At the March 2023 meeting, our guest speakers were Sandra and Barry Payne, two adventurous Third Agers. In 2019, Sandra and Barry completed an adventure of a 58,945km round-the-world trip in a single-engine, four-seater Piper Comanche, registration mark ZK-BAZ. Also known also as The Bazflyers, they are New Zealand’s first official Earthrounders – a term for pilots who circumnavigate the planet. The trip lasted 6 months, from April to October, 2019.

They did 50 flights, visiting 13 countries to restock fuel and essentials, sight-see and meet new and old friends. The main countries visited in order, included Australia, Japan, Alaska and the rest of the USA and parts of Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the UK, across Russia including Siberia, back to Japan and Australia, and then home.

Whilst in the USA, they attended the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the world’s largest airshow and gathering of aviation enthusiasts, in Wisconsin, USA, being awarded the Bronze Lindy Award.

For more information, visit their website: https://roundtheworld2019.com, also called www.bazflyer.com

Have an explore around the comprehensive website, including the blog and find the wonderful accounts of their trip on Youtube.