Flying solo across the seven seas

In October 2024, I embarked on my longest ferry flight to date: flying a DA42 from Austria all the way to Australia. Sounds glamorous. And it was — at least at times. Above all, however, it turned out to be an excellent exercise in patience.

Because the biggest challenges had little to do with the flying itself and much more with waiting. Waiting for permits, for clearances, for the next “go” — especially when the route led over crisis regions. Ferry flying teaches you one thing very quickly: you don’t fly when you want to, you fly when you’re allowed to.

The waiting, however, was generously rewarded. With a spectrum of colours that made filters completely redundant. With landscapes so stunning you momentarily forget that you’re actually working. And with the realisation that many of the supposed “challenges” belong firmly in the anecdote category: tangled oxygen hoses, using the toilet on board (yes, even female pilots have to go), cows and sheep on the runway, a lack of infrastructure in countries where small aircraft like a DA42 are more exotic than a kangaroo in Austria — or being addressed as “Sir” simply because a woman in the cockpit had not yet been accounted for.

Anyone who would like to hear and see more is welcome to come along for the ride — at least virtually. In my webinar for The Ninety-Nines, kindly sponsored by SiriusXA Aviation, I share the full story.

My sincere thanks to host Deb Henneberry and co-host Glenna Blackwell.