Adventurer follows in icon's footsteps with 10,000-mile solo bi-plane flight to Australia
An adventurer is following in the footsteps of one of the most daring female pilots ever by flying an antique bi-plane from England to Australia.
Tracey Curtis-Taylor is recreating Amy Johnson's 1930 journey in an open cockpit aircraft, flying 10,000 miles solo around the world.
Along the way she may have to battle tropical thunderstorms, mechanical gremlins and the threat of having to land in hostile terrain.
"My biggest concern would be an engine failure, so having to put the aeroplane down potentially in hostile terrain, or having to ditch it in one of the water crossings," Ms Curtis-Taylor told ITV News.
"I'm going to be something like 150 miles from the Syrian border, so that is intimidating.
"South of Burma we're into weather and I think that may well be my biggest challenge."
Amy was just 26 when she flew from Croydon to Australia in a primitive aircraft which had no lights, radio or fuel gauge.
Ms Curtis-Taylor's bi-plane will be better equipped when she sets off from Goodwood on Thursday and she hopes to reach Sydney in January.
Along the way she will stop in 23 countries, visiting the likes of Istanbul, Karachi and Calcutta.
Describing Amy as a "remarkable figure", Ms Curtis-Taylor said: "She's one of the first iconic female role models."
Before she set off, Amy's niece Judy Chilvers visited Ms Curtis-Taylor.
She said: "It's very important to us because as a family we'd like to keep Amy's name alive and what Tracey is doing is exactly that."