SOLO WOMAN: GABY KENNARD'S WORLD FLIGHT, by GABY KENNARD · SOLO WOMAN is the story of how an 'ordinary' woman, in her mid-forties, mother of one young son and a teenage daughter, set out to achieve the seemingly impossible. In 1989 Gaby became Kennard became the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world, in a single-engined Piper Saratoga. It was a heroic flight, one that she dedicated to American aviator, Amelia Earhart, who disappeared on a world flight in 1937. · It was an exciting and harrowing trip. · Gaby was faced with instrument malfunction before she even left Australia. She was robbed of precious survival gear in Rabaul. In high winds she came close to running out of fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing on a high security military airfield. Her engine cutout over the Pacific and she plummeted thousands of feet. Buffeted by severe electrical storms over the Atlantic she was forced to divert from her course. And she was faced with bureaucratic bungling, red tape and outright obstructionism in some countries. · But the rewards surpassed her greatest expectations. Gaby was honored by the royal welcome she received at Atchison Kansas, the home of Amelia Earhart. And everywhere she received the unfailing support of other women fliers. Brazil's airforce gave her a special send off and, finally, back home at last, she was greeted with great acclaim. But the rewards for her have been more than that- the enormous sense of personal achievement, leading to a new self-confidence. · SOLO WOMAN is an exciting tale of 99 days flying. But it is much more. It tells the extraordinary courage of a heroic woman. It is a story of personal growth, of Gaby's ability to leave behind the pain of a difficult personal life, to work towards one overriding goal- and to succeed. · Above all, SOLO WOMAN is a great adventure which inspires each one of us to believe that we, too, can achieve our goals, no matter what the odds.