Flying across the world in an open cockpit vintage biplane might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for Tracy Curtis Taylor, it is a chance to “get a bird’s-eye view or the view of gods”.
The British aviator, 53, is part way through a 21,000 kilometre solo flight from the UK to Australia in a 1942 Boeing Stearman Spirit of Artemis aircraft.
And the adventurer, who embarked on the epic 12- to 14-week journey last month – taking off from Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, UK, on October 1 – has stopped off in the UAE just in time to showcase her antique aircraft at the annual Dubai Airshow at Al Maktoum International Airport. She landed at Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Airport last week.
Her reason for the adventure, which is being sponsored by Boeing as part of its centennial celebration, is more than just a passion for flying; it is to honour the British aviator Amy Johnson, who became the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia in 1930.
Where possible, Ms Curtis Taylor is following Johnson’s route to relive one of the greatest solo achievements in history, recreating history with an open cockpit, stick and rudder flying along with basic period instruments and a short range between landing points.
“I have a burning desire to fly my airplane around the world in the freest way possible. This is what drives me, but I am just the messenger. I am not the pioneer,” says Ms Curtis Taylor, who will have made a total of 50 refuelling stops before she lands in Sydney in January.
“It took people like Amy Johnson to strap herself into a wooden fabric aircraft and risk her life to show people that it could be possible.”
The adventurer’s affinity for flying began at a young age. The daughter of a journalist who loved vintage cars and planes, Ms Curtis-Taylor inherited her father’s fervour for old machines, which she describes as “eccentric works of art”.
She took her first flying lesson at 16, later gaining her commercial flying licence before becoming a flying instructor.
But after watching Meryl Streep flying across Kenya in an open cockpit biplane in the 1985 movie Out of Africa, she set her heart on experiencing this for herself.
After working for air shows specialising in vintage planes, in 2012 she utilised her knowledge to buy the 1942 open cockpit biplane.
She describes the investment as her “dream plane”, but because it was an American craft, she set about customising it to make it more British.
“I wanted it in a racing green with cream wings. I wanted it to look more British and more feminine,” she says.
In 2013, after completing the restoration, Ms Curtis Taylor flew the plane the length of Africa – from Cape Town, South Africa, to Goodwood in the south of England.
“You drive five hours like that and you can’t even speak, but it’s thrilling,” she says of the adventure.
Her African adventure was a tribute to the early female aviators, or “the pioneers” as she refers to them, the likes of Lady Mary Heath, an Irish aviator who became the first person to fly the length of Africa solo back to the UK in 1928, and Johnson.
Ms Curtis Taylor says the female aviators of that era, are not remembered “well enough” – another reason to remind people of their pioneering work.
The pilot’s 14-week journey to recreate Johnson’s journey will cover 23 countries. It has already taken her from Europe over the Mediterranean into Jordan, passing over the Arabian Desert to the UAE.
From here, she will head over Oman to Pakistan and then India before flying over Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and finally finishing in Australia. A support group in a modern plane is accompanying her to document the journey.
However, she says her trip is 4,800km longer than Johnson’s because, unlike days gone by when most of the route fell under the British Empire, nowadays it is “more complicated”. She not only has to avoid flying over conflict zones such as Iraq and Syria, but she says navigating checkpoints, bureaucracy, political boundaries and air space have been additional hurdles.
Plus the Boeing Stearman is not a modern plane. It has a 300hp, nine cylinder Lycoming engine, which can only reach a top altitude of 10,000 feet and a cruise speed of 144 kph.
“It is supposed to be simple flying a vintage plane, but it isn’t. I am flying an antique around the world,” she says. “Amy Johnson was flying a sports plane of her day when she did it. So in some way it was easier flying the plane in the 1930s.”
Ms Curtis Taylor’s next adventure will be to fly her biplane across America next spring. The trip is also being undertaken to celebrate Boeing’s centennial – the aircraft manufacturer will turn 100 in 2016.
So, does she ever feel afraid during her solo aerial adventures?
“No, no, I never want to land,” she says. “It is a heavenly experience. It feels like you are flying into infinity.”
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Director: Jared Hess
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
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The%20specs
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What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
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Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
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THE BIO:
Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Draw for Europa League last-16
Istanbul Basaksehir v Copenhagen; Olympiakos Piraeus v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen; VfL Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk; Inter Milan v Getafe
Sevilla v AS Roma; Eintracht Frankfurt or Salzburg v Basel; LASK v Manchester United
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
