In 2000, Gus McLeod was the first person to fly an open-cockpit plane (Stearman) over the North Pole.After meeting him 3 weeks before his departure, Mr. Pearce volunteered to carry his equipment in his Cessna 182 as far as Resolute, Nunavut (75 degrees north). The adventure was videoed by National Geographic.

Mr. Pearce is a staff scientist for Novozymes in Durham, NC.