Still, Harrison has much to be proud of and no end of anecdotes to recount, one of the best of which we’re publishing on the following page. Her attempt also caps an extraordinary career in aviation, which, like her hero, was probably an unlikely outcome for someone not born into a world of privilege.

“I was given the chance of taking a flight at 14,” she says. “And when those wheels left the ground, and I was in the sky, I knew I belonged there. That’s how the passion started. ” Despite her enthusiasm, she only set herself an early goal of obtaining a private pilot’s licence because that’s all she could afford. In fact, it wasn’t until she suddenly lost her job out of the blue that she took the leap of becoming a commercial pilot. From there, her giddy enthusiasm led her to fly not just commercial jets but warbirds, too.

Perhaps the day that would change her life, though, came when she spotted a man with a Tiger Moth at an air racing competition. “It was a beautiful aircraft, so I went over to him, and he gave me a little bit of a flight.

As soon as we took off in that open cockpit, I could feel the wind, but I also had to concentrate completely on flying. I thought, ‘Wow, how can I fly these things?” The pilot gave her a piece of advice: if she wanted to make a go of it, she should take the time to research all the greats of the past. And it’s then that she discovered Johnson and the kernel of an idea for her adventure came about.

Captain Harrison set off from Croydon, South London, on 11 May 2019 – the date that was as close as she could get to Johnson’s 5 May departure date. Yet within hours, her Moth, G-AXAN, experienced all manner of unforeseen issues, including bad weather that forced a diversion and a birdstrike in Vienna that knocked the spinner cover off. At almost every turn, Harrison had to change her plans on the hoof to react to whatever was thrown at her.

“I think the most terrifying was when I was in the middle of the Mediterranean,” she says. “It may be beautiful blue skies, but it’s a goldfish bowl, and there’s no horizon. ” Often, she admits, she would lose the plot, worried she could find herself flying upside down. “I thought, ‘This is it, I’m going to end up in the drink and not survive. ’” Conversely, though, it was also the challenging fling that was the best bit. “The Tiger Moth doesn’t have an autopilot, so every time you take your hands off the stick, she wants to go off somewhere else. Naughty girl! But she made it really well and I loved it. When you land, you think ‘Wow, that was an amazing flight. ’” And while the ending may have been heartbreaking, it was probably for the best. Days later, she revealed in her book that a missile was fired into Cyprus from Syria, right where she was due to be flying.

With disappointment behind her, Harrison does not let geopolitics stop her. “I’m now learning how to be an engineer so I’m emulating Amy Johnson even more because we’re losing that skill,” she says. “I’m trying to inspire the younger generation to come into the vintage aviation engineering side of it. ” She’s also not giving up on another crack at the challenge. Though, she quips, “I may have to plan a different route. ”

Engine Failure!

In this exclusive extract, Amanda Harrison discusses the heartstopping moment she was forced to make a PAN PAN call near the Greek island of Rhodes – and prepare to crash land in water.

SINKING LOWER in the sky, the sun is quickly vanishing behind the misty mountains of Turkey. Magnificent views up here, but the situation is getting out of hand. I am being told to keep orbiting to the north of Rhodes while they decide when they can fit me into the land. I told them again that I had no lights on AXAN, so I had to land in daylight. But they just keep telling me to keep orbiting. I calculate that I have a good ten minutes of flying to get to Rhodes and then approach and land. It will be getting dark by then. OK, I do not want to do this but I prepare my emergency radio broadcast.

Saved! Just as I am preparing to say I must land, air traffic finally gives me permission. Relief flows through me yet again. Landing on 06 it is a stiff crosswind, rolling off the mountain inland, another tricky landing in AXAN. She copes well. Taxiing past all the big airliners to the parking spot stand 14 it really is getting dark. As I shut down the engine, the handlers were waiting for me with a trolley bag and big chocks. A female handler, this time with immaculate hair and make-up making me feel a bit grubby, comes over. I say hello. She says, “Can I tell you how much I admire you!” “Thank you,” I reply and laugh. More madness than admiration at the moment, I think.

