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I’m trying to do the impossible. At age 23, I’m flying around the world solo. If I make it, I’ll be the youngest person and the first black pilot to succeed. T ousands of people are keeping track of my flight. Right now, though, I’m all alone in my plane, and I’m not sure I’m going to make it. My single-engine plane, Inspiration, climbs


to 5,500 m. Beneath me, waves in the North Atlantic Ocean churn. It will take me 12 hours to reach my next stop, 2,575 km away. Suddenly, the roar of the engine changes


pitch. It’s high, then low. I tell myself it’s just the propeller reacting to the shiſt ing winds. It’s going to be fine. It has to be. T ere’s no place for me to land.


If my engine fails, my plane and I will end up in the ocean. I’m wearing a survival suit, but I’m not sure how long I’d last before being rescued. I don’t know how to swim.


No Turning Back If my engine dies, I’ll need a plan. In a case like this, a good pilot would slow down. T at way, the plane can glide for as long as possible. I can’t slow down too much, though. T at will cause the engine to stall, or even quit. I open my cockpit door a little, so it won’t


jam and trap me inside if I crash. I look to see which way the waves are moving below me. I’ll need to land parallel to them. Otherwise, the waves will break my plane into pieces. So that’s the plan. In the next instant, my


radio goes dead. My only link to the world is gone. It’s hard to think clearly. My heart is racing faster than the engine. T en without warning, the radio crackles


back to life. T e engine settles. My nerves are raw, but I fly on. I land on a small island hours later, grateful to be on the ground. I know, though, that this trip is just beginning. It will put everything I know about flying to the test.


12 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER


DRAG The force that slows things down. Heavy winds can cause a lot drag on my plane.


FLIGHT LESSONS


To keep my plane, Inspiration, in the air, I have to understand the four forces of fl ight. They are weight, lift, drag, and thrust.


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