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 British flier Polly Vacher is attempting become the first person to round the world from pole-to-pole solo in a single engine airplane. She stopped in Yellowknife Wednesday after reaching the North Pole the day before. She intends to fly over the South Pole in November. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo |
After flying over the North Pole she was on her way to Resolute when suddenly her Piper Dakota's single engine cut out.
"I had about two hours to go to Resolute and I was like, 'Please don't stop here because it's so inhospitable," said the British pilot, who is attempting to become the first person to round the globe pole to pole solo in a single-engine aircraft.
"I mean who'd want to land there. It was terrible."
Her carburetor had iced up and she needed to get it warmed quickly before she could start up her engine again. Fortunately, she did and made her way to Resolute after a 14- hour trip early Wednesday morning that began in Longyearben, Norway, the day before.
After landing in Yellowknife later in the afternoon, Vacher said she was ecstatic to reach the pole but also relieved the worst was over -- at least for now. She still has to fly her way south to the even more treacherous South Pole.
"The bottom line is that it's a small aircraft, with one engine, and it's not used to going into very, very cold temperatures," said Vacher. "But I'm aware of that now."
It's not as if Vacher didn't prepare for her trip. She's had extensive wilderness and emergency training. She also came equipped with a survival suit and other warm clothing, a tent, food rations, and a gun which she plans to leave behind when she reaches her next stop in Alaska, now that the possibility of landing her plane among polar bears is no longer an issue.
Her pole-to-pole trip -- she's already circumnavigated the globe -- is not just some ego-driven folly, said Vacher. It's a means to satisfy her sponsors so she can raise as much money as possible to attain her true goal -- funding scholarships for persons with disabilities to fly.
So far her mission, called Wings Around the World, has raised about 190,000 British pounds (about $430,000 Canadian) to help people with disabilities into the cockpit.
She got involved with a British program to help the disabled become pilots nine years ago, and she's been going at it ever since.
"We wanted them to try to take up a big challenge, which they then found they could do. It helps them rebuild their lives," said Vacher.
