Islander aiming to fly 9,000 miles across Latin America

But Islander Kat Thurston Tiefenthal is bidding not only for the chance to compete in such a race – she’s also expected to complete the journey in a plane that was built nearly 70 years ago.

Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal (54) has been shortlisted for one of 15 places in the Vintage Air Rally, an event which hopes to invoke the spirit of pioneering pilots from the early 1900s.

Having been included on a list of 60 – whittled down from 675 entries from around the world – she is relishing the chance to tackle the race, which would see her sharing the controls of the Cessna 170 Taildragger with CC Pocock, an experienced bush pilot from South Africa who has agreed to be her team-mate.

All of the shortlisted teams, including Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal’s #teamJersey, are busy raising their profiles and targeting sponsors in an effort to convince the organisers to invite them to be part of the winning 15 teams.

The route includes flying over Patagonia, the Andes, jungles in Peru, the Panama Canal, swamplands in Paraguay, the Amazon rainforest and the volcanoes of El Salvador.

‘The rally will be tough at times, gruelling even, flying in remote areas across 19 countries in just 42 days, but I will draw strength from the camaraderie of fellow adventurers and from the people we will meet along the way,’ Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal said.

‘There is a token prize for the first finishers and I’m sure everyone will be desperate to win. The rally’s motto is “grit and glory” and there will be lots of that on show.’

Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal moved to Jersey nine years ago and learned to fly within her first year in the Island. Building on her background as a professional paraglider who represented Great Britain – she broke a world record in 1995 for a distance flight – she quickly racked up a few extra distinctions, including qualifications to fly seaplanes and courses in flying in bad weather and at night.

‘Jersey is the most fantastic place to learn to fly,’ she said. ‘The Aero Club is very supportive and because of the changing conditions, such as fog, and the busy air space, you really learn your stuff. Living on a small island, it’s wonderful to have the freedom to fly.’

As pilots need to complete a certain number of hours to maintain their licences, Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal has made it her mission to carry out as much charity work as possible in pursuit of her hobby. This has included flying supplies to the Calais refugee camp on behalf of JCRAG, transporting sick pets to the UK and working with Helping Wings, a charity which offers flying opportunities to disabled Islanders.

If her bid to join the Vintage Air Rally is successful, Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal will spend the 42-day journey learning how to be a ‘bush pilot’ under guidance from Mr Pocock – training that she needs to enable her to carry out charity aviation work in Africa in the future.

‘I think aviation is often thought of as elitist but I’d like to change that perception,’ she said.
‘An awful lot of the club pilots at the Aero Club run helpful errands for people and don’t charge a fee on top of their costs.’

A breast cancer survivor, Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal believes in grasping every opportunity in life and not being scared of challenges.

‘I totally believe in making the most of every day that you live and entering this rally was part of that,’ she said. ‘We’ve got a one-in-four chance of being chosen but we need support from the public to help persuade the organisers to pick us.

‘They have also said that we would earn a guaranteed place in the race if we can get a major sponsor to sign up, so if anyone’s interested please get in touch.

‘I’d like to put Jersey on the map for the right reasons. We have such an enormous support for vintage aircraft in this island and we have a great history of aviation, dating all the way back to 1912.’

  • To lend support to Mrs Thurston Tiefenthal’s bid, visit the Vintage Air Rally’s Facebook page or email
    kat.tiefenthal@gmail.com.
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