On Saturday afternoon, 12 April 2003, VH-JDY touched down at Moorabbin airport in Melbourne where the epic journey began on 7 June 2002.
The copilots for the trip, Brett Tait (Melbourne to Thailand) and Mark Willetts (Thailand to Canada) where on hand to greet me when I arrived.
According to the stats, this is the 106th successful circumnavigation of the globe in a single engine aircraft since the first successful attempt was made in 1924.
Here's a summary of the trip details:
Departed YMMB 7 June 2002
Arrived YMMB 12 April 2003
Total distance flown: 29,600 nautical miles (54,820 km)
Countries visited: 29
Total air time: 225 hours
Total number of flights: 52
Average Speed: 132 knots (245 km/hr)
Shortest leg: Malta to Catania Italy 0.9 hours
Longest leg: Oakland California to Hilo Hawaii 12.1 hours
A big thanks goes out to all those who came along for the ride, gave me support and made this dream become a reality.
Special mention for:
- family (my Mom Ann in London Ontario - "Jason why are you doing this to me? - normal children don't torture their mother with such crazy adventures");
- my copilots Mark and Brett (I couldn't have done it without you guys!);
- Deutsche Bank (Clive Smith for his support and inspiration, Tony Burgess - "tell me why you need a year off again - wouldn't it be faster to just take a 747 from Tullamarine?");
- those who gave me a roof over my head during the extended stopovers (especially Jim, Joanne and Patricia in Vancouver);
- technical support crew (Blue Demon Aviation, LASAR, Pacific Avionics) who helped out along the way,
- our webmaster Cathy for her efforts with "www.geocities.com/julietdeltayankee"
- fellow aviators and earthrounders (check out "www.earthrounders.com")
and all my old friends, colleagues, clients and new friends who joined in along the way. I hope to have the opportunity to catch up with as many of you as possible over the next few weeks for a celebratory drink.
Overall a fantastic experience and a personal dream come true. I certainly have an appreciation for the size and diversity of the world after watching it all go by from 10,000 feet!
So now it looks like it is time to get back to reality and hopefully become gainfully employed in the near future (any of you who have some ideas in this regard please don't be shy in coming forward!). A yet to be written book documenting the adventure is not out of the question - don't worry I'll send you an order form and you can always send cash now to reserve your copy in advance!
For the foreseeable future I can be reached on mobile 0408 408 140
(international +61 408408140).
So here is a parting shot of the Round the World Crew of VH-JDY on arrival back in Melbourne (Brett on the left, yours truly, Mark on the right).
Cheers
JB
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