I returned home in early December, leaving my sailboat Phywave in a marina in Darwin for protection during the tropical cyclone season. I’ll return to Darwin in April to resume my voyage west when the season ends.

While home I’ve spent some time involved with preparations for the First World Flight Centennial celebration.

The first flight around the world occured in 1924. Four planes, Douglas World Cruisers, took off from Sand Point on Lake Washington in Seattle on April 6. Only two were able to complete the entire flight, arriving back in Seattle on September 28, 1924. 

There will be centennial celebration of this flight in Seattle this September. The website is:

https://www.firstworldflightcentennial.org/

As a pilot who has flown solo around the world twice, over the North Pole, and to Antarctica, I have been invited to participate in the centennial as one of six light aircraft pilots who will have their planes on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight and do a fly-by of the celebration venue.

I’ll interrupt my sailing voyage around the world and return in September to do my part in this great event.

While at home I need to get my plane “un-pickled” from long term storage and ready to fly again so it will be ready to go in September. The “pickling” process involves replacing the engine oil with special preservative oil, removing the battery, replacing the spark plugs with special dissicant plugs, and sealing up openings to the engine, like exhaust, so moisture can’t get in. Once that is all undone, I’ll need to get the legally required annual inspection done.

The final step is for me to get back in the plane with an instructor (CFI) for a Flight Review. To be current and fly solo, pilots are required to have a Flight Review every 24 calendar months. My last review was in the spring of 2020 so I’m overdue, but since I’ve been sailing and not flying it really didn’t matter until now. The Flight Review only takes a couple of hours, one on the ground and one in the air. It’s not a test but a review to make sure a pilot is still competent enough to fly safely.