As EBAN goes to press, a British woman named Jennifer Murray, 63, has set off on what is being called

‘the ultimate helicopter challenge’ – flying a helicopter around the world from Pole to Pole.

She takes with her a co-pilot by the name of Colin Bodill and together they hope to raise funds for the conservation organisation WWF, heightening awareness of the charity’s projects, as well as celebrating 100 years of flight, hopefully at the South Pole on December 17.

We spoke to Murray to find out about more about the trip and how she became involved in aviation: “I came to this vocation somewhat late in life. I started flying at the age of 54 in 1994,” she said. “And it was only when my husband bought a half-share in a helicopter and said that he hadn’t got time to learn, that I realised the onus was on me!”

She continued: “Before that I was a housewife and an artist. I was also something of a business lady – I was a textile designer with my own textile business. It was quite a change going from that to pilot training!” said Murray. “It just came at a great time for me too, because my children were grown up and I had a bit more time on my hands. And I just loved it; it was very challenging, both mentally and physically, in every way,” she said. “And then of course, in the world of aviation there are so many great people out there; it’s a wonderful fraternity to belong to.”

Murray and Bodill are carrying out the mission in a Bell 407, which she describes as a superb machine despite a lack of space in the cockpit. With regard to the paint scheme, she said: “It’s good to have a colour which you can see easily and we decided to have a Ferrari red helicopter. The

Bell 407 is covered in decals and it looks very, very arresting. It will also look good against the snow in Antarctica, and the greenery of the Amazonian rainforest.”

We asked Murray whether any attempt like this one had previously been made. “The helicopter that tried to reach the South Pole ditched in the sea off Antarctica at the beginning of this year,” she said. “Flying around the world by the Poles? This attempt will be the first ever.”

Murray is already a record-holder, but still hungers for more. “Having flown twice round the world, you’d have thought that would have been enough to satisfy me, but I’m determined to see this through,” she said. “I am the first woman to have flown around the world in a helicopter. I went east to west, which is very different to going north to south,” she explained. “It has been done four times before. One of the big challenges when I flew around the world east to west was that we were doing it in the Robinson helicopter, which has a piston engine, and no auto-pilot. We were the first helicopter to go round the world without an auto-pilot,” she said.

“The first time I flew with Quentin Smith. He was my instructor and although I did get a lot of gratification from having done that mission,” she continued, “I always knew that I’d gone round with a pilot who was

so much more experienced than myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, so in 2000 I went again solo.”

Being such an ambitious and confident woman doing a job that is stereotypically considered to be a man’s role, we asked whether she had encountered any opposition? “There’s always a little bit of sexism, because it’s very much a male dominated industry,” she said. “People always look at Colin and then they are genuinely surprised when I say that I’m a pilot as well! There’s no antagonism as such, but the world of aviation is definitely a chauvinistic world!” explained Murray.

“There are an increasing number of women who are ace pilots in this business. There are also female fire-fighters, police cops, police helicopter pilots and they are doing all the same jobs as men,” she said. “Because it doesn’t take muscle to fly, it simply takes the right mental attitude, skill and the ability.

She believes that things are certainly getting better though: “Us ladies are certainly showing that we can do it too! Funnily enough, the only times I’m really made aware of any kind of problem is when I speak to some air traffic controllers,” she laughed. “You can hear it in their voices, almost as if they feel that they have to look after this poor, scatty woman who can’t possibly be sure what she’s doing! They always sound much more relaxed when they’re talking to a man,” she said.

“I always rather enjoy stepping out of the helicopter, especially if I happen to have a male passenger who can’t even fly – they’re always shocked when they find out that I’m actually the one piloting the aircraft!” Murray said.

Murray has always been focused on raising money for charity through her various missions. “The first time was for Save The Children, the second time was for a smaller charity called Operation Smile, a company that perform operations on children with facial deformities all over the world,” she said. “The huge challenge was always there and so many people were saying to me – what about ‘the big one’ (north – south)? It is potentially the toughest operation, because you’ve got some very extreme weather conditions, especially in Antarctica,” Murray explained. “Eventually I decided to take on the challenge. It does take up a huge amount of time; this trip has been two years in preparation. This time we’re raising funds and awareness for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Afterwards I intend to call it a day – I certainly will after this one!”

Murray and Bodill are still short on funds for the trip and in a bid to help themselves and ensure the mission is successful, they are running a flag campaign. Murray told us how people can get involved: “If people just sponsor us for £3 or $5, they can have their name added to the flags that we will be flying to the South and the North Pole,” she said.