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| Monday, April 09, 2007 |
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RECORD-BREAKING HELICOPTER PILOTS DUE TO REACH NORTH POLE WITHIN NEXT 24 HOURS
By FlyingNews @ 4:01 PM :: 549 Views ::
0 Comments :: Helicopters
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Record-breaking helicopter pilots Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill are due to reach the North Pole in the next 24 hours, nearly a week ahead of schedule. This marks the final stage in their attempt to set a new world record for flying around the world via the South and North Poles.
This is the pilots' second attempt to set this record, their first attempt in 2003 ending in near disaster when on December 20th, 58 days into their journey and two days after reaching the South Pole, they crashed in whiteout conditions on the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Both pilots sustained serious injuries and their crash was reported by media around the globe. Many might have called it a day after such an experience but Jennifer, 66 years old, and Colin, 55 years old, were determined to re-attempt the challenge.
Talking via phone from Resolute Bay, Nunuvut, Jennifer says, "The weather is looking very good for this part of our record attempt - much better than we expected - and as a result, we're hoping to get to the North Pole ahead of schedule. We're in the extreme northern latitudes where, as in Antarctica, the weather here can change very quickly. We need to make the most of any good weather we get and push on."
Jennifer continues, "Some pilots say the Antarctic is tougher than the Arctic, some the reverse. All agree that both are high risk with no room for error. I'm more nervous of these next legs than any other on the journey. I lie awake at night thinking of all the possible scenarios, of flat light, icing, blizzards, head winds, predators (it's very much bear season, and they're just out of hibernation so hungry), thin ice...the list goes on and on. So although the weather is looking good, we know it can change and our focus is now on getting to the Pole, getting out again and onto the final leg of the journey. The tough stuff doesn't end at the North Pole, we still have the North Atlantic crossing via Iceland and Greenland, arguably the toughest leg. But our Bell 407 continues to perform wonderfully well and we have great confidence every time we start it up and fly away."
When they reach the North Pole the pilots will have completed nearly 27,000 nautical miles of their 169 day journey. They have just under 8,500 miles to go before landing back at Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, where they started the attempt on 5th December 2006. They are due to land in Fort Worth on May 23rd.
Jennifer Murray, 66 years old, learnt to fly helicopters at the age of 54.
Jennifer and Colin are also working in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) with IBG, to give a core group of 30 schools along the route and children world wide the opportunity to take part in a global environmental, online project. The pilots have visited many of the schools taking part in the project during their trip south, and will be visiting more as they fly north. They are also supporting the work of global charity SOS Children's Villages and have been raising awareness of the work of the charity by visiting projects along their route.
Jennifer has written a book, 'Broken Journey', about her 2003 record attempt and copies can be bought at www.polarfirst.com.
Watch the pilots journey around the world at www.polarfirst.com. |
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