Model Airplane Flies Around the World!
Many recent events here at SFA deserve some commentary, but none quite so much as the new SFA World Tour. This project was born in the mind of an SFA Forum member as he sat daydreaming in his calculus class. At that time membership in the SFA Forum had just surpassed the 1000 milestone, and there were already members in nations all over the world. A great reason to celebrate, he thought! So he dreamed a wondrous plan to share the "spirit of SFA" literally around the world. The concept was to ship a little rubber-powered flying model on an international route, with stops at various members' homes along the way. Each pilot would fly the model in his unique location before shipping it on to the next person in line. Pilots could also post photos & flight reports in the forum to document the travels of the little ship as it made its way completely around the globe!

Well, once that little bombshell of an idea was planted in the forum it exploded, and many other members chimed in with further ideas and encouragement. Frankly, I was very skeptical at first. The planning & organizing seemed formidable, not to mention the website development needed. After all, too much of my time is already spent in front of the computer. But I couldn't ignore the responsive chord struck within the SFA community. Members saw this as a wonderful expression of SFA "spirit," and an opportunity to demonstrate unity and good will on a global scale. Given the current state of affairs around the world, how could I refuse?

With help & encouragement from the SFA community the SFA World Tour project finally got underway, and the 1st official flight took place on August 5th, 2006. The World Tour Flyer (affectionately nicknamed "SoFiA") will visit 72 pilots in 19 different countries by the time it completes the journey. The Tour Route heads generally Eastward, while zigzagging North and South to the various destinations along the way. We're very excited and proud that we can work together as a group to accomplish such a thing. The consensus at this point is that nothing like this has been done before in this hobby. If you have information to the contrary, please let us know.

To track SoFiA's progress, and for more complete information about this event, please see the official World Tour website. In addition, photos and discussion can be enjoyed in the World Tour forum thread.

Bhagat Dhillon
Editor
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