The target of $10,000 in funds raised by ‘There and Back’ for the RFDS has been achieved! Thank you to everyone who has contributed.
As if ‘There and Back’ hadn’t kicked enough goals, this final milestone rounds of the flight with a wonderful sense of completion. The most recent donation was made by someone preferring to remain anonymous, but was dedicated to the memory of my Dad and ...
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One month to go until ‘There and Back’ departs Bundaberg on May 5th!
I checked out the aircraft this weekend at Temora’s NATFLY and the Jabiru J230 looks fantastic. More importantly, it ran like a Swiss watch for the flight from Bundaberg. There was also an opportunity to assess the rig for the onboard HD camera and it promises to capture some great images on the way around Australia.
There’s ...
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Well, the Southern Hemisphere summer is upon us and for those flying it means giving a wide berth to those towering Cumulonimbus and the associated storms.
This shot of a storm is almost ‘text book’ in shape and was caught just north of Brisbane recently. It serves as a timely reminder of the power of nature and the respect it must be shown by those who venture into ...
Continue Reading →It’s always great to announce another sponsor coming aboard ‘There and Back’ and on this occasion there are two!
Hawker Pacific and David Clark have kindly offered to supply equipment that will make the journey around Australia, both safe and comfortable in the form of a life jacket and noise-cancelling headset. The David Clark headset is particularly significant as I have previously owned the same pair of David Clark H10′s since my general aviation days in Kununurra over 20 years ago.
My ...
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Firstly, thanks to all of the well-wishers and supporters that have contacted me in the last 24 hours.
The traffic through the website has skyrocketed since the Press Release announcing the selection of the Jabiru was made and based on the feedback, it seems to be a popular choice. You’ll be able to follow the development of the Jabiru through the website as it comes to life, but in the meantime, why ...
Continue Reading →This week will see the announcement of the aircraft that will take to the skies around Australia in 2010.
There has been keen interest from