@Pig agree on both counts!
would be brilliant to know about the planning, how it all was put together.
Everybody writes up these sorts of trips (of course – I would!) and the sponsored ones do a lot of PR to meet the exposure requirements of their sponsors, but very few publish details of the planning.
I don’t have any info on this particular trip but in general I am sure this lack of detail is because practically everybody gets an overflight agent(s) to do practically everything enroute: permits, fuel (drum) positioning, etc. I have five overflight agents listed here and from time to time I hear of someone doing these trips having used one or another of these. Even a “simple” long trip like UK to S Africa cannot be done without these agents. I once tried to plan UK to Luxor and gave up after a few months; only the agent will have the required, ahem, “connections” (with some $$$) in the Egyptian aviation ministry. These agents aren’t always reliable; I recall reading a report where it was done in a 421C (which is a very capable aircraft; on par with a TBM, more or less) and despite heavy use of agents, a lot still went wrong. You get a lot of silly stuff in the 3rd World which we aren’t used to in Europe, e.g. there is no Eurocontrol and the computer flight plan distribution, flight plans go via the AFTN like the VFR ones do here, and they get filed on a “nail in the wall” from which they sometimes fall off 
And doing RTW with VFR-only (as was done here, apparently) is especially challenging; almost nobody does it. Well not “legally VFR”; even the UK – S. Africa record breaking flights (done in non-CofA types because nothing certified has the speed and range in a SEP type) involve base-CAA IFR approvals with an “understanding” you will be “VFR” in Europe, and the eye is turned the other way outside that (probably none of the countries crossed allow IFR in non-CofA).
One can minimise the hassle by a careful choice of the RTW route, using “big” airports, with an aircraft capable of long legs, and of course 100% IFR – like our extremely modest @Loco did here Anything less is a lot of planning and logistics.
The only fairly detailed writeup I recall was from Simon Oliphant-Hope who did it in 2004 in an MD500. I don’t think he was sponsored, significantly.
I read about Jon Johanson some years ago. 3 RTW flights with an RV-4. As I seem to remember it was his wife that did the “ground work”, getting permissions, faxing documents and so on.
Hi All,
I can hopefully can add some info (but I don’t have time to go through all the posts, sorry):
Zara has been asked many times to ‘choose her favourite country’. Her response: “I was greeted wonderfully at every single stop – everyone I met was so friendly”.
That was our experience in the organisation, the support and help we received was simply mind-blowing.
Sam_Rutherford wrote:
I can hopefully can add some info (but I don’t have time to go through all the posts, sorry):
Well done, and all the more power to her. She did it and I’m sure it will be a life changing experience for her. Whether she is first, got help, had a penguin sitting next to her is irrelevant. It’s very easy and comfortable to be couch surfing and commenting, but Zara went out and did it. You and Zara can be proud and I say well done..
Once more many thanks for chiming in 👍🏻
Your explanations do shine a new light on the whole expedition, and its complete success. I once more bow to it, very well done Sir (and Madam) 👏🏻
Please keep us posted if a book or report of the voyage is ever published, I’d love to get a copy… and sincere good continuation wishes to Zara!
We were two people in Flight Ops, and five in SoMe and Press – between us working 24/7
What is “SoMe”?
Peter wrote:
What is “SoMe”?
Showing your age here @Peter, LOL! Social Media.
@Sam: congrats to your daughter and well done to you and your team !
Peter wrote:
Everybody writes up these sorts of trips
I wouldn’t. It’s something I may be able to do one day, but I’ll take my time (a year?) and simply enjoy it.
@Sam_Rutherford Thanks for the clarifications. Many respect for all the support she got during this trip! One question though: How did this entire trip work VFR-only? I can imagine many legs were still some kind of “IFR”, as many countries don’t know VFR as we know it in the western World? Were all countries cooperative for VFR flight planning?
Another thing that comes into my mind during such trips is risk mitigation. I mean, engine off above freezing Russia means death. She even said that in some of her interviews, after she did those legs. Was Zara at all times, also before the trip, aware of such risks and did she agree with it? How far did the risk mitigation process go?
Katamarino wrote:
All done by daddy and his friends, I’m assuming.
This one wins the prize for the most patronizing post on this subject
