Aviation for Women is the flagship member publication of Women in Aviation International. Articles feature women who have made aviation history, professional development ideas, and current-topic articles.
Issue link: https://afwdigital.epubxp.com/i/619020
26 Aviation forWomen J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 Although her precise route and fight tracking isn't made available for secu- rity reasons, the flight takes her from Farnborough, south to Istanbul, on to Dubai and Dehli, south to Kuala Lum- pur and Bali, and then down through Australia to Sydney. "It has taken 30 years to arrive at this point. And now I not only have the de- sire to do it but also the resources and a huge network of support behind me. I am very, very grateful for this. It feels as if I am finally breaking free of the shackles of life and fulflling a destiny which was always meant to be," Tracey said on takeoff day. This fight is not Tracey's frst adven- ture—she's made several long-distance fights, including re-creating Lady Mary Heath's 1929 South Africa to U.K. fight. She also took part in the 2007 centena- ry Peking to Paris classic car rally that involved driving for six weeks through northern China, the Gobi Desert, across Russia to the Baltic, and on to Paris. She believes, like some people, that she was born w it h the adventure gene having been raised "as a pack" with her siblings. "My family was always mobile; we children were al- ways outgoing and had a strong female infuence," she said. I talked to Tracey when she was knee- deep in last-minute flight planning and preparation, and it was clear her feelings about Amy John- son and other early pilots runs deep- er than mere admiration for them as historic figures. "There's a handful of women who are really remark- able, and Amelia [Earhart] and Amy [Johnson] are right up there—with their self-awareness, their sense of des- tiny, and their willingness to pay any price," she said. Tracey acknowledges that Amelia Earhart is more well known than Amy Johnson, calling Amelia "a glob- al brand thanks to a huge marketing machine," but says that the two pilots have a lot in common, including dy- ing within 18 months of each other in still mysterious circumstances. "Amelia and Amy were friends, strug- gling against a male establishment; they were strug- gling to become pilots and experience that vertical free- In Saudi Arabia In Israel With women in Saudi Arabia