Doing the right thing, after we exhaust the alternatives
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May 8, 2007
Flight of fantasy
Maynard Hill started his passion at 4 years old. By the age of 9, he was up to his elbows in glue and balsa wood.
This is a picture of Maynard about 60 years later. Other pictures represent his record setting achievements, but this one shows more of his character. It was taken during the dead of winter in Maynard's workshop. That's snow outside the window; his gloves have the fingertips cut off so he can make minute adjustments to the engine.
No, there isn't a heater.
Maynard's life-long dedication was to constantaly improve his previous design of a model airplane. In 1968, he held remote control records in duration, speed and distance.
On August 9 of 2003, Maynard's plane flew from Newfoundland to Mannin Beach in Ireland. The non-stop flight was piloted only for the take-off and landing, using GPS for flight control across the Atlantic.
The autonomous flight spent just short of 39 hours in the air and covered a distance of 1,883 miles to set another world record.
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