FLY For MS! Friday's Fabulous Flight!

This week’s Friday Flyer is unique. Please join me in honoring two pilots, Keith Siilats and Andrei Floriou, who will be departing on a unique mission, as they fly across the world to make miracles happen. Today is all about Friday's Fabulous Flight.

Keith Siilats and Andrei Floriou

Andrei, born in Romania, is a private pilot. Single and multi-engine rated, he is also an entrepreneur, and former Wall Street investor who’d been focused on biotechnology companies developing Multiple Sclerosis drugs. It didn’t take him long to realize how little people knew about MS.

Andrei Floriou

Keith Siilats, born in Estonia, is no stranger to crossing the Atlantic in a small airplane. He’s a multi-engine, instrument rated and a CFI too! His 2009 trans-Atlantic flight inspired Andrei, and in July this year, they pulled together a team for their mission.

Keith Siilats

Fly for MS

Fly for MS is an unprecedented endeavor meant to raise global awareness for Multiple Sclerosis.

On August 30th 2010 their team will take off from New York aboard a small plane for a 29,000 mile (47,000 km) trans-Atlantic, trans-European journey with stops in 30 countries over 60 days.

During the voyage they will fly needy sufferers for treatment to distant MS hospitals, share the joy of flying with other people with MS, and fly MS specialists to financially-strapped MS hospitals.

The distance they’ll cover is almost enough to circle the globe, making the trip one of endurance for both man and machine. Fewer than 300 people have ever flown a small plane for such a distance on a single journey, versus 4,100 successful climbs on Mt. Everest.

Their Mission

They will use the attention drawn by the boldness and record-making magnitude of our undertaking, which fascinates and fuels the imagination of people not previously familiar with MS, to inform them about the disease and the lives of those touched by it, their hopes and despairs, their challenges and unbelievable strength.

Their target audience is the biggest ever for a single event: the 30 countries they will visit have a combined population of 1.2 billion and account for 1.4 million people with MS, 70% of the total worldwide.

Besides raising awareness, they will impact directly the lives of over 100 people with MS, and through them give hope and inspiration to most of those touched by MS. Additionally, in each country they will deliver a message with the key issues affecting the local MS community along with concrete suggestions for addressing them.

The entrepreneurial, spontaneous nature of their effort, conceived and implemented by a small multinational team, will inspire others like them. They are the example that you too can make a difference!

Face Book Page

Meet the entire Team
Don't forget to send me pictures from their visit to your city!

Country City Airport  Flt. Time  Arrival  Departure

US New York KFRG 31-Aug

US Westfield KBAF 0:33 31-Aug 31-Aug

US Aroostook KFVE 1:57 31-Aug 31-Aug

Canada Schefferville CYKL 2:57 31-Aug 31-Aug

Canada Iqaluit CYFB 2:56 31-Aug 1-Sep

Greenland Kulusuk BGKK 4:19 1-Sep 2-Sep

Iceland Isafjordur BIIS 2:08 2-Sep 2-Sep

Iceland Reykjavik BIRK 0:44 2-Sep 3-Sep

Iceland Vestmannaeyjar BIVM 0:24 3-Sep 3-Sep

Norway Stavanger ENZV 4:27 3-Sep 4-Sep

Denmark Tirstrup EKAH 1:18 4-Sep 5-Sep

Denmark Copenhagen EKRK 0:45 5-Sep 6-Sep

Norway Oslo ENGM 1:28 6-Sep 7-Sep

Sweden Norrköping ESSP 1:08 7-Sep 7-Sep

Sweden Stockholm - Bromma ESSB 0:49 7-Sep 9-Sep

Estonia Kardla EEKA 0:48 9-Sep 9-Sep

Estonia Tallinn EERA 0:22 9-Sep 11-Sep

Russia St. Petersburg ULLI 1:02 11-Sep 12-Sep

Russia Moscow UUWW 1:57 12-Sep 14-Sep

Ukraine Kiev UKKM 2:11 14-Sep 16-Sep

Moldova Chisinau LUKK 1:21 16-Sep 17-Sep

Romania Iasi LRIA 0:21 17-Sep 18-Sep

Romania Tulcea LRTC 0:47 18-Sep 19-Sep

Romania Bucharest LRBS 0:41 19-Sep 21-Sep

Poland Warsaw EPBC 2:47 21-Sep 23-Sep

Czech Prague LKPR 1:37 23-Sep 25-Sep

Slovakia Bratislava LZIB 1:11 25-Sep 26-Sep





Country City Airport Flt. Time Arrival Departure

Croatia Zagreb LDZA 0:53 26-Sep 28-Sep

Turkey Istanbul LTBA 3:27 28-Sep 30-Sep

Israel Tel Aviv LLBG 3:27 30-Sep 2-Oct

Israel Jerusalem OJJR 0:25 2-Oct 3-Oct

Greece Athens LGAV 3:36 3-Oct 4-Oct

Italy Milan LILG 4:27 4-Oct 6-Oct

Switzerland Zürich LSZH 0:37 6-Oct 8-Oct

Austria Vienna LOWW 2:01 8-Oct 9-Oct

Germany Munich EDDM 1:17 9-Oct 10-Oct

Germany Berlin EDDT 1:38 10-Oct 12-Oct

Netherlands Amsterdam EHAM 1:43 12-Oct 14-Oct

Belgium Brussels EBBR 0:54 14-Oct 15-Oct

France Paris LFPB 0:51 15-Oct 17-Oct

Spain Barcelona LEBL 2:28 17-Oct 18-Oct

Spain Madrid LEMD 1:28 18-Oct 19-Oct

Spain Malaga LEMG 1:22 19-Oct 20-Oct

UK Gibraltar LXGB 0:19 20-Oct 20-Oct

Portugal Lisbon LPPT 1:19 20-Oct 22-Oct

UK London EGSS 4:51 22-Oct 24-Oct

UK Edinburgh EGPH 1:35 24-Oct 25-Oct

Ireland Dublin EIDW 1:12 25-Oct 27-Oct

Iceland Reykjavík BIRK 4:30 27-Oct 28-Oct

Greenland Nuuk BGGH 4:05 28-Oct 29-Oct

Canada Goose Bay CYYR 3:45 29-Oct 29-Oct

Canada Montreal CYUL 3:43 29-Oct 30-Oct

US Atlanta KATL 4:35 30-Oct 31-Oct

US New York KFRG 3:35 31-Oct 31-Oct