Flight Of The Douglas World Cruiser

Flathead Rob and I braved the weather to catch the maiden flight of the Seattle II, a task 13 years in the making. Just amazing. It was so cool to be there.

 

I've mentioned the restoration a couple of times before. The end goal is to recreate the original flight around the world. You can find much more about the project here. 

 

The the Lincoln built Liberty V12 1649 cu in engine makes about 400 HP. Cruising speed is probably 40-70 MPH. That's about what I averaged in a UHaul towing my truck on a trailer when I moved. It's gonna be a long trip. It's shocking just how massive this thing actually is.

This is the project of a lone guy (and his unbelievably supportive wife).  I was with two thoughts...

1) The time and materials donations by countless individuals (Flathead Rob is one) is absolutely incredible.
2) Right or wrong I was left feeling like my absolute obsession over motorcycle projects is pretty tame on the grand scheme of things. Maybe I'm not as much of a freak as I once thought.

Check out the project site and consider contributing (money, skills, time, etc.) if you are a fit. He still has a long road ahead before the actual trip begins. Bob mentioned that it costs $3000 just to fill the fuel tanks.