CJones
Final Approach
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Many Special Olympics athletes came to Iowa on Saturday in more than 200 private airplanes in what's been called the largest private airlift in aviation history.
KCCI's Steve Karlin was on a flight with five athletes from Ohio who traveled in the lap of luxury.
The flight departed at daybreak Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. It was a special day for five volleyball players and their coach.
They received a special treat courtesy of Townsend Engineering and the Citation Special Olympics Airlift.
The athletes arrived at the first-ever national Special Olympic games in a multimillion-dollar, eight-seat Cessna Citation 10 corporate jet.
Bill Wagner piloted the jet during its one-hour flight.
Rick Price, who's competing in the games, said he had never been to Iowa before.
"I'm all ready," he said.
For many of the athletes on board, it was their first time on an airplane.
The Townsend Engineering jet cruised at 575 mph at 40,000 feet. The company took care of phone calls to the athlete's parents, the jet fuel and the pilots.
"We pledged to the people who built it, all of them, hundreds of them, that we would use it for good, and this feels like a step in that direction," said Ted Townsend.
Wagner said the jet costs about $2,500 a flight hour, but the experience was priceless for the athletes and for the jet's owner.
http://www.kcci.com/sports/9462157/detail.html
-Chris
KCCI's Steve Karlin was on a flight with five athletes from Ohio who traveled in the lap of luxury.
The flight departed at daybreak Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. It was a special day for five volleyball players and their coach.
They received a special treat courtesy of Townsend Engineering and the Citation Special Olympics Airlift.
The athletes arrived at the first-ever national Special Olympic games in a multimillion-dollar, eight-seat Cessna Citation 10 corporate jet.
Bill Wagner piloted the jet during its one-hour flight.
Rick Price, who's competing in the games, said he had never been to Iowa before.
"I'm all ready," he said.
For many of the athletes on board, it was their first time on an airplane.
The Townsend Engineering jet cruised at 575 mph at 40,000 feet. The company took care of phone calls to the athlete's parents, the jet fuel and the pilots.
"We pledged to the people who built it, all of them, hundreds of them, that we would use it for good, and this feels like a step in that direction," said Ted Townsend.
Wagner said the jet costs about $2,500 a flight hour, but the experience was priceless for the athletes and for the jet's owner.
http://www.kcci.com/sports/9462157/detail.html
-Chris