‘I thought my dad was joking’: B.C. family to spend 14 months flying around the world

The Porters are packing up for a family trip that the kids never expected.

Their father wondered if anyone wanted to spend 14 months flying around the world.

“I thought my dad was joking,” 18-year-old Sydney Porter said.

Said 21-year-old Samantha: “At first, I didn’t think it was a very plausible idea. I didn’t think they were being serious about it.”

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Ian Porter has done some long adventure flights before, but this journey will take the Vancouver family all over the globe: 70,000 kilometres with stops in more than 50 countries.

“The bigger challenge is the logistics of moving a family of five around the world with no set place to stay each night,” he told This is BC‘s Jay Durant.

Last year, Samantha and Sydney got their pilot’s licences, so they’ll be helping out at the controls.

The motto for this journey is low and slow: Usually only two and a half hours in the air at a time, so no questions about “how much longer?” until they get there from the backseat. But there will be some very long days together.

“I’m sure there will be some bickering and some of us will unplug the headsets,” Sydney said.

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They’ll be visiting towns and villages along the way and hoping to raise $1 million for the charity SOS Children’s Villages, which provides safe homes for vulnerable children.

“They also offer humanitarian assistance in emergency situations such as Ukraine,” said the girls’ mother, Michelle Porter.

Samantha and Sydney are taking a year off school, while 14-year-old brother Christopher will study online.

The three are saying goodbye to friends who can’t believe what they’re doing.

“Thinking that we’re crazy,” Samantha said. “Definitely my friends think that this is an insane adventure.”

But they’ll be sharing so many stories with everyone when they get home next year from the ultimate getaway.

Could the Porters have peaked when it comes to family vacations?

“I’m not thinking about topping this yet.” Ian said with a laugh. “First, we have to worry about doing it and then we’ll think about topping it.”

To contact Jay Durant with a story idea for This is BC, email him details and contact information at thisisbc@globalnews.ca