A Final Update on the Flight to End Polio

Welcome back to Jump Seat. We’re glad you’re reading. This week we’d like to update you on a story we’ve been covering since May of 2023 — The Flight to End Polio and ARINCDirect's support for it.

“Polio is only a plane ride away!” That idea, included by Rotary International in their campaign to eradicate polio worldwide, represents how easy it is for polio and other infectious diseases to spread internationally, facilitated by travel. For two intrepid aviators, though, it inspired much more. John Ockenfels and Peter Teahen circumnavigated the globe in 2023, in what’s dubbed “The Flight to End Polio.” The goal was to raise awareness that we can ELIMINATE polio. These two covered all their expenses, and when planning it, hoped that they could raise a mere $10,000 to be used for vaccinating children against polio. They got a 2:1 matching grant from the Gates Foundation, and were off and running. At last count, they have raised over $2 million for polio vaccinations.

The ARINCDirect team was honored to welcome them to our Operations Center on August 28th (along with another guest). This was a great opportunity for us to greet these courageous humanitarians and hear stories of their successes.

John and Peter had only days before received certification that they had joined the ranks of “circumnavigators.” The elite group comprises only 700 (now 702!) circumnavigators certified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Their guest, Ed Galkin of Edison, NJ, attended with his wife Bobbie. He is also a circumnavigator, holding the age record for that feat—he was 87 when he set the record.

• A one-dollar donation to FTEP, with the Gates Foundation 2:1 match, covers the cost of vaccinating one child. This is an incredible bargain! 

• ARINCDirect Jump Seat: Flight to End Polio Update
• ARINCDirect Jump Seat: Flight to End Polio
• Flight to End Polio 

The fight to end polio continues, and this pilot team continues the battle. If you’d like to learn more, please visit their website at https://www.flighttoendpolio.com/ and see the links above for prior Jump Seat editions. For now, please enjoy photos of the pilots, their aircraft, and the festivities at ARINCDirect.

Cessna T210M aircraft. We really like the logo just aft of the propeller. This was heavily modified and included a large bladder tank behind the seats. The pilots joked that it was a non-smoking flight

All the ARINCDirect Operations teams supported FTEP. The Flight Following Team was especially crucial to its success. (L-R: Katie Jordan, Tim Sitkauskas, Dustin Ellington, Peter Teahen, Seth Germershausen, John Ockenfels)

A slide from the presentation that is surely familiar to people in the US “of a certain age.” Long lines in the late 50s/early 60s to get either the Salk (hypodermic) or Sabin (sugar cube) polio vaccine and images of polio sufferers in iron lungs.

The pilots present a certificate and their flag to the operations teams along with a shadow box containing their flag. The slide in the background represents FTEP’s idea that “We don’t HOPE that polio will be eliminated; we BELIEVE it will be eliminated.” (L-R: John Ockenfels, Katie Jordan, Dustin Ellington, Peter Teahen)

L-R: Bobbie Galkin and Ed Galkin, our special guests. Ed is the world record holder for oldest pilot to circumnavigate in a small aircraft. 

A card showing the route of flight and countries along the way. 37 landings in 19 countries.

Close-up of the FTEP flag, signed by the pilots, given in recognition of ARINCDirect’s support. The signature color reminds us of how a child is marked as vaccinated: dipping a finger into purple ink.

During the August 28th “training day,” FTEP pilots gave two groups an inspirational presentation and talk and fielded many questions. As you’d expect amongst pilots and dispatchers, it also involved recounting the scary (and the nice) things that happened along the way.

Some interesting numbers: Of 7.4 billion people on Earth, about 4,000 people have climbed Mt. Everest, about 500 have been in space, and only 702* have flown around the world in light aircraft (and fewer than 270 of those are still alive). Three of them were in the room with us on August 28th!

*Far fewer than 702 took the southern route.

A fun comparison of the longest scheduled airline flights and the PPG to HNL leg of the Flight to End Polio.

We recently received a nice note from the pilots: 

"We are both very grateful for your support of our mission and your focus on our safety. Despite the many ways this endeavor could have gone badly, your real-time information and support helped us achieve the one goal we stated was our focus. That goal was to come home safe to families and your team helped ensure that was achieved."

Thank you, John and Peter, for the opportunity to help with this important mission! We’re looking forward to whatever comes next, especially now that your aircraft is out of maintenance.