Carol Vorderman to fly around world Solo!

[scubadude]

I must admit to a double take when I read the headline-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershi...

I'm no pilot but pretty sure experience is worthwhile when aiming to circumnavigate, apparently she plans to be the fastest First Solo Flight to First Solo Circumnavigation in 18months total.

I wonder if she'll be wearing the heels in the article photo for her record breaking flights?

[Eric Mc]

Kind of what Amy Johnson did in the 1930s.

[mrmr96]

How much latitude (pun intended) is allowed in plotting a "round the world" flight for the purposes of a record?

Also, is it sensible to have a record for the shortest time between first solo flight and first solo round the world flight? Seems like a race to be the least experienced pilot to make it round the world?

Besides which that feat could be "cheated" if you were to gain lots and lots of experience of flying with a companion/instructor and then become a very established pilot over a few years where you companion/instructor is really just sitting there reading the paper. Then you could arrange to do your first solo flight the day before you set off on your round the world trip? It would cause you no bother as you'd effectively been flying solo since your companion/instructor had not helped/intervened in months or years.

ETA - Vorderman = Nice. Challenge still sounds fun.

[scubadude]

mrmr96 said:

How much latitude (pun intended) is allowed in plotting a "round the world" flight for the purposes of a record?

Apparently she plans to follow Amelia Earharts route... I assume Vorderman intends to cross the Pacific successfully though :-)

[Simpo Two]

It seems like a rookie sailor trying to go round the world - though I expect she will have every luxury back-up that technology allows.

Amelia Earhart just had an aeroplane, a debatable navigator and a radio she didn't really know how to work. Hence one was a life or death experiment, the other is a media experiment.

[anonymous-user]

this^^^^ the World has got a lot smaller since 1930!

[TorqueVR]

..........a 29,000 mile journey following in the footsteps of aviator Amelia Earhart's doomed 1936 mission.

I sincerely hope not as Amelia Earhart did not make it!

But on a more serious note surely any rookie pilot trying such a trip (less than 1 year after passing her PPL) needs their head examining. Even bumbling around the UK with only a few hours logged is daunting and risky. I'd have been reluctant to just go the France and back on my own within a year of passing my PPL.

I assume that she'll have back up that ordinary flyers can only dream about.

[VernalEquinox]

TorqueVR said:

But on a more serious note surely any rookie pilot trying such a trip (less than 1 year after passing her PPL) needs their head examining. Even bumbling around the UK with only a few hours logged is daunting and risky. I'd have been reluctant to just go the France and back on my own within a year of passing my PPL.

I assume that she'll have back up that ordinary flyers can only dream about.

Depends what you do in that 18 months. Joe average might struggle to afford more than a couple of hours a month and thus gain experience at a very slow rate. She will presumably be able to pour lots more time and money into further training and practice.

[happygoron]

Im not very up to date on my celebrity gossip, but isn't her fella an ex red arrows pilot? I expect he knows a bit about flying...

[Simpo Two]

happygoron said:

isn't her fella an ex red arrows pilot? I expect he knows a bit about flying...

'Follow my smoke'?

[Wacky Racer]

With GPS surely she will know where she is to the nearest metre, unlike the pioneers of the 1930's.....

Good luck to her though....I wouldn't do it.

[speedtwelve]

Weather is the killer. GPS certainly makes the navigation job easier, but getting caught in icing and/or turbulence in a single-engined piston aeroplane with no anti & de-icing systems can shorten your life expectancy very quickly. Avoiding these things in the first place is the way forward; as a recent PPL she'll have limited experience of making her own go/no-go decisions when faced with the above. The North Atlantic crossing has claimed many over the years.

EDIT: Of course she might end-up with an Instrument Rating and do the trip in a TBM700 or Malibu Mirage or something with all the kit.

Good luck to her, though. Nice to see some adventurous spirit.

Edited by speedtwelve on Thursday 5th December 23:33

[Geneve]

It's feasible - bit like Jennifer Murray's helicopter world solo - accompanied by support a/c and short pre-planned legs. However a helicopter does allow an easy touch down if the situation gets tricky.

I think she'll need a lot of flying experience over the next 12 months, plus a minimum IMC and Night rating. But, if she goes ahead and is successful, it will be a fantastic achievement, excellent for GA, and she'll return as a very accomplished and confident pilot.

[AER]

Simpo Two said:

...Hence one was a life or death experiment, the other is a media experiment.

There's plenty of life and death out there even for the well prepared. You are simply beyond the reach of rapid assistance for a lot of the time. That's not to say you can't stack the odds in your favour, but suggesting it's a trivial exercise now in 2013 is a little unfair.

[hidetheelephants]

speedtwelve said:

EDIT: Of course she might end-up with an Instrument Rating and do the trip in a TBM700 or Malibu Mirage or something with all the kit.

That's what I'd like to know; what will she be doing it in?

ETA Google says it will be her own DA40; with ferry tanks it could probably do ~1500 miles.

Edited by hidetheelephants on Friday 6th December 03:58

[Krikkit]

hidetheelephants said:

speedtwelve said:

EDIT: Of course she might end-up with an Instrument Rating and do the trip in a TBM700 or Malibu Mirage or something with all the kit.

That's what I'd like to know; what will she be doing it in?

ETA Google says it will be her own DA40; with ferry tanks it could probably do ~1500 miles.

Edited by hidetheelephants on Friday 6th December 03:58

Sounds like a pretty safe aircraft for a novice pilot to use for something like this too!

[IanMorewood]

Eighteen months with enough money you could rack up plenty of hours and pick up a instruments rating whilst doing it. Assume she won't have any issues finding funding as no doubt a tv camera will follow much of her progress.

[creampuff]

AER said:

There's plenty of life and death out there even for the well prepared. You are simply beyond the reach of rapid assistance for a lot of the time. That's not to say you can't stack the odds in your favour, but suggesting it's a trivial exercise now in 2013 is a little unfair.

Yes, there is a non-negligible chance you will end up dead. It is not a trivial or risk-free endeavour. Good luck to her.

I notice they picked an airplane a bit sexier than the Piper they mentioned in the text for the BBC photo though.

[hidetheelephants]

creampuff said:

Yes, there is a non-negligible chance you will end up dead. It is not a trivial or risk-free endeavour. Good luck to her.

I notice they picked an airplane a bit sexier than the Piper they mentioned in the text for the BBC photo though.

Indeed; there's nowt trivial about long overwater flights in a small single engined aircraft.

I think the one in the pic is a (presumably her's) DA40.

Edited by hidetheelephants on Friday 6th December 13:38

[Penguinracer]

I don't think anyone is diminishing the magnitude of her task - I think that there's just an underlying scepticism that she'll be attempting the circumnavigation on limited resources with relativity unsophisticated equipment.

As previously observed - there is a world of difference between setting off in your Piper Archer with a credit card & an armful of maps & setting off in your TBM 850 coordinated by your own "Mission Control" centre & support aircraft shadowing your every move with expert advice & assistance immediately available.

She has the profile to attract support & resources that would be difficult for most private pilots to replicate.

No sour grapes - that's just the way the world is!