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
28 Aviation forWomen J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 dom that men enjoy," she said. She feels as if neither were superior pilots, but quickly adds, "What they lacked in abil- ity, they more than made up for in courage." Despite a support team, a chase plane, and global spon- sors Boeing and Artemis Investment Management (a British fund management company), Tracey will call on some of that courage herself. Her biggest challenge is the weather. "One of my fears is hangarage for my airplane in case of torrential rain. I cannot get caught up in tropical thunderstorms. I will be very cautious and sit it out, and we've built a lot of time into the program. When the weather is good, we've got to get up and go," she said. Next on the list of challenges is mechanical problems. With a restored 1942 Boeing Stearman, anything can happen and spare parts are not always at the ready. Add in the availabil- ity of fuel—in some places fuel will have to be trucked in for her—that adds to the cost of the trip, of course, and then there are airport fees, landing fees, and security fees. "It is very hard to come up with a fxed cost for this trip," she said. And then there are politics. "Everywhere you go, you need permits: overfight permits, permits to land. In every coun- try, there's a process to go through and I'll be in 23 countries. If I get held up in one place, I'll pay for it later," Tracey said. But the upside of this fight is so much more powerful. I asked Tracey, when she puts aside all the worries about weather, mechanical difficulties and politics, what puts a smile on her face? She doesn't hesitate: "Low-level fying over epic terrain. It's so spectacular in an airplane; it's dream- like—the deserts, the jungle, the mountains, the ocean. It's so mysterious and unknown. It's absolutely electrifying to skim along the surface of the earth. You feel punch drunk and stupefied. It may be exhausting and dehydrating, but low level fying is literally out of this world." As I got to know Tracey better, if only by telephone, I couldn't resist asking her a personal question. With all that open-cockpit flying with the sun, the heat, and the wind, how does she take care of her skin? She laughed and said, "I'm 53 years old, so who cares? The fying is worth it." She jokes that she uses "industrial-sized containers of moistur- izer" and adds that it's not just her skin, but her hair. "When I land, my hair looks like road kill," she said. "People think this is glamorous, but by the time I get out of the airplane, I am the antithesis of glamour." As you read this, if all has gone well, Tracey will be near- ing Australia at the conclusion of her fight. She is scheduled to arrive in Sydney on January 6, 2016. The plans call for her to ship her Stearman to the United States where she will con- tinue on a cross-country fight. One stop on that fight will be at the International Women in Aviation Conference in Nash- ville, Tennessee, where you will have the pleasure of hearing about Tracey's excellent adventure frsthand. I am certain she will have the perfect combination of harrowing stories and beautiful memories to share with us. ✈ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Luebke, WAI 1954, is a New York City-based freelance writer, editor, and marketing consultant.