Getting Off the Ground Of course, I can’t fly until I get off the ground, so I need something to push my plane. T e force that creates this forward speed is called thrust. T e propeller and engine on my plane create thrust. T ey push me forward. T ere’s another force trying to hold me back,


though. T at force is called drag. Drag pulls on my plane and slows it down. Flying into a heavy wind, for example, creates drag. T ese forces need to be unbalanced for me


to get off the ground. I need more thrust and liſt than drag and weight to take off . T ey also need to be unbalanced if I make any changes of motion once I’m in the air. For example, when my drag is greater than my thrust, my plane slows. When thrust is greater than drag, my plane speeds up or turns. When I’m balancing all the forces, I’m fl ying my plane straight and level and at a constant speed. Under normal conditions, staying in the air


shouldn’t be a problem. Many of the conditions I’m flying in are far from normal, though.


Sandstorm Partway through my solo flight, I’m flying over Saudi Arabia on a clear day. Suddenly, the sky turns dark. I’ve flown into a sandstorm. T ere’s no time to fly around it. I have to fly


through it. T e sound of sand scraping across my windshield sets my teeth on edge. Gritty grains of sand come in through the air vents. Outside, the sand pushes against my plane,


creating drag. So I rev the engine, increasing my thrust. I quickly fly through the sandstorm, but the sand damages my plane. Sand clogs the brake lines, and I need a new battery. It’ll take time to make repairs. T at makes me anxious about the timing of the trip ahead. Delays on the ground mean trouble in the air for me later. Monsoon rains are coming.


Start/Finish FLIGHT


Miami, Florida


PATH Barrington Irving’s solo trip around the world took 97 days. Here’s a look at his path.


Monsoon Rains Every summer, strong winds and heavy rains batter South Asia. T ese storms ground me for a week. Finally, though, I get a window of clear skies. I take off . I hope I can outrun—or outfly—this bad weather. I do for a little while, but then a monsoon


catches up with me somewhere over Vietnam. T e sky turns black. T e shrieking wind and rain wrestle me for control of my plane. As I fly over a mountain range, a wind slams into Inspiration.My plane drops 3,000 m in a matter of seconds. It’s so sudden, I hit my head on the roof of the cockpit. T en almost as suddenly, a rising column of air pushes the plane back up. I struggle to keep control of the plane. More


updraſt s and downdraſt s push it this way and that. I worry the winds will flip the plane or hurl me into a mountain. Aſt er hours, I reach Hong Kong, safe but exhausted.


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