Polar Flight for Diabetes an ‘Amazing Experience’

April 27, 2011 — After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1989, Douglas Cairns lost his job as a Royal Air Force pilot. But he didn’t lose his passion for flight. Earlier this month that passion was evident as Cairns completed a 14-hour round trip from Barrow, Alaska to the North Pole in a Beech Baron, all to raise awareness and money for diabetes research. "It was rather surreal and very exhilarating to be at the crown of our Planet Earth with 24 hours of daylight," he said according to a Reuters report. Cairns traveled the 1,130 miles to the Geographic North Pole in 8 hours and 20 minutes while battling 25-knot headwinds and temperatures at 7,500 feet that hovered around minus 18 degrees the entire journey. Each hour Cairns switched the fuel tanks to manage flows from the extra fuel tanks carrying 250 gallons of fuel. But he did something else each hour: tested his blood sugar. “I was delighted to see blood sugars remaining in a right and good range for flying,” he wrote on his website. But not everything went according to plan. Two of his three GPS systems failed because they can’t cope with the proximity of the Pole. Then, when ready to depart for Barrow, the pilot door refused to close. “Part of the locking mechanism had likely contracted in the intense cold, and I had nightmarish visions of abandoning the Baron on the ice, but thankfully some engineering lubricant and brute force (helping push the door closed from the outside) saved the day after 40 minutes of quite frantic work.” “Overall Diabetes Polar Flight has been an amazing experience,” Cairns said. “By carrying out such an endurance-related flight and landing at the Pole, we very much want to convey the message that diabetes need not limit the scope of people’s dreams and ambitions. I'm delighted to be able to do this kind of thing solo, with diabetes." Reuters reported that Cairns has submitted the time to the World Air Sports Federation for verification as a world speed record for a light, twin-engine piston aircraft. But the submission is largely academic because Cairns believes he is the first pilot to have made the trip in such an aircraft and to land it at the pole -- a claim backed by a spokesman for Guinness World Records. After circling the geographic pole several times, Cairns also landed at a nearby Russian ice camp, making him the first to land a twin-engine piston aircraft at the pole. He then flew home back to Barrow in six hours and 20 minutes, aided by strong tailwinds. Next on Cairns' agenda is a planned speed record circumnavigation around the British coastline, a flight he intends to do in about 14 hours, Reuters reported. After that? "In the next few years, I would very much like to make a journey down to the South Pole," he told Reuters.

Douglas Cairns traveled roundtrip from Barrow, Alaska to the North Pole on April 19-20, 2011 to raise awareness and money for diabetes research. Photo credit: Diabetes Polar Flight Ice, ice, ice! As Douglas Cairns looked out the window of his Beech Baron, he had a great view as he was en route to the North Pole. Photo credit: Diabetes Polar Flight Douglas Carins and his Beech Baron. Photo credit: Diabetes Polar Flight

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