Little Traveler Rides...er... Flys Again !

The Artists and Their Work; Destiny & Leroy Atkins and the brightly decorated Little Traveler II

This coming Saturday, May 8th, another tiny model airplane named "Little Traveler" will take to the skys on a perilous journey to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee!

Last October, "Little Traveler I" flew 15.2 miles non-stop from Olmsted, Illinois to Boaz, Illinois, guided by it's pilot from the back of a pursuing pickup truck. That flight raised more than $1600 for the hospital.

Now, another small model, "Little Traveler II", will attempt to DOUBLE that distance, with hopefully a similar effect on the donations for St. Jude Hospital! On this coming Saturday, weather permitting, it will launch in the late afternoon from the airport at Cairo, Illinois, and fly non-stop to Painton, Missouri...31 miles away! Flying almost due West, it's course will require it to cross the Mississippi River 3 times, and depending on the winds, it's flight will take approximately one hour to make it to Painton.

This time, our chase vehicle will be a helicopter! Dr. Paul Salmon has generously donated his time and expense to follow "Little Traveler II" and allow me to guide the little model as I ride with him in his Robinson 22 helicopter! Without his "over-the-top" generosity, this route would not have been possible!

"Little Traveler II", a modified Cox Sanwa 'Q-Tee', is a small, radio-controlled training plane from the 1970's. It's been modified with the installation of an 8 ounce fuel tank (normally a plane of this type would carry 8 cc's of fuel), but is otherwise stock. It's powered by a Cox .049 model airplane engine...the same type that powered the plastic models many of us received as Christmas gift through the late 1950's into the 1980's.

It's paint scheme and colors were designed by Destiny and Leroy Jr. Atkins, daughter and son of Leroy and Katrina Atkins of Charleston, Missouri. As you can see, it's a very dynamic looking paint scheme! If you have a FaceBook page, you can check out other photos by typing "Little Traveler II St. Jude" in the search box.

If you'd like to support the flight with a tax-deductible donation, you can make out check or money order to St. Jude Hospital, with a note on the memo line that it's for The Little Traveler Flight, and mail it to me at:

Kim Stricker

P.O. Box 6

Jackson, Mo. 63755.

The hospital also has a PayPal account at PayPal@stjude.org. Please mark it as a personal gift, and please note in the comment box that it's for the "Little Traveler Flight". We also have a donation bucket in Cape Aviation's Office at the Cape Airport. ALL of the donations will go directly to the hospital!

With a little luck, and lots of well-wishes, "Little Traveler II" will complete it's cross-country flight for the kids of St. Jude Hospital, and in a small way, help those dedicated folks continue their battle against childhood cancers.