Åbo Akademis bibliotek

Ten years ago Manuel Queiroz declared his intention to fly solo around the world. Having just beaten cancer, he was buoyed by the recent brush with mortality and ready to take on a life-changing goal. Five years ago he fulfilled his ultimate dream and Chasing the Morning Sun is the exhilarating story of his record-breaking journey.

In February 2006 Manuel circumnavigated the globe in a home-built airplane on an adventure which took him 27,056 miles. The journey lasted thirty-nine days, as he made eighteen stops in twelve different countries, becoming the only Briton ever to achieve this feat. And for this he was honored by the Royal Aero Club with their highest award, the Britannia Trophy which was bestowed on him by His Royal Highness the Duke of York. Taking off from an icy Britain, he was flying over burning deserts within days, through tropical rainstorms and the sweltering equatorial heat. Within a week he had landed on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The journey wasn’t all plain sailing, there were dangers to confront and overcome: flying through sandstorms in the Saudi desert, terrifying electric storms, taking off from unlit runways at night and the ever present possibility of mechanical failure over an inhospitable ocean. It was a truly solo effort. There was no copilot to take over the controls when exhaustion set in, no ground staff to handle repairs, no one to check the route or the weather, or to turn to for advice when critical decisions had to be made.

An inspiring tale of personal strife against impossible odds, both inside and outside the cockpit, makes Chasing the Morning Sun not just a book for pilots or adventurers but for anyone looking for inspiration from the realization of a lifelong ambition.