Polly Vacher

Polly Vacher is a British aviator known for long distance solo flights made in the name of raising money for the charity Flying Scholarships for the Disabled. Born in 1944 in Devon, England, she did not obtain her private pilot license until 50 years later in Australia. Prior to her charity work, she circumnavigated Australia and flew a tour of the United States, crossing the Atlantic by herself both ways.

Beginning in 2001, she accepted challenges to raise money for her favorite charity eventually being awarded the MBE for her charitable contributions. In January of 2001, she began a circumnavigation of the world, flying eastbound in her single-engine Piper PA-28 Cherokee Dakota G-FRGN, setting a record for smallest aircraft to have been flown by a woman alone around the world via Australia. She followed this up n 2003 with a solo flight around the world from pole to pole, becoming the first woman to fly solo over both polar regions and land on all seven continents in the process.

Polly Vacher – UK Airfields

In May of 2007, she flew a total of 19,000 nautical miles in 158 hours while landing at every airfield in Britain that is listed in the Jeppesen VFR manual. This comprised 221 airfields, with some of the flights transporting disabled passengers. Each of these challenges was done to raise money for the same charity, one that Vacher strongly supports and believes in.

Prior to her becoming a pilot, Vacher studied physiotherapy and music. As a gifted musician, she spent twenty years in music education as an instructor before becoming interested in flying by way of participating in a charity skydiving event. Coming to flying fairly late in life, she has chosen to make the most of her flying experiences while also raising money for those less fortunate.