Starting to get the cover out for AXAN, I look at the rudder being blown about in the wind. Let’s get your rudder locked in AXAN. A finely manufactured piece of engineering, by Wiggy [Mike Wigg, Johnson’s technical support chief]. It is two bits of wood covered in carpet so as not to damage AXAN’s fabric, with bolts drilled through to tighten up with nuts, trapping the rudder to the fuselage post. Therefore, stopping the rudder from bashing side to side in the wind. Patent pending, winky face! While I am doing this the fuel truck turns up, “Avgas?” he shouts.

“Yes, please. ” He gets out and is bemused at where the fuel tanks are. I show him and say it’s OK you pass me the hose and I will fill her although it is a mammoth task to hold the hose steady in the wind. As this all takes a while the fi rst handler has gone off shift. Another immaculate woman turns up with blonde hair this time, smiling and smelling lovely. I compliment her on her perfume, I am sure my custom perfume of avgas, oil and sweat is divine! Looking forward to a shower tonight. She is also amazed at what I am attempting to do. Remarking on how windy it is, she says, “Oh yes, Rhodes is the windy island. ” Ah, that might have been helpful to know. She is called Rena and we do a video selfie where you can see in the background just how dark the night is. Blimey that was a bit too close for comfort, with the landing time too close to sunset.

It is the end of a long day and I am shattered. There are hotels and then there are…hotels as the advert says. This is an unusual hotel squashed into the middle of Rhodes city centre. The rooms are tiny with the shower room being the whole toilet sink space, but not really what you imagine as a wet room. But hey I am on a budget so it will do. Hotel wi-fi is also very varied across the world. Sleep is not forthcoming as the walls are paper thin, so I am hearing everything that goes on in the hotel. Trust me I would rather be sleeping! Early start again as fi ve hours of flying over the Mediterranean to Cyprus is planned for today. Normal start to the day, weather and NOTAMs checked, paying the bill, sorting the paperwork first, then checking AXAN. There is a little note tucked into the cover of AXAN which reads, ‘Hi I am Paris, an engineer at Rhodes, I love your aeroplane if you need any help here is my phone number. ’ How kind I think and stuff the bit of paper into my flight suit.

I have a slot time to leave and know that this will be a hard flight to concentrate on. When flying over water if the visibility is bad with no definite horizon your mind can play tricks on you, regarding which way is up. I have flown across water many times but five hours constant will be a good test of my flying and concentration skills. Amy had flown over Turkey to Syria so her first big sea crossing was the South China Sea. I will not need my shark repellent if I go down in the Mediterranean, but I will need the life raft. As I say always plan for the worst then hopefully if things go bad you have already survived because you have rehearsed the scenario in your head.

Therefore, as commercial pilots, we go through a brief of emergencies before every flight because it has been proven that if you have rehearsed the emergency and prepared for it, you are more likely to be able to fly the problem and survive. Science is backing this up, with recordings from air crashes showing that pilots who do brief have more chance of survival. I told you I was a safety girl. I am not attempting this adventure lightly or without preparation, planning and determination to succeed, but and a very big but, I plan to survive. Remember when I left, I kissed my mum and said, “I promise you I will return. ” I am brave I know that now, but I am also very safety conscious. Even when flying solo, I always give myself and AXAN a brief when taxiing out to the runway.

All seems good as I do the normal checks on the stand, with AXAN sounding great with normal mag and power checks. I put my life jacket on and pack the chocks away. The nice handling lady waves me off . Here we go. Finally warm, it is 25 degrees at 9 a.m. local in the morning. I have put on sun cream, so everything is good. With clearance to take off, AXAN does a more stately take-off taking longer to climb, which I put down to the change in temperature and it being hot in comparison to what we have been flying in. Her engine is sounding OK though. Air traffic asks me to turn right as soon as possible on track. Rhodes airport is literally right next to the sea and turning right would mean going over the mountain next to Rhodes town, which is about 55 feet above sea level, which looks enormous at the moment.

“OK AXAN what’s wrong?” I am asking my wonderful Tiger Moth, as she is not climbing in the flight very well. Admittedly this is the first real hot weather here in Rhodes instead of verging on freezing, as is has been all across Europe. That huge temperature change I know will affect the performance of the aircraft, but this much? Air traffic request again that I turn right as soon as possible, but at this rate there is no way I can safely fly over Rhodes town, so I opt to fly around the town; in case of emergency I can ditch in the sea and not crash into a populated area. Yes, you do think about these things as a pilot and I am fully aware that my flight is unusual and should not endanger anyone. I take this part very seriously. I am trying to work out what is wrong whilst flying around Rhodes town heading out to the vast blueness of the Mediterranean.

