Teen pilot flies solo around Australia to make a point about what women can do

As It Happens7:03Teen pilot flies solo around Australia to make a point what women can do

When Chloe Familton was trying to rent an aircraft to fly around Australia last year, she says she was met with a lot of skepticism.

The Sydney, Australia, pilot was 17 when she started planning a solo flight around her home country. She aimed to raise money for charity and inspire young women to join the field of aviation.

"I actually approached … three different providers when it came to renting the aircraft for the trip, because the first two believed that I wouldn't be capable of completing the flight because I am a young woman," Familton, who turned 18 during her journey, told As It Happens guest host Megan Williams.

But the third time was the charm, and Familton found herself a 1980 Cessna 172 from Blue Sky Airways, which she promptly used to prove her doubters wrong.

On Dec. 30, after travelling 14,000 kilometres (or 7,500 nautical miles) she landed to much fanfare at the Cessnock Airport in New South Wales — the same place she took off from on Nov. 13, 2023.

"On one hand, I was reflecting about all that I'd done, all that I'd accomplished and all that I'd experienced during the flight — the amazing people I have had the opportunity to meet, [and] everything I got to see," Familton said.

"But at the same time, I was also thinking a little bit about the future, and perhaps the impact and the legacy that this flight would have in hopefully achieving my goals of inspiring others."

Her initial goal was to become the youngest female pilot to circumnavigate Australia alone, which would have required her to follow a specific route along the island nation's coastlines. But the weather had different ideas, and she was forced to cut inland briefly to avoid Tropical Cyclone Jasper, losing her chance at the title.

A strong mentor makes a difference

Nevertheless, she achieved her ultimate goal, which was to inspire young girls and women, many of whom wrote her messages as she documented her journey in the media and on her website.

When it comes to encouraging the next generation, Familton says she's simply paying it forward. She takes her motivation from several aviators, including her piloting instructor Janaya Di Pietro, who helped her earn her flying licence in May 2022.

"She's very much, I think, my inspiration in this industry," Familton said. "I very much treat her like my big sister."

Di Pietro was there to greet her young mentee with a hug when she completed her journey last week.

"It was really awesome to see it all finish on such a high," she told CBC in an email.

Di Pietro says it was awe-inspiring to watch Familton plan her trip while simultaneously finishing her high school finals and applying to the Australian Defence Force.

"Not many 17-year-olds have the maturity to be able to take on such a high workload so, for me, I think it's awesome to see that dedication to achieve goals," she said.

Familton says Di Pietro taught her more than how to fly.

"She's also taught me a lot about resilience and determination, because she has her own stories of being a woman in this industry. I think quite a lot of us do," Familton said.

"I think it's really good to have strong female role models to prove that you can do it because they've been able to do it too."

Pulling up for gas

But being a woman who flies isn't all toil and struggle — especially when you're soaring through the clouds.

"I very much cherish the sensation of freedom, yet also control, that comes from being up there almost in your own world, in control of your aircraft, able to make your own decisions," Familton said.

"And getting to see slowly the landscape changing around me as I went from place to place, that was wonderful."

She got to see the Australian outback up close when she stopped to refuel each day, occasionally at roadhouses on the highway.

"Twice I actually ended up landing at a place and then had to … pull up the exact same way you would if you're filling up a car, and then get out and chuck some gas in," she said.

"For a few people, they probably had to look back again and go, 'Wait, what?' I know I had a few people come up and ask me for, like, a selfie and stuff while I was refuelling, which was really cool."

Familton raised more than $10,000 ($9,000 Cdn) for A Start In Life, a charity that provides educational opportunities to young people in Australia.

And she proved her naysayers wrong — including the man who compared her unfavourably to pilot Amelia Earhart, who went missing over the Pacific in 1937.

"[He] said that if the world's [most] famous female aviator got herself lost in a flight, then how would a 17-year-old be able to get herself around the country?" Familton said.

"Which quite upset me because, actually, on the flight where Amelia Earhart did go missing, she was flying with a male navigator."