Following the successful completion and subsequent announcement of their self-built aircraft, the 20 South African teenage inventors have taken the first of many steps towards accomplishing their goal of flying across the continent of Africa.
They have successfully been able to get the aircraft into the air and made their first trip to the southern coastal town of Luderitz, Namibia, 1128km away. The overall target is to fly to Cairo, Egypt (12,000km or 7,455 miles away) but this will be done over a period of six weeks.
The plane, assembled by the team comprising of teens from various backgrounds, has a six-and-a-half hour flying range.
Piloted by 17-year-old Megan Werner, who is also the founder U Dream Global, the aviation outreach initiative that supported the teens in building the craft, she expressed great pride in the achievements of these young inventors, reports the BBC.
“It flies so smoothly and the views were breathtaking,” she said of its maiden voyage from Johannesburg to Cape Town ahead of the official start of the trip.
Agnes Keamogetswe Seemela is a 15-year-old from the Munsiville township in Gauteng province who described how she feels about this feat as “Looking at the plane, I am so proud of myself, I can’t believe what we’ve done. I feel like this is my baby. I cherish her.”
The 15-year-old said she hoped her efforts would inspire others like her. “At first, people in my community were shocked – they didn’t believe me when I told them I helped build a plane which we will be flying from Cape Town to Cairo,” she said.
“But now they’re actually very proud of me.”
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