Sky is the limit for women: British aviator Tracey Taylor

For contemporary women who want to achieve their dreams irrespective of their chosen vocation, the sky is the limit according to British Aviator Tracey Curtis Taylor.
The female aviator from Britain was here as part of achieving a unique feat - completing a 13,000 mile journey from the United Kingdom to Australia over 23 countries in three months.
Flying the Boeing Stearman, an open cockpit biplane, Taylor says she wants to not just replicate the inspiring story of legend Amy Jonson, who pioneered the first solo flight by a woman from Britain to Australia, but also engage with young women in the field of aviation and promote the achievements of women in all spheres of the world.

"The main ethos of my flight is to celebrate not only women's achievements in aviation past, present and future, but also women's roles in engineering and beyond. The sky holds no limit for women," Taylor told PTI.
Emulating Amy Johnson's aerial odyssey in a restored open-cockpit 1942 Boeing Stearman, christened 'Spirit of Artemis', Taylor is calling herself a 'bird in a bi-plane'. Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930 and prepared the way for air travel as we know it today.
"Amy is my inspiration. She had barely any experience when she flew to Australia and basically crashed her way there. I think the story of Amy's journey is still relevant today. So I want to share that with young ladies around the world," said Taylor.

She and her crew reached India on November 23 stopping at Ahmedabad and Jaipur and us scheduled to make a total of seven stops across the country including Agra, Varanasi and Ahmedabad.

Her tribute journey almost replicates the one taken by Johnson from Croydon to Darwin 85 years ago, and her entire route spans 14,000 miles over 23 countries with 50 refueling stops.
"It all started back in 2013 when I flew across Africa in my vintage biplane Spirit of Artemis. That flight really celebrated the achievements of a little known female pilot called Lady Mary Heath. So following that flight it seemed to make sense to celebrate the achievements of Amy Johnson who is a real inspiration for me," Taylor said.

Stressing on the importance of more women in the global aviation engineering sector, the 53 year old aviator hopes that her life story will inspire young women across the world.
Taylor said, "We have just five per cent of the girls who
opt for science technology subjects so we have a global shortage of engineers and scientists. You know my background is arts, literature and history so I never really had the science background till the time I studied for getting my commercial license."
The aviator was being hosted by the Taj Mahal hotel here.
Taylor started her journey on October 1, 2015 from Farnborough Airport in Hampshire in the UK and is scheduled to reach Sydney on January 6, 2016.

India being one of the highlights of the many stops she has made, Taylor will flyout to Bangladesh and Burma before reaching her final destination.
"From royal families in Britain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to female fighter pilots with the Indian Air Force, the journey has been incredible. I have been incredibly touched by all the young ladies I have met along the route when I go to local schools. There are so much ambition, energy and excitement with their futures ahead of them where the sky is the limit," she said.
The journey has been adventurous so far explains Taylor. While crossing East Europe the journey she said became a little more exciting than expected when she had to make an emergency landing in a cow paddock.

"The weather is always the biggest challenge as my vintage plane is always at the mercy of the elements. I fly by sight only without instruments so low cloud and fog means I can't fly. At one point I had to make an emergency landing in a cow paddock disturbing a mushroom picker when we had terrible weather in Eastern Europe" she said.
"The other challenge is dealing with the bureaucracy - the world has gone mad with paperwork. I spend hours each day just dealing with permissions, approvals and documentation. It's a very different world from when Amy made the flight," Taylor said.

Readying herself for a next challenge in the coming spring in the United States of America, Taylor is set to fly across the length and breadth of the country to pay tribute to the centenary celebrations of Boeing.
"From Sydney I am going to take the wings off and ship the Spirit of Artemis to Seattle and fly it across the states next spring in tribute to Boeing as it is their centenary year and next year is also the 75th death anniversary of Amy Johnson," she said.