Flying with a Dragon on Our Tail: in the Historic 1987 Paris-Pekin-Paris Air Race

We knew there would be risks. Two forty-something married lawyers from Fresno, California, found themselves flying in the dead of night with a sputtering single-engine Cessna somewhere between Wuhan and Beijing during the historic 1987 air race from Paris to Beijing and back. Jim Bell and Judy Lund-Bell-who had never flown outside the US and Mexico-responded to an ad in Flying magazine and joined sixteen other pilots-knowing there would be risks-but the potential engine failure over China wasn’t on the manifest.Their month-long adventure took them to exotic airports in foreign lands with fuel stops in between, while dodging headwinds, mountains, sandstorms, and hail-and sometimes navigating with just a wristwatch and a compass. Heart-stopping moments with two impending engine failures were tempered by the heart-warming welcomes they received in tiny airports from curious townspeople, a special award from the King of Jordan, and their ever-present companion, La Girafe, who brought joy and fund-raising for a worthy children’s hospital. Not to mention Judy’s hilarious bathroom (mis)adventures. History was made as Judy became the first American female private pilot to land an aircraft in the People’s Republic of China.This is not a story about winning or losing an air race. This is the story about an adventuresome couple who threw caution to the tailwinds, flew with the symbolic air race dragon on their tail, and soared out of their comfort zone and into an unforgettable international adventure.