Freedom Flight

Freedom Flight is the story of two ordinary men on an extraordinary adventure. In celebration of the centenary of powered flight and a decade of South African independence, pilots Alan Honeyborne and Ricky De Agrela took off, completely unsupported, from Cape Town on the December 16, 2003. Their aim: to touch down on each continent of the world on the longest expedition ever flown in microlights. The expedition achieved several firsts for private aviation including flying through Yemen and Nepal and completing an unsupported microlight flight from South Africa to Australia. However, tragedy struck, first in China where Alan went down and later in Belize, when Alan’s replacement, Martin Walker, also sustained a fatal accident. Ricky overcame personal trauma and debilitating fear to fly alone from England through Europe, over the Mediterranean Sea, the Sahara Desert and the wildernesses of East and Southern Africa, to make it back to Cape Town. His accomplishment embodies the expedition’s vision of encouraging others to reach for the sky. The story of Ricky’s remarkable achievement is told in website updates and e-mail correspondence with maps detailing the 64,000-kilometre route.

Ricky De Agrela’s adventurous spirit developed from an early age. He started parachuting at the age of 16, underwent two years of Air Force training and embarked on his first round-the-world trip in 1982, setting off with a backpack and US$ 100. Today, Ricky has re-established himself in business as the director of several companies in the construction and property industry. Nonetheless, he regularly creates the time to continue his adventurous travels doing motivational presentations around the globe. His long-term objective is to travel to every country on the planet to highlight the positive world in which we live.