A group of about 50 surrounded the aircraft and its crew before their departure, complete with music and a DJ. Friends and family of the crew were present, as well as the Weldon Family and friends. A one-man TV crew from NEWS 12 had been dispatched to record the event and a brief segment was aired that night.

The flight left pretty much on time, with beautiful weather. Below are some of the pictures of the event.

After a glorious sendoff at Kupper we started on our first leg of the Flight for a Cure. The takeoff time was almost as planned, out at 9:38 and off at 9:42. We were planning to get an IFR clearance in the air if necessary. But he weather remained almost cloudless until reaching Florida where the clouds were building treacherously over land. Our offshore planning paid off with no cloud encounters. So, with only Flight Following it was an uneventful flight. May they all be uneventful. We touched down at Tamiami at the 5:17 time with the total air time of 7:30. Tamiami was lifeless on the 4th of July eve. We fueled at Air Sal, 184.4 gals. at $2.70 per. Not bad. But there was no one for car rental or hotel assistance. A query to Ground Control resulted in being directed to International Flight Service which we did and were treated royally. A rental car took us to the Radisson Suites for a luxurious suite and a fine dinner.