Tracey Curtis Taylor is following Amy Johnson's steps and flying from Britain to Australia. In a heartfelt conversation with Shrabasti Mallik, she shares how she had to work three jobs to finance her pilot training
It was in the year 1930 that Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia. Since then there have been numerous women pilots, but none courageous enough to undertake a flight quite like Johnson’s. None, until Tracey Curtis Taylor that is. On October 1, 2015, Tracey boarded her 1942 Boeing Stearman named Spirit of Artemis from Britain with the aim of walking in Johnson’s footsteps. Her goal is to reach Sydney by early January 2016, by when she would cover 23 countries and make just about 50 refuelling stops.
At 53, she doesn’t look a day older than one in her mid 30s. She has been flying for 30 years and it took her just as long to prepare for this exciting journey. There was a time when Tracey could not join the Air Force and had to work three jobs to finance her training. She is a qualified instructor but is apprehensive to call herself a teacher. “I am not sure if I am a great teacher,” she laughed, “but I love flying open cockpit planes and this flight is the culmination of my life in the air.”
It all started back in 2009 when she was asked what she wanted to really do with her life. “I said I wanted to fly across Africa, which I did in 2013 in my vintage biplane Spirit of Artemis”, she said, looking resplendent in a gorgeous Banarasi saree, presented to her by Taj Khazana. That flight really celebrated the achievements of a female pilot called lady Mary Heath, who was the first woman to hold a commercial flying license in Britain and set records for altitude in a small plane. Tracey pointed out how Heath’s adventure inspired her to have her own, “Following that flight seemed to make sense, so as to celebrate the achievements of Amy Johnson, my real inspiration. In this modern world I can’t recreate Amy’s flight, so the purpose of this flight is not just for celebrating achievements of women in aviation, but also the role of women in engineering and other fields. I hope this flight can inspire more women to follow their dreams.”
Tracey’s first lesson was when she was 16-years-old and that changed her life. The 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines intrigued her interest in historical aviation. Her passion to learn more took her to New Zealand where she learnt to fly. “It is such a beautiful place to be up in the skies. The more I read about the pioneering days of aviation in the golden era in between the World Wars, the more I was inspired by aviators such as Amy Johnson, lady Mary Heath and Amelia Earhart,” elaborated the pilot, in an interaction at the Machan in the Taj Mahal Hotel.
Taj Hotels, resorts and palaces is lending support to Tracey along the way as a global hospitality partner. Tracey is following Amy’s route as closely as possible but she avoided areas like Syria and Iran. “We’re now tracking her across India and on through Asia. Amy ended at Darwin but I am flying onto Sydney,” she shared.
Recalling the month and a half that she has been flying, she said that Istanbul was her first major stop. “But in a way Romania became our first big stop as very poor weather held us up unexpectedly in Bucharest for a number of days. I fly by eye sight, so low clouds and fog means that I can’t fly. At one point I had to make an emergency landing in a cow paddock, I almost gave a mushroom picker an heart attack,” she recounted, laughing uncontrollably.
According to Tracey, flying vintage is thrilling. Her aircraft, Spirit of Artemis is a classic. She told us that she had always wanted to do the flight in a Boeing Stearman rather than a Tiger Moth (Johnson’s plane). “I’m passionate about vintage aircraft — it is old fashioned, romantic stick and rudder flying. I don’t have any instruments to help me fly like modern aircraft,” she added.
During her brief stay in India, Tracey had the privilege to interact with female fighter pilots from both the Indian and Pakistani Air Forces. She glowed with amazement as she said, “The military is such a good route to learn to fly but I wasn’t able to join the Air Force when I was young. But I don’t buy into the idea that it’s too expensive or difficult — it has always been hard and I worked very hard to finance my training. I wish there were more women in aviation but perhaps it’s perceived as too dangerous. I hope that by re-telling the story of pioneers like Amy Johnson, we can inspire new generations.”
For all those looking forward to learn everything about Tracy’s adventure, take heart. She is penning down her experiences of the flight in a journal. “I’d love to tell the story from my perspective. It is very much a spiritual and emotional journey for me, and I love reading, so I hope I can write a book about this flight,” she wrapped up.