Aithre is very proud to be helping keep Shinji Maeda safe on his current trip around the World. Just landed in Greece this morning on day 16 of his Earthrounder flight after leaving from nearby Paine Field in Everett, Wa USA just a couple weeks ago. He crossed over the North Atlantic with nerves of steel and made stops at Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
Shinji lost one of his eyes as a young man in a motorcycle accident in Japan. After that, the Japanese government told him he couldn't fly an airplane, dashing his dreams of a career as a pilot. He later moved to the US and was enrolled at Embry Riddle for a non-pilot aviation career. One day an instructor learned that Shinji wanted to be a pilot but was under the impression he couldn't do so - and the instructor helped him navigate the FAA process to get an exception.
Shinji went on to become a CFI with an instrument rating and now is a motivational speaker. We met him at the Puyallup NW Aviation Conference where he shared with us his plans to do an Earthrounder mission to show the possibilities when you set your mind to something.
Now, he is on that mission with a year delay due to COVID. The feature picture in this post is just above Greenland a week ago. And, guess where he is stopping - yup, Japan. He told me he will land in Japan and greet the authorities with a smile and a middle finger. :)
When this man puts his mind to something, it is going to get done. He has an infectious positive spirit and is truly an amazing human being. Follow him at www.aerozynpangu.com or @aithreaviation on Facebook.
