I have to say that I do enjoy reading the "real-enthousiastic-British-pilots" on this forum. I love the way you guys are so open minded and so aware of things.
Real challenge or not? Well zat-iz-ze-question, surely, but until today it has been a challenge. And a real one, for some of the guys involved in this project. Not only we had to change the engine of a plane in Arctic conditions, had barely any sleep for the last 10 days, then the plane and pilots had to go through pretty violent weather and good solid IMC conditions in an environment where ATC and radar do not exist, such a challenge that they are barely making it to Toronto, with a week delay. I am pretty sure that from now on, until the leave the Bahamas, things are going to be smooth. But after that again, nothing is sure.
Hey, I am not saying that it is amazing and impossible to descend on airstrip with no published approaches, fly in solid IMC, go through icing and extreme weather, land in rough strips, and make perfect approaches and landings with RVRs under minimum, no it's not.
A lot of us have done, do it, and will always do it in Africa, South America, Alaska, Northern Canada and other remote places on the globe; but it is very demanding, it is very challenging and despite having had the chance to work in amazing places in difficult conditions at times, I do not really envy the 2 guys in that plane. I don't like flying single-engine piston aircraft above places like the Amazon, or large areas of water, especially the Hudson Bay or the Caribean Sea. I really don't think neither that it will be fun going over Cape Horn.
but again, what do I know, just sitting here on my couch, drinking a beer, surfing the Net.