Next, disaster strikes. The engine starts to labour, then a big shudder of vibration and the engine is struggling badly. OK, that felt and sounded like a cylinder head has blown out. Vintage aeroplanes do this sometimes, goes with the territory of flying old things. I have heard this sound before and landed safely, so this can be done. Adrenaline hits my system, but my brain is already working on the problem. Right where can I land? Sea obviously as Rhodes is an island, and there is nowhere on this side of Rhodes town that is fl at enough to land on. OK well, let’s turn AXAN round and try and get nearer the airport anyway, as even with three cylinders left AXAN is still flying, just. I execute a 180-degree turn and head back. She is losing height steadily but not falling out of the sky like a stone, so fl y the problem. After all the Tiger Moth being a biplane glides very well.

My heart is thumping in my chest now; however many times you practise an emergency nothing can beat a real one. Fortunately, this is not the fi rst time I have felt adrenaline surge through my body, I am used to this sensation as a pilot. Unfortunately, I also know the feeling well, not only through flight emergencies, but my life has also been varied and highly challenging at times. Adrenaline engages the part of the brain that tells you to run or fight for your life. Knowing that feeling helps as I can breathe deeply and tell myself look, you are right near the coast, you can swim ashore, and survive. I have time I tell myself.

Right, assess the situation. I am over sea with my aeroplane losing height. This is now a real emergency. Work the options Amanda, I tell myself. Aviate, Navigate, Communicate are the order in an emergency in the air. Fly the aeroplane first, yes, I have done that and turned back, and put AXAN into a gliding airspeed, 60 kts. Navigate, easy just following the coastline back to the airport. Communicate, OK time to press the button I hoped never to engage. A military-grade tracker kindly supplied by Kinetic Six has a red SOS button on it which I push sending out the alarm. The tracker has been showing my flight across the world every ten minutes on my website, but it also has this wonderful little button that tells everyone I need help. This is absolutely the time for shouting help to everyone, no English bashfulness now. Somewhere in England I hope the klaxons are going off , because if I cannot make it back to the airport, it will be the sea for me and AXAN. I am not a good swimmer, and AXAN is probably a worse swimmer than me.

Communicate, I make an emergency call to air traffic control, “PANPAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, G-AXAN HAS PARTIAL ENGINE FAILURE TURNING BACK TOWARDS THE AIRPORT. ” You say Pan-Pan three times so that everybody on the frequency knows you are in trouble. Most people know the word Mayday, which is the highest of emergencies all around the world, in aviation. Air traffic and all aeroplanes have an obligation to help you, SOS of the air, as you are in need of immediate help. Pan-Pan is the second-highest emergency in the aviation world, which means you need help at some point.

Maydays involve paperwork, whereas a Pan-Pan does not. You do not say either of these words lightly though as alarms get hit, and fire and first aid all come on standby. Everybody stands to and helps you. Turning back towards the land, air traffic has switched from grumpy to trained emergency calmness, and are treating me like a Mayday, “Can you see the airfield?” they say. “Yes”, I say. “OK turn straight back and land. ” “Negative, I will have to go around Rhodes as I am losing height!” Adrenaline is now flooding my body. “You are cleared for a straight-in landing to 24 runway. ” Wonderful, they are giving me straight into land.

Moving the airliners out of the way. Apologies to the holidaymakers.

“OK I am not sure I will make the airport and I am going around Rhodes as too low now to fly over it safely. ” My voice is just a little higher than normal. I will not fly over Rhodes as that would endanger other people. Losing height at this rate AXAN and I are going in the sea. I start preparing for a crash landing on water.

I have the fleeting thought of will I survive? Is this the end? Rhodes is two hours ahead of the UK, so this is all happening at 7:15 a.m. back home, when the bells and klaxons start going off in the head office of Kinetic Six. Wiggy gets woken up by getting 20-second notifications that I am in trouble. Probably quite scary for him. Then a phone call that stops his heart.

“Amanda must be in the sea. ” The man at Kinetic Six says to Wiggy, “she is moving so slowly. Don’t worry we will get her rescued!”

Solo2Darwin: In the Footsteps of Amy Johnson by Amanda Harrison is published by Grub Street Books.