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Last Leg T e last leg of my journey may have


been the scariest. I had to fly from Japan to an island in Alaska. T ere was no place to land in between. I liſt ed off . Powerful gusts of wind


began to toss my plane. Again, I struggled to keep the plane steady. I climbed higher. T e air turned


colder. I knew the clouds carried a lot of moisture. T is high up, that moisture could freeze on my wings.


Ice Dangers Huge ice storms began forming near


Alaska. Ice was my enemy now. My plane didn’t have de-icing equipment. Without it, I couldn’t melt ice off my wings in freezing weather. I couldn’t risk flying through the


storms. I had to fly above them. T is plan was risky. I might not have enough fuel to make it. As I climbed, the air pressure


would drop. I might not have enough oxygen to breathe. I’d have to use my small supply of bottled oxygen. I fixed the oxygen mask over my face. I increased the plane’s thrust. T e


plane shot upward. T e winds were raging more than 100 kph (62 mph). T e plane rattled and rolled. It felt like I had climbed inside a saltshaker.


8 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


Inspiration and my knowledge of fl ying helped me fl y solo around the world.


Into the Clouds My plane finally cleared the clouds,


but my oxygen was running low. I couldn’t fly this high much longer. I had to point the nose of my plane


down and plunge back through the clouds. Ice crystals froze onto the wings. It was my worst fear. Finally, I broke through the clouds


and could see the island below me. I only had a small amount of fuel leſt . Luckily, I landed safely.


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