Final Push T e final part of my journey may be the most nerve-racking. I need to fly from a tiny village in Japan to a foggy island in Alaska. I want to finish what I had started, but I’m
scared of what lays ahead. On the runway, I kiss Inspiration’s nose for good luck. We’ve been through a lot together. Now, I just need to get us both back home. I liſt off . Japan disappears behind me. For
the next 2,735 km, there will be no place to land. Just minutes into the flight, powerful gusts of wind begin to toss my plane. Again, I fight for control. I split my attention between keeping the
plane steady and watching the cloud formations ahead. A new danger hides in those clouds. It’s cold up here, and the clouds carry moisture. At 2,100 m, that water could freeze on my wings.
Ice Dangers Ice is my enemy now. My plane doesn’t have de-icing equipment, so I have no way to melt and break the ice off my wings in freezing weather. Ice could disrupt the airflow around my wings. It would be harder for the wings to create the liſt I need to stay in the air. Just an hour from Alaska, I see a series of
massive ice storms ahead. I’ll never survive if I try to fly through them. I have to fly above them. I don’t know if I have enough fuel to climb above the clouds, but I have to try. It’s a risky plan. My plane doesn’t have a
pressurized cabin. As I fly higher, air pressure will drop. I will have less oxygen to breathe. I’m only carrying a small supply of bottled oxygen with me. It won’t last long. I put on my oxygen mask. T en I pull back
on the plane’s throttle to increase thrust. Now, my thrust is greater than my drag, and I shoot upward. Winds up to 175 kph shake my plane like a saltshaker. I continue to climb.
16 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
Into the Clouds At 6,400 m, I suddenly clear the top of the storms. Now, I’m flying over a sea of white, fluff y clouds. My relief doesn’t last for long, though. I’m running out of oxygen. I feel weak and light-headed. I can’t stay at this altitude, or height above sea level, much longer. It’s now or never. I take a deep breath and
point the nose of my plane down. As I fly back down through the clouds, small drops of water freeze into ice crystals on Inspiration’s wings. It’s my greatest fear. I don’t know how far I can push it and survive. At 240 m, I break through the bottom of
the clouds. T rough the fog, I see the island in Alaska below. I aim for it and land safely and just in time. It turns out, I only had 20 minutes worth of fuel leſt .
Inspiration and my knowledge of fl ying helped me fl y solo around the world.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24