Tue, Jan 18, 2011
A Man And His Cessna 182 Have Been Around The World ...
Twice
For 10 years, Robert Gannon has flown his 1969 Cessna 182 just
about everywhere.
C182 File Photo
Really.
To all 50 states and 155 countries.
By his logbook, Gannon has landed the airplane he calls "Lucky
Lady Too" on dirt strips to miles of concrete. He has made two
circumnavigations ... one each way. He's flown over the North
Pole.
All that ended January 8th when the 60-year-old pilot retured to
San Diego with his airplane, the first time the two had been there
together in the decade they've been flying together. Gannon would
always return home, wherever that might have been at the time, via
commercial airlines, having parked his Cessna in some 40 different
countries, according to his website.
The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Gannon started
flying in 1992 in San Diego, and had his private certificate and
instrument rating within three months. He almost immediately flew
to Paris (yes, France) in a Cherokee. He began his 10-year journey
in 2000, and told the paper he has done such things as modifying
the 182 so that most of the cabin was fuel tank in order to make
the flight to Hawaii. More than once, he said, he has landed with
about a "spoonful" of gas after diverting around weather, or on
very long legs such as a 17 1/2 hour flight from West Africa to
Brazil.
Gannon, who never married or had children, says he's ending his
adventures with some mixed emotions. He says he may write a book
from his logs and journals. He said one of the most difficult
things for him to do may be to "wean himself off" the stimulation
of flying.
We're not to sure why that's necessary.
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