 RV series aircraft. ItB次元官网网址檚 nothing new for McElroy, who is finishing a book about another adventure he took, when he flew a small Piper Comanche around the world in 80 days in 2014.
McElroy will be joined in the sky by another pair plane, that one flown by Russ Airey of Ontario. TheyB次元官网网址檒l cover 32,000 kilometres landing at about 50 airports in 20 different countries.
WhatB次元官网网址檚 unique about the trip is how Vance, McElroy and a couple more pals have spun this retiree adventure into a $425,000 fundraiser they call . Their initiative donates the money to , the charity which arranges flights for low-income Canadians in rural northern areas, and flies them into urban areas to get the type of medical attention they need.
Initially, Vance had committed to flying the entire journey with McElroy but Vance suffered a health setback. Instead, the group broke McElroyB次元官网网址檚 trip into eight legs of about one week each (some a bit longer), with Vance flying on the first leg.
B次元官网网址淲e figured we could do this and raise money,B次元官网网址� Vance said. B次元官网网址淔or the recommended donation [of $30,000] you can fly one of the legs.B次元官网网址�
Sooke resident Reg Willick is among the other passengers who will join McElroy via a commercial airline at a rendezvous point.
For Vance the adventure starts in San Diego where heB次元官网网址檒l rendezvous with McElroy and with Airey. TheyB次元官网网址檒l spend between seven to 10 days flying to Panama. The planes will circumnavigate Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. TheyB次元官网网址檒l make North American landfall in Florida on the way back.
