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Journey to the
Ends of the Earth
Follow along on a 90-day solo circumnavigation from the South Pole to the North Pole.
If you were to assume that planes have a purpose far greater than just flying, what would you do with your plane? Would you use it as a global billboard? Raise money for aspiring pilots? Educate kids about STEM? Showcase aviation safety and technology? What about a
spiritual practice to better understand yourself and life?
I decided to do all these things and more. After my first circumnavigation in my Malibu Mirage in 2015 and then completing my second book about the trip (“Zen Pilot: Flight of Passion and the Journey Within”), I sought another adventure. Soon, a piece of research I came across from the British Antarctic Survey planted a seed.
There are few places in the world where there has never been war, where the environment is fully pro- tected and where scientific research has priority. But there is a whole continent like this – it’s the land the Antarctic Treaty parties call...a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.
This seed, along with the experience from my 2015 circumnavigation, developed into a new mission: Join humanity together in a South Pole to North Pole flying adventure.
To achieve this goal, I purchased a 1983 Gulfstream Turbine Commander 900 (“Citizen of the World”). Breathing new life into this capable and venerable 35-year-old aircraft has been a challenge. The Flying Thru Life team recently installed newly refurbished Honeywell TPE 331–10 T engines producing 1157 hp designed for 1000 hp and derated to 750 on takeoff. To make the aircraft climb faster and fly farther, new custom MT five-bladed nickel-tipped composite scimitar propellers were
by Robert DeLaurentis
14 • TWIN & TURBINE
November 2018