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AROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT
APRIL - MAY 2002
Pilot: Bill Finlen Aircraft: Bonanza VH-TYEThe thought that I could fly my Bonanza around the world came many years ago.
My flying
"hobby" started with models then gliders and progressed to power
flying in about the mid 80's.
It did not take long for me to
realise that my Bonanza was capable of better things than local flights and
soon I was off to
The real test came in 1995 when I
met two German pilots (Juergen and Gunter), flying V-tail Bonanza's
(just like mine) around the world. A third Bonanza, also like mine,
ditched off
That did not deter the Bonanza lovers
and in 2000 I joined Juergen and flew with him across the
So the date was set and the planning
commenced.
My place was prepared with some new
equipment and in particular the long range fuel system. That system and my
own "systems" were tested on a return flight to
So the plane was ready and my birthday
was approaching fast.
All I had left was to finalise the
route and directions of flight.
I talked to lots of people about the
more favourable winds etc and in the end, opted to fly west and take advantage
of the longer daylight. Some flights were made with an extra 3 hours of
available daylight. I wanted to arrive in daylight when customs etc would
be easier to manage meaning I would need to take off well before sunrise.