Discovery continued from previous page

Photo by Brian Forrest Mike Harding feared there was not enough time during the Flight of Discovery to fully enjoy the splendor of the land rolling beneath their wings, such as this Montana landscape near the headwaters of the Missouri River.

each of them had a genuine enthusiasm about the project,” Harding says.

Well before they could be wheels up at Clarksville, Harding had to educate the scientists in the ways of Lewis and Clark.

“I bought 20 copies of Undaunted Courage and passed them out so members of the team could read the book in the context of their own scientific discipline,” he says.

Using the book and the original journals of the Corps of Discovery, each scientist developed an action plan to follow during the trip, including locations they would like to visit and things each would like to see.

“It was up to me to determine how much of it was possible. I had promised everyone we would be home in two weeks, so there was not enough time to see everything,” Harding says.

The Flight of Discovery was Harding’s dream. He had spent almost three years coaxing it into reality. And while he was the expedition’s unquestioned leader, the mantle of leadership did not always sit comfortably on him.

“I knew I was the leader, but there were moments I didn’t necessarily feel like a leader,” Harding admits. Clearing the runway at the Clarksville airport was one such moment.

“It kind of hit me all of a sudden,” Harding says. “Almost as soon as I got airborne, I realized that all of these people on the ground had put all of their trust in me and I was responsible for them. Through all of the preparation, I knew exactly what they were going to see, even though they did not. Our team members extended a considerable amount of confidence in me that I knew I would never be able to repay.”

Harding had even flown the length of the entire route on a computer simulator.

“Believe me, even on a computer simulator, my heart was really pounding when I got to the Pacific Ocean, just trying to imagine how
Lewis and Clark may have felt, seeing it for the first time after two years. I knew everyone was going to have an incredible adventure, but you just wonder if everything is going to work out. I hoped I wouldn’t let them down, that the adventure would be all we had hoped it would be.”

Harding banked a slow, easy right-hand turn, keyed his microphone and took a deep breath in a futile effort to slow the adrenaline rush that was about to overwhelm him and last for two weeks.

He could see the other planes and helicopters lined up on the runway, each waiting to join Harding in the sky to begin their own journey of a lifetime.

For the next two weeks, they would live by the simple mantra of “keep the water under
your wings.”

Harding was only a couple of miles from the Ohio River now, the starting point he had personally selected.

“Let’s just follow the river,” he said into the microphone, “and soar on the wings of history.”

It was on.

Contact Harding at hawkeye157@aol.com