AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2014 - 33

ALMOST THERE

QUESTIONS

Jolie Lucas is a co-founder of the Mooney

Stuck in Sapporo, Japan, because of
weather, Jack was in low spirits and wondered if he would be able to complete the

Ambassadors and Friends of Oceano
Airport. She is a private pilot and licensed
clinical social worker.

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 33

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Jack took off for his final destination-
Fresno Yosemite International Airport-on
June 29. As he flew by Mount Shasta he
remembered that in his hardest times he
imagined this sight. When he was handed
off to Fresno Approach, he exclaimed,
"N432BG great to be back with you!" ATC
read a proclamation proclaiming June 29,
2013, as Jack Wiegand Day.
"I was on cloud nine. I have actually
done this. I was in awe of what I had done."
Jack landed after two low approaches.
Two fire trucks made a water canon archway, which he taxied under to cheers from
hundreds. In his eight weeks away and
135.8 hours in flight, Jack Weigand had set
a new world record.

TAKING ITS TOLL

Stops in Italy and Greece were difficult
because of weather issues and icing. But
Egypt was psychologically the most difficult region. He had received a text from
his CFI regarding security warnings for all
Americans traveling in Egypt because an
American was stabbed outside the embassy.
"Hearing that the night before I left was
very hard," Jack said.
During the flight from Cairo to Dubai,
he was over the Suez Canal, in the dark, and
running low on fuel. Talking with Bahrain
Control he heard another U.S. airplane say,
"What's a Mooney doing out here by yourself? Did you remember your passport?"
The American voice was a comfort and gave
him a laugh. In Dubai he rested, staying with
a family friend.
Next was the seven-hour flight to India,
all over water. "There was no weather
radar, which kept me VFR, low, and terrified. 'Use your training,' I said to myself
again and again." He descended from
5,000 down to 2,000 feet-steep, spiraling
360-degree turns-and landed at Kolkata. It
was not a good landing, and he was shaken.
Exhausted, for three days he did not leave
the hotel.
He took off for Rayong, Thailand, knowing thunderstorms lurked on this long flight.
An eight-hour flight over the South China
Sea with a headwind at night to Manila,
Philippines, was unnerving.
Jack's family met him in Kobe, Japan.
The family noticed his weight loss, at the
time 10 pounds. He did not want to talk
about flying, as he felt talking about it was
retraumatizing. And after the family left it
was the realization that the most difficult
and dangerous flying was still ahead.

journey. There was a daily, constant disappointment with weather, and every morning
a go/no-go decision.
After being secluded for nearly four
weeks, he flew to Kushiro, Japan. On the
verge of tears, he called his girlfriend. "This
was the lowest of the lows, the hardest time
of all. I only had one ounce of motivation left
and the flight that terrified me most was in
front of me."
This last ounce of motivation must
have been enough. He departed Japan for
Adak, Alaska, an 11-hour flight covering
1,610 nautical miles. He was so nervous he
forgot to raise the gear. He was told, "You
need to turn around, N432BG." He talked
with Anchorage Center via satellite phone
knowing that if he turned around he would
have to call it quits; he flew the route VFR.
Weather in Adak was deteriorating.
The community was waiting to see him,
but playing it safe he diverted to Dutch
Harbor. Seeing the sunrise over the northern Pacific Ocean was incredible. Dutch
Harbor was Jack's U.S. reentry; total flight
time on that leg was 11 hours, 40 minutes.
Leaving Dutch Harbor, he flew to
Anchorage where family and friends
greeted him. The now-21-year-old aviator
was 20 pounds lighter and counting the
days until home.

APO

His preparation had been with flight
training and airplane systems and emergency procedures. Now he began to feel
keenly alone, and wondered about personal
safety. Coupled with sleep issues, a different diet, flight pressures, and loneliness, the
young man found himself tested in ways he
never would have imagined.

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2014