Round-the-world flyers rely on JetEx Flight Support

Pilots Anthony Caere, Hans Engels and Bart Adriaens, who call themselves the Flying Juniors, will raise money from sponsors of their flight in the Belgian-built and designed four-seat Mission M212 produced by Lambert Aircraft Engineering.  

These funds will be contributed to the Amade charity organization which provides help for children, both in Belgium and worldwide.

"We expect the project to raise a significant amount for Amade charity and we are pleased to support their efforts" said Patrice Geens, JetEx business development director.

The Flying Juniors have prepared for the global challenge by flying through 16 countries in 20 days to circumnavigate the Mediterranean, through North Africa , the Middle-East and the Balkans in a 140 HP Piper Cherokee.

Capt. Caere says: "Without Jetex providing its services for free the round-the-world project would be going absolutely nowhere. JetEx has lifted the huge burden of flight planning, permissions and paperwork from our shoulders allowing us to focus on the flight and on raising money for charity. The service and support has been perfect. We are on a tight schedule with daily flight averages exceeding 10 hours and we need a strong partner like Jetex on the ground to smoothly channel us in and out of the many countries that we will land in."  

He adds: "For us it would be a very substantial task to fulfil all the land and overfly requirements for each and every country we go to or fly through. But Jetex will coordinate all the formalities including the handling arrangements and visa formalities. This means that we know that all the paperwork will be dealt with by a world-class specialist before and during the journey and that we will avoid delays or the worst case scenario of access denials."

The M212, powered by an XP-360 engine, is being assembled by the Flying Juniors in close cooperation with the Lambert brothers. Capt. Caere said: "It is the first of its type to be produced following the successful prototype and benefits from fuel injection and glass cockpit. The airframe is all composite and construction is mainly of glass fibre and epoxy but carbon reinforcements are used in key supports where additional stiffness is required."  

The Flying Juniors plan a cruising speed of around 250 km/h. Capt. Caere adds: "To bridge the exceptionally long legs of up to 18 hours an extra fuel tank will be built in to avoid fuel stops that might have proved impossible. A great advantage of this self-build concept is that the crew themselves can carry out the proactive and reactive maintenance instead of having a mechanic flying in tandem to perform the 50 hour checks."    

Belgian singer songwriter and pilot Raf Van Brussel is helping with publicity while meteorologist David Dehenauw will provide advice on routes with special attention to the 50 hours devoted to crossing the Pacific Ocean. "We have prepared for all eventualities and are confident we will succeed," said Capt. Caere.