By the time you read this, Tracey Curtis-Taylor would have taken off from Seletar Airport, flying her vintage 1942 Boeing Stearman called Spirit Of Artemis for Palempang in Indonesia en route to her end point in Sydney, Australia. She had started her journey from Farnborough, Hampshire, in Britain on Oct 1 in an attempt to trace the route of one of her aviation idols, Amy Johnson, the first female to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930.

This isn’t some flight of fancy. The 53-year-old, who has been flying since she was 16, is an avid aviator and advocate of female achievements. In 2013, she flew from Cape Town, Africa, to London on that same plane to commemorate Lady Mary Heath’s 1928 flight. You’d be right to notice a pattern — Curtis-Taylor is fascinated by that interwar period of civil aviation history.

“You have got all these solo flights and record-breaking flights (happening then). Charles Lindbergh started it and then the girls stepped in and stole the show,” she said with a grin when we met her at Hawker Pacific Asia at Seletar Airport, where her plane was getting refuelled and maintained.

The biggest difference between the two trips, Curtis-Taylor said, was how much more complicated this trip is.

“There are so many more countries — we’re crossing 25 countries en route to Australia. There’s a lot of logistical planning and the intense bureaucracy involved is beyond imagination,” she shared. “There’s also more outreach done on this trip. We’re focusing on five main centres — Turkey, Dubai, India, Singapore and, finally, Sydney. These are the big stops for meet and greets, go to schools for talks and meet women’s groups. It’s not just a chance to fly and have a wonderful experience in the air, but to really engage with people.

Q: Is your journey today easier or more difficult compared with Amy Johnson’s in 1930?

A: Amy basically crashed her way to Australia as she was trying to beat a world record. (She took 19 days, didn’t succeed at bettering Bert Hinkler’s record of 16 days). She had no radio, no restrictions, no air space to contend with. She had twice the range I do so she can fly longer distances. Amy also flew past Syria and Iraq. That wasn’t even an option for me. I had to divert south to the Mediterranean, to Cyprus, Jordan, Saudi Arabia then picked up her trail from Pakistan. I can’t reproduce what she did. It’s a different universe post 9/11. Everywhere we went, we had to deal with airports and security.

It’s more difficult now in this respect. But the moment we exit the air space and just fly … those moments are just out of this world. As we’re flying low (at about 12,000ft or 3km above), we’re able to see everything.

Q: What are some of the highlights of this trip so far?

A: Geological features such as the rift valleys between Israel and Jordan, the temples of Bagan in Myanmar were amazing; Phang Nga Bay in Thailand, the dunes of the Arabian Desert, the mountains of Pakistan. Every country just gave a different experience.

Q: What is the longest distance you can fly each time?

A: The longest is 400 nautical miles (741km). It depends so much on the wind as I’m slow. If I have more than 15 knots (28kmh) of headwind, it’s not worth taking off as it will slow you down. 25 knots, forget it. We have to be really careful about the flight plan and when monitoring the conditions. Depending on the wind again, I can get about 4.5 hours of flying. On average we fly 3.5 hours. I have to keep landing to refuel. Not only that, I have to land at certain airports with immigration entries and exits. That dictates where I go as well. That’s why I have 54 stops. It’s a huge cost when you land — paying for landing, air traffic, handlers.

Q: How did you cover the cost for this trip?

A: It’s a big deal putting together the sponsorship. The good thing was Boeing and Artemis Investment rolled this through. It’s taken us 18 months to pull this together and nearly four years to pull the trip in Africa together. We also have regional partners such as Singapore Airlines, which helped us with air tickets to get the crew in here.

Q: You’ve done two routes made famous by female aviation pioneers. What’s next?

A: From Sydney, the plane will be shipped over to Seattle where Boeing’s headquarters is. I was raised in Vancouver, so I’ve a strong attachment there. I’m thinking of flying the old airmail route — connecting the east of America to the west — which Lindbergh did.

Q: So how do you feel when you fly as a passenger in a commercial plane?

A: Economy is not a great experience. Sitting in a modern plane is like sitting in a test tube; there’s no great terrain to see. Most of us just tend to endure it. I’d rather be flying in a vintage plane and seeing a country intimately at a low level. But there’s no comparison between flying in a vintage plane and modern-day commercial planes.

Q: Women, especially in the developed world, now get many opportunities. Is the message of female empowerment and achievement in doing this flight still as relevant?

A: There are huge cultural barriers in places like the Middle East, Pakistan and India. One woman in India said to me, ‘Cows have a higher status than women in India’. I don’t expect to inspire people to get into an old airplane. Obviously, it’s very specialised. But I’ve a message about opportunity and freedom for women: Give us the wings, a chance. I feel very strongly about that. People tell me I’m mad to fly to the Middle East right now as it’s so dangerous, but I think it’s a brilliant time to do so. Imagine a woman flying solo into Saudi Arabia where women aren’t allowed to drive. The message speaks for itself. We had a good reception there and Princess Reema of Saudi Arabia, a real model focusing on women’s health issues, even came flying with me.

Q: We read that your passion for flying is very much inspired by the movies.

A: The flying sequence in Out Of Africa is probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve watched on film. When people asked me why I want to fly, I’d say watch that film. I hope some of that beauty of flying is captured in my documentary about this trip and it’s not just me whinging off all the time. The documentary will be ready next year.

Q: When will we get to see it on television?

A: It depends. It’s not a level playing field (for TV). It’s still very much a men’s world. One young guy, ex-military, gets a six part series walking The Nile. Meanwhile, they don’t know what to do with a middle-aged woman flying to Australia. The comments that came back were like, “Shame she’s not a 25-year-old male” or “If only she’s a celebrity”. You can’t just get into an airplane to do something like this — it’s 30 years of experience and passion.