Round-the-World Flights
Polly Vacher Makes a Round-the-World 7 Continent Tour
Page 9i (rev: 1000)
| Polly & Piper | Polly at Cockpit | Polly Congratulations | Piper Dakota | Voyage to the Ice |
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Polly was born in 1944 at Dartmouth in Devon England. She became a physiotherapist,
married her husband Peter, became Polly Vacher and raised three sons, Julian, Clive
and Brian. At the age of 45 she began to skydive for charity making 245 jumps. This
led her to become interested in flying and in 1994 she received her private pilot's
licence followed by an instrument rating in 1997.
She purchased a 1994 Piper Dakota Model PA28-236 (G-FRGN), flew it across the North
Atlantic to America where she met up with husband, Peter and then flew around the USA
and Canada before returning to England flying solo.
Buoyed by her successful 2001 round-the-world flight, Polly Vacher decided to make
a second solo round-the-world tour in her retrofitted Piper Dakota flying westerly
landing on all seven continents and flying over the North Pole and later in Antarctica.
On May 6, 2003 Polly began her world tour departing Birmingham International Airport
for her initial leg of her journey called her "Voyage to the Ice." Her G-FRGN Piper was
covered with sponsors' logos and hundreds of contributors names painted on the wings.
Polly's goal was to use her round-the-world flight to raise money for Flying Scholarships
for the Disabled. Again her flight progress was monitored on the internet. She telephoned
or e-mailed messages to her web page and wrote thank-you notes to those who befriended her.
Polly returned to Birmingham International Airport on April 27, 2004 completing her
circumnavigation round-the-world tour having traveled 69,000 miles in 357 days. Through
"Wings Around the World II" she continues to raise money for the "Flying Scholarships for
the Disabled" by selling a DVD video documentary of her round-the-world tour.
When asked, "What makes a good pilot?" Polly answered, "Never be complacent. There
are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots! Pay attention
to detail as flying requires you to be very precise."
Itinerary
Departed England (Birmingham International Airport) 05/06/2003
Wick Scotland 05/10/2003
Bergen Norway 05/12/2003
Tromso Norway 05/16/2003
Longyearben Svalbard Norway 05/25/2003
Resolute Canada (over the North Pole) 05/26/2003
Yellowknife Canada 05/30/2003
Fairbanks AK 06/10/2003
Achorage AK 06/11/2003
Prince Rupert Canada 06/16/2003
Victoria Canada 06/20/2003
El Monte CA 06/22/2003
Santa Paula CA 06/27/2003
Palos Verdes CA 06/29/2003
Santa Barbara CA 06/30/2003
Los Gatos CA 07/03/2003
San Francisco CA 07/04/2003
San Jose CA 07/05/2003
Crescent City CA 07/06/2003
Seatle WA 07/09/2003
Calgary Canada 07/12/2003
Sheridan WY 07/14/2003
Colorado Springs CO 07/18/2003
St Louis MO 07/22/2003
Piqua OH 07/25/2003
Columbus OH 07/25/2003
Oshkosh WI 08/03/2003
Battle Creek MI 08/07/2003
Williamsport PA 08/08/2003
Hartford CT 08/09/2003
Alexandria VA 08/15/2003
Washington DC 08/16/2003
Manassas VI 08/19/2003
Kill Devil Hills NC 08/20/2003
Vero Beach FL 08/22/2003
West Houston TX 08/24/2003
El Paso TX 08/25/2003
Santa Barbara CA 09/01/2003
Tijuana Mexico 09/02/2003
Guaymas Mexico 09/03/2003
Acapilco Mexico 09/05/2003
Guatemala City Guatemala 09/09/2003
Belize 09/13/2003
Cayman Islands 09/14/2003
Dominican Republic 09/16/2003
Antigua 09/17/2003
Tobago 09/26/2003
Cayenne French Guiana 09/27/2003
Belem Brazil 09/28/2003
Fortaleza Brazil 09/29/2003
Recife Brazil 09/29/2003
Salvador Brazil 09/30/2003
Rio de Janeiro Brazil 10/02/2003
Sao Paulo Brazil 10/05/2003
Porto Alegre Brazil 10/06/2003
Buenos Aires Argentina 10/10/2003
Trelew Argentina 10/11/2003
Ushuaia Argentina 10/12/2003
Rio Grande Argentina 10/16/2003
Punta Arenas Argentina 10/24/2003
Ushuaia Argentina 11/29/2003
Antarctica 12/19/2003
Marambio 01/01/2004
Ushuaia Argentina 01/01/2004
Buenos Aires Argentina 01/02/2004
Porto Alegre Brazil 01/03/2004
Rio de Janeiro Brazil 01/06/2004
Salvadore Brazil 01/08/2004
Fortaleze Brazil 01/09/2004
Belem Brazil 01/10/2004
Trinidad 01/11/2004
Antigua 01/12/2004
St Maarten 01/13/2004
Vero Beach FL 01/16/2004
Baton Rouge LA 01/18/2004
Houston TX 01/19/2004
Santa Barbara CA 01/23/2004
Hilo HI 01/27/2004
Christmas Island 01/29/2004
Dunedin New Zealand 02/02/2004
Wanaka New Zealand 02/04/2004
Timaru New Zealand 02/05/2004
Christchurch New Zealand 02/07/2004
Taurunga New Zealand 02/08/2004
Wellington New Zealand 02/09/2004
Rotorua New Zealand 02/11/2004
Auckland New Zealand 02/15/2004
Sydney Australia 03/04/2004
Bundaberg Australia 03/05/2004
Alice Springs Australia 03/07/2004
Port Hedland Australia 03/09/2004
Jakarta Indonesia 03/11/2004
Singapore 03/13/2004
Kuala Lumpur 03/16/2004
Bangkok Thailand 03/19/2004
Calcutta India 03/24/2004
Delhi India 03/25/2004
Jodhpur India 03/27/2004
Mumbai India 03/29/2004
Muscat Oman 03/30/2004
Dubai UAE 04/03/2004
Amman Jordon 04/06/2004
Alexandria Egypt 04/07/2004
Souda Crete 04/09/2004
Athens Greece 04/09/2004
Belgrade Yugoslavia 04/13/2004
Brindisi Italy 04/15/2004
Rome Italy 04/18/2004
Clermont Ferrand France 04/19/2004
Moulins France 04/20/2004
Arrived England (Birmingham International Airport) 04/27/2004
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