Round-the-World Flights

Shiela Scott Solo Round-the-World & Over the North Pole Flight

Page 6e (rev: 1000)

Scott in "Mythre"	Cover w/Autograph	Scott Autograph	Plane "Mythre"	Barefoot in the Sky

	Sheila Christine Hopkins was born on April 27, 1927 in Worcester, 
Worcestershire, England.  After attending a Worcester boarding school, Sheila 
became a nurse trainee at Haslar Naval Hospital where she tended the wounded during 
WW-II.  She married becoming Sheila Scott and early on she had a dream.  She wanted 
a grandstand seat in life to view the unfolding magical scene of endless changing 
colors in the boundless sky. She became a pilot and chose to fly barefoot. The earth 
was to become her paper and Myth her parable.
	Any plane that she flew would have the name Myth attached to it.  Eventually, 
she purchased a Piper Comanche 260 and named it, "MythToo."  Between 1965 and 1972 
she would be breaking more than 100 light-aircraft records.  In 1966 she and her 
"Myth Too" would fly solo round-the-world in an easterly direction.  She departed 
London on May 19, 1966 and returned there on June 20, 1966 setting a new light 
aircraft speed record for flying solo round-the-world. 
	She lamented, "each flight is a triumph, not only over machinery, weather and 
terrain but over oneself."
	In 1969/70 she would fly solo round-the-world for a second time in "Myth Too."  
On December 20, 1969 she took off from Gatwick Airport in London in the "England to 
Australia Air Race." Her "Myth Too" had been jinxed by someone and with severe 
weather out of Singapore, she became lost but finally was able to land in Makassar, 
Celebes Islands. She got back on course and after making the required Australian 
landings, arrived in Sydney on January 3, 1970.  She didn't win the race but was 
awarded fourth in her class. Sheila commented, "I entered a race and had an 
adventure."  Sheila decided to continue flying east round-the-world in a relaxed 
fashion. Her air tour took her over the Pacific to Los Angeles, CA, across the US to 
New York City and then via Gander, Newfoundland across the Atlantic back to London. 
 	In 1971 in her new Piper Astec plane, "Mythre" Sheila would fly solo 
round-the-world for her third time but adding a flight over the North Pole in her 
circumnavigation path.  She casually flew south from London to Nairobi, Kenya so she 
could begin her round the world flight south of the Equator. On June 11, 1971 it was 
wheels-up for her third round-the-world flight.  She returned to London and 
continued north first to Bodo and then to Andoya, Norway.  She flew to Nord, 
Greenland where she would prepare for the her North Pole fly-over. "Mythre" was 
outfitted with special navigational instrumentation so NASA could guide and verify 
her flight path over the Pole using the American polar satellite, Nimbus.  On June 
28, 1971 she overflew the North Pole continuing on to Barrow, Alaska. From Alaska 
she flew to San Francisco, CA crossing the Pacific to Honolulu, HI and re-crossed 
the Equator on July 15, 1971 on her way south to Canton Island.  She continued 
westerly across Asia to Australia, the Mid-East and Europe arriving back at Heathrow 
Airport in London on August 4, 1971.  Sheila maintained a "sleep diary" so others 
could better understand pilot sleep patterns for extended cross-continent 
cross-ocean round-the-world flights. 
	She admitted that she had "fly-fever," an insatiable passion for the wilderness 
above, "Up there I never feel alone as I may on the ground in a crowd."  Sheila 
became the first pilot, male or female, to fly directly over true North Pole in a 
light aircraft and she did it while flying solo round-the-world. She was born to fly 
and was one with her aircraft.  Sheila was often alone but was never lonely. She 
passed away quietly in London on October 20, 1988. 

Itinerary
 
Departed Nairobi, Kenya                    06/11/71
		crossed the Equator north  06/11/71
	Khartoum, Sudan
	Bengazi, Libya
	Malta 
	London, England                    06/21/71 
	Bolo, Norway
	Andoya, Norway
	Nord, Greenland
		over the North Pole        06/28/71
	Barrow, Alaska
	Fairbanks, Alaska
	Anchorage, Alaska                  07/03/71
	San Francisco, CA
	Honolulu, HI                       07/15/71
		crossed the Equator south  07/15/71
	Canton Island
	Nandi, Fiji                        07/23/71
	Noumea, New Caledonia
	Townsville, Australia
	Darwin, Australia                  08/01/71
	Singapore
	Madras, India
	Karachi, Pakistan
	Bahrain 
	Athens, Greece
Arrived London, England                    08/04/71

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