[JYO] LOCAL POLE-TO-POLE ADVENTURER IS OFF AFTER ROUGH START

POLE-TO-POLE ADVENTURER IS OFF AFTER ROUGH  START
Maryland pilot Gus McLeod, attempting to fly  around the world via the South 
and North Poles in a donated Velocity XL aircraft  dubbed the "Firefly," is in 
South America on his way to Argentina after a shaky  start. He tried to 
depart January 21 but returned to the Velocity factory in  Sebastian, Florida, 
more 
than once to solve electrical problems. On one of the  attempts he turned 
back over Cuba and was escorted to Florida by Cuban military  aircraft. He 
finally left from his official start city, Boca Raton, Florida, on  January 25. 
(An 
earlier departure from College Park, Maryland, was ceremonial.)  He was later 
ordered by air traffic controllers to land in Ecuador after that  country 
denied him permission to transit its airspace. He will attempt to fly to  the 
South Pole from Ushuaia, Argentina, on a round-trip flight. After refueling  in 
Ushuaia he will then head out over the Pacific toward the North Pole. He  
couldn't arrange for fuel delivery in Antarctica, which is needed for a flight  
across the Souh Pole. Follow his adventures _online_ 
(http://www.gusmcleod.com/PilotsLog.htm) .

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