Robert HardingReflections from Andy and Sam
Eight weeks ago private pilots Andy Hardy and Sam Kid set off from the UK on an epic challenge to fly halfway round the world in their tiny Cherokee plane. They finally landed in Sydney last Tuesday, having raised £13,900 for Oxfam and achieved a lifelong dream. We caught up with them as they relaxed in Australia and asked them to share some reflections from the journey.
How do you feel now you’ve reached Australia?
AH: Elated and Deflated! Elated because we’ve achieved our goals from an aviation and charitable fund-raising perspective, but feeling a bit deflated because the journey has ended and I’d love to just keep going on and on. That’s not the real world however, so now bracing myself to return to English winter and the daily grind.
What was the most memorable moment from your trip?
AH: That is just such a TOUGH question! So many memorable moments play though my mind like a movie reel: departing Denmark, where our lovely friends at Uni-Fly helped us; crossing the border into Germany, when our journey was just beginning; landing in beautiful Corfu, where Sam’s ex-pat family friends made us so welcome; crossing the Saudi deserts, and later having the chance to compare to Australia’s outback – deserts can be so beautiful; crossing India shortly after the monsoon – so unexpectedly green; dawn take off from Chittagong, then crossing the mountainous border into Myanmar;
Flying round the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
reflecting how marvelous that on one side of the hill they eat curry while on the other its rice bowls; different language and facial features where west Asia meets eastern Asia; flying around the Petronas towers with Captain Siva in Kuala Lumpur; dodging thunderstorms in Indonesia, and arriving in Darwin during a thunderstorm as well; unexpected fun in beautiful Alice Springs, which I had imagined to be just hot and dusty, yet which is a truly welcoming and beautiful place; and of course crossing Australia’s vastness to be with family on the east coast, Atherton Tablelands and Sydney: the contrast from harsh, dry red-soiled outback to the narrow strip of wet, wooded, fertile east coast Australia where 90% of the population lives is dramatic!
What were the most challenging moments on your trip?
AH:The most challenging moments were usually on the ground, dealing with petty bureaucrats, customs, immigration and rip-off fuel merchants!
In the air, we had the engine cough unexpectedly – and mercifully briefly – 120 miles out of Darwin over the Timor Sea. This provided some worrying moments, due no doubt to some sediment picked up in a fuel barrel somewhere in Indonesia. We also had some cause for concern with a rough running engine (just a fouled spark-plug) over the Central Australian Desert, which caused us to divert into Katherine for quick repairs. And on arrival in Darwin, that big thunderstorm was a worry too!
How are you going to get your little plane back home?
AH: As I type, Yankee Sierra is having her wings removed in order to be packed into a sea-container for return to Europe. I feel a bit guilty about this, and hope she will forgive us: perhaps as one might feel about putting a loved family pet into the kennels when going away on vacation 🙂
Sam – you proposed to your girlfriend on landing in Australia – can you tell me a bit about it? You must have been nervous during the flight!
SK: I asked my long-term girlfriend Vicki to marry me as soon as we were reunited. She has been wonderful in supporting me throughout this epic adventure and I realized: if ever I were to pop the question how would I ever top this situation? Two months apart Vicki flew half way around the world to meet and greet us after completing our challenge. I was not nervous at all. I was very excited. It felt so right. It also gave me something to look forward too after our journey came to an end. She said yes!
Is there anything important you have learnt from doing the trip?
AH: I think I already knew what a privilege it is to see the world from the air. It is what drives me to fly. But seeing so much of humanity’s variety slide under our wings from a height at which you can see houses and people, is an even greater privilege. People are at once profoundly the same – and radically different – everywhere we go. I’ve learned that the world is as big as it is small, and the value of gaining perspective away from my own daily grind.