Pole Crossing Delayed By Mechanical Problems

Thursday was set to be the first day of a new bone-chilling adventure for Dr. Gustavus McLeod. Unfortunately, he was forced to return back to Florida due to some nagging aircraft problems. McLeod was 30 miles south of Cuba on the way to Panama for the first leg of a long, challenging attempt to fly solo over both the North and South Poles in a single-engine plane when the mechanical gremlins awoke.

McLeod, 49, was flying a modified Velocity SportPlane called the Firefly, when he noticed a series of abnormal electrical and oil pressure indications on the aircraft's instrument panel. Right away, he decided to contact the folks at Velocity for some technical guidance.

Duane Swing, owner of Velocity Inc., told ANN McLeod was advised to return back to Fort Pierce (FL). "The other option was to have Gus  land in Panama, but that wasn't going to work from our standpoint," said Swing.

Once McLeod made his way to Florida, the Velocity support team went to work troubleshooting the Firefly's problems. The electrical bugs were taken care of in short order. "We had some bad grounds in the airplane," Swing reported.

The oil-related issue has much more demanding on the team. As of this story's deadline, the Velocity team was still hard at work trying to remedy the Firefly's ailment. "We haven't been able to figure out what is causing the oil temperature problems," said Swing. "The oil coolers checked out fine but we can't seem to get handle on the problem right now."

With no cause of the problem in hand, it's too early to say when McLeod may fly again. "One thing is certain... he's not flying today," Swing admitted.   

FMI: www.gusmcleod.com