A mother-daughter duo from Karnataka is set to make a mark on the world in 2018, quite literally. Audrey Deepika Meben and her 19-year-old daughter Amy Mehta would be attempting to circumnavigate the globe, flying in a microlight aircraft.
Women empowerment is indeed the need of the hour, and this expedition is one of the many ways in which awareness is being created about women empowerment. Audrey was quoted as saying, “This initiative, Women empower, will give wings to more girls who aspire to take on the skies.”
The circumnavigation would be an attempt at a world record as they would be covering more than 50,000 kilometres in around 80 days. This, being done in a single-propeller-engine powered aircraft is a big feat in itself.
Audrey and Amy would be the first Indian women to have achieved the feat if all goes according to plan.
The aircraft – named Mahi, appears to be a Pipistrel SW 121, which was in the news a couple of years ago when the Indian Ministry Of Defence acquired nearly 200 of the aircraft for basic training of its pilots.
Audrey has been flying microlight aircraft as a hobby from the Jakkur Aerodrome in Bangalore. The attempt for the world record too would start and end at the Jakkur Aerodrome.
The aircraft is equipped with two small fuel tanks, giving it a flying range of only about 4.5 hours at one go. What that also means is that Audrey and Amy would have to make a lot of fuelling stops across the world.
They would only fly during the day, starting from India, heading to South-East Asian Countries, Japan, Russia, Alaska, North America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, Arabian Countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally back to India.
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Expeditions like this would not just encourage more expeditions, but also bring women to the forefront. As long as it encourages more people to pick up cross-country flying or even driving, it is a success. Here’s wishing Audrey and Amy the best, for their aerial circumnavigation.
Article Source: Drive Spark