Polly Vacher facts for kids
Polly Vacher (born in 1944) is an English pilot famous for flying long distances by herself. She was given a special award called the MBE in 2002. This award recognized her amazing work for different charities. Polly Vacher lives in Oxfordshire, England.
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Early Life and Learning to Fly
Polly Vacher was born in south Devon, a county in England. Before she became a pilot, she trained to be a physiotherapist. This job helps people recover from injuries. She also spent twenty years teaching music.
Her interest in flying started in a surprising way. She took part in a charity skydiving event. This experience sparked her love for aviation. In 1994, she earned her private pilot licence in Australia. She learned to fly alongside her husband, Peter. After getting their licenses, they flew their plane all the way around Australia. In 1997, Polly flew solo across the North Atlantic twice. This was part of a trip where she explored the United States by plane.
Amazing Solo Flights
Polly Vacher has completed several incredible solo flights. She often used these journeys to raise money for charity. Her main charity was "Flying Scholarships for the Disabled." This group helps people with disabilities learn to fly.
Wings Around the World Challenge
In 2001, Polly began her first "Wings Around the World Challenge." She flew by herself around the entire world. She started her journey in January and finished in May. Her plane was a small, single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee Dakota. It was named G-FRGN.
This flight was special because it was the smallest aircraft a woman had flown solo around the world. Her route included flying over Australia. One part of the journey was a very long 16-hour flight. She flew non-stop from Hawaii to California.
Voyage to the Ice
Polly Vacher started another big adventure on May 6, 2003. This trip was called "Voyage to the Ice." She again flew for the "Flying Scholarships for the Disabled" charity. She took off from Birmingham Airport in England.
During this amazing flight, Polly flew over the North Pole and Antarctica. This meant she flew over all seven continents. She returned to Birmingham Airport on April 27, 2004. With this journey, she became the first woman to fly solo over both the North and South Pole regions.
Wings Around Britain Challenge
On May 21, 2007, Polly began her "Wings Around Britain Challenge." She aimed to land at every airfield listed in the Jeppesen VFR Manual. This manual contains information for pilots flying by sight. She completed this challenge between May 21 and July 31, 2007.
During this challenge, Polly visited 221 airfields. She flew about 19,000 nautical miles (which is about 35,000 kilometers). This took her 158 hours of flying time. A wonderful part of this challenge was that she flew 96 disabled passengers. They joined her for different parts of her journey.
