Ending polio: 89-year-old Edison pilot will cross Atlantic twice during 37-day fundraising journey
He'll be joined on the controls with Peter Teahen, 72, of Iowa. The pair will travel 8,800 nautical miles in a single-engine Cessna plane – making 15 landings in 11 countries.
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Ed Galkin, an accomplished 89-year pilot from Edison who has flown around the world four times, is gearing up for another adventure.
He took off Saturday morning from Central Jersey Airport in Hillsborough to raise awareness and funds to help end polio, a main mission of Rotary International, in a trip that will have him crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice.
He'll be joined on the controls with Peter Teahen, 72, of Iowa. The pair will travel 8,800 nautical miles in a single-engine Cessna plane – making 15 landings in 11 countries. The entire trip will take 37 days.
Galkin is used to raising money for diseases. Just a few years ago, he took flight to raise $80,000 for Alzheimer's. Now he's hoping to raise $1 million to eradicate polio.
"Every vaccination costs about 3 bucks so if someone donated $1 to our trip, 100% of that money goes to fight polio. Not only that, but every dollar we raise, the Bill Gates Foundation gives two,” said Galkin.
Galkin hopes to become the oldest pilot to cross the Atlantic in a plane of this kind.
The pair will also look to set a national speed record through the National Aeronautic Association when they fly from the Azores Islands in Portugal to St. Johns, Newfoundland in Canada.
