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Carol Vorderman to fly solo on This Morning

 

Agency
Wednesday 21 August 2013 08:55 BST
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Carol Vorderman is planning to follow in the flight path of Amelia Earhart.
Carol Vorderman is planning to follow in the flight path of Amelia Earhart. (Getty Images)

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Presenter Carol Vorderman is aiming for a TV first by making her debut solo flight during a live broadcast on This Morning.

The Loose Women host has been training to pilot a light aircraft and hopes to make a round-the-world flight in the near future.

Vorderman, 52, will be seen taking to the skies during today's edition of the ITV show - thought to be the first time a trainee flyer has done their first solo trip on live television.

She will take off from Gloucestershire Airport, near Staverton, for a five-minute flight during which she will climb to 1,000 feet, and will speak to show hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. She admitted she was both nervous and excited.

Vorderman hopes to fly around the world single-handed next year and is aiming to set a world record for the fastest progress from solo debut to global flight. She is aiming to do it in under 18 months.

Speaking on This Morning earlier this week, she said: "I'm very excited about my first solo flight. It was meant to happen a few weeks ago but the weather wasn't good enough and the conditions for a first solo are very strict for obvious reasons.

"But this time hopefully the sun will shine and we won't have too much of a crosswind, because I'm not too good in high crosswinds just yet."

She added: "A first solo flight is a nervous moment for all pilots, but one they remember throughout their lives."

She hopes to get a private pilot's licence by next month and then move on to further training before following in the trail of Amelia Earhart by taking a 29,000-mile trip.

PA

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