AVIATION/I Believe I Can Fly: Roger Lin takes off as first-ever Taiwanese RTW pilot

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) Roger Lin (林睿哲), the first Taiwanese pilot to attempt an around-the-world solo flight, arrived in Thailand on June 24, the fourth stop on his planned 180-hour round-the-world (RTW) journey.

Eleven days earlier he had landed at Taiwan's Taipei Songshan Airport, the third of 14 planned major stops on his itinerary, accompanied by his Portuguese engineer Filipe Rosa, who will continue to fly in the plane with Lin for the duration of the 180-hour journey that will take the duo to more than 10 countries.

Speaking with CNA on June 13 in Taiwan, Lin said he had two goals when he decided to circumnavigate the globe in a single trip.

Other than checking a unique experience off his bucket list, he also wanted to show the world that the people of Taiwan are brave enough to take on the challenge of an RTW flight.

Lin explained that in the past several RTW flights by pilots from different countries had stopped in Taiwan and that inspired him to want to prove to the world that Taiwan also has pilots able to fly around-the-world solo.

Challenges of a solo flight

The Taiwanese pilot and his engineer took off from the San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte, California, on June 5 in his Sling 4 Tsi, a single-engine personal aircraft, designated N688TW.

Since the compact plane differs significantly from a traditional commercial airplane, the craft is highly susceptible to changing weather conditions.

As his friends and family are unfamiliar with flying, Lin told CNA he had to fly them in his plane to demonstrate how much control a pilot has over an aircraft. That also allowed him to demonstrate to investors that his capabilities were worth their sponsorship.

On his flight plan, Lin noted that the longest he had flown before setting out on the RTW journey was six hours.

The challenge for his RTW flight lies not only in the long duration, Lin said, but also in the food and relief breaks, adding that he stocks up on snacks and limits his liquid intake before each flight.

He also explained that although he wears adult briefs as a precaution, he also tries not to relieve himself mid-flight as the seats of the aircraft recline at an uncomfortable angle, adding that he was very impressed by Rosa, who apparently has a very strong bladder.

Lin further said that while there is an autopilot function on the plane, he habitually checks the aircraft's engine temperature and weather conditions every 30 minutes.

Unexpected challenges

After taking off from San Gabriel Valley Airport in California, Lin first landed at two major stops on his itinerary, Adak Airport in Alaska and New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan, before returning to Taiwan.

While he had planned on continuing to the Philippines on June 15, several unforeseeable issues arose, grounding him in Taipei.

The first issue was that Lin removed the word "Taiwan" as well as the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) from the tail of his plane, after an unspecified individual reported the livery to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Civil Aviation Authority of Portugal.

In a previous update on the official Facebook page that documents the journey, "Pilot Roger's Around the World Flight," Lin revealed that he was pressured into removing the wording and flag or face potential challenges on his journey.

Despite complying with the request about the livery for the sake of a smooth journey, Lin noted that he still wears an aviation jacket with Taiwan's flag on it.

After an unexpected extension to his stay in Taiwan, Lin took off for Thailand, currently skipping over the Philippines, East Timor and Malaysia.

His and Rosa will then take off from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport for Sri Lanka.