Press Room

Pair to Attempt to Fly Around the World Aboard Single-Engine Mooney in 7 Days

Houston (Oct. 5, 2008) – Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. will provide free weather services and ground handling coordination to the ALS World Flight Team pilots, who will attempt to set the world record circumnavigating the globe in December to raise money for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). ALS, a progressive fatal neurodegenerative disease, afflicts more than 350,000 people worldwide and currently has no cure.

ALS World Flight Team pilots CarolAnn Garratt and Carol Foy will make the seven-day, 140- hour flight aboard a single-engine Mooney aircraft, making just eight stops for refueling throughout the trip. After each stop, they will switch piloting responsibilities allowing one to fly and one to rest. The world record they are attempting to beat is the total time for the flight from take-off to landing at the initial departure airport. All ground time is included with the flight time.

"We will eat, sleep and even use the restroom all aboard the aircraft," explained Garratt. "We did a 24-hour simulation earlier this year. That was essential because it showed us we could live in that limited amount of space."

The flight will begin near Orlando, Fla. and will take the ALS Team west across the U.S. and the Pacific Ocean to Asia. From Thailand, it will continue across India, the Middle East, Africa, and finally across the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and return to Orlando.

With stops only planned for refueling, weather will be essential to the success of the flight. Universal’s Foxtrot Team, which specializes in supporting the unique requirements of private operators, will work closely with the ALS team to ensure they are prepared for any weather situations that arise.

"The most benign weather around the world in the regions we will be flying over takes place between November and January," said Foy. "That is why we decided to fly at this time. Weather will still be critical, however, and for that reason, to have Universal® behind us is huge.

"The strategy of working with Universal® has been great as it allows us to have optimum planning when it comes to weather. Universal® will provide the current weather information as well as what’s coming ahead for the next leg, which will help us to plan diversions."

Besides weather, the biggest challenge for the ALS Team will likely be just managing the small space of the aircraft. Both Garratt and Foy agreed though that the cramped conditions and long hours of flight time are a small price to pay for supporting the cause of raising funds for ALS.

"Our goal for this trip is to not just raise funds but also awareness for ALS," said Garratt, whose mother passed away from the disease. "ALS has touched so many people’s lives, including my own. Currently, there are no for-profit pharmaceutical companies working on a cure for this disease – just nonprofits."

"We want to use this trip to inspire people to do what they never thought was possible," said Foy. "Lots of people get excited when they hear about the trip, but we ask that people support us by sponsoring a mile of our trip to support ALS. Cures for diseases like ALS start with a little kernel and build and that’s what we hope to start with this trip."

To view all stages of the ALS Team’s flight, learn more about ALS, or to sponsor a mile of the trip, please visit http://www.alsworldflight.com/route.php.

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At Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., our goal is to become a vital extension of our clients' flight operations teams. Universal® offers a wide range of services designed to provide business aviation operators seamless service from start to finish. Universal's wide range of services includes flight planning, weather briefings, online tools, the UVair® Fueling Card, Universal Aviation(sm) worldwide ground support, UVdatalink® air-to-ground communication, and more. Universal has been facilitating successful trips for business aviation operators since 1959.

To learn more about Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc., e-mail sales@universalweather.com, or call (800) 231-5600 ext. 3300 (N. America Toll-Free) or (713) 944-1622 ext. 3300 (Worldwide).

Universal: Success from the word GO.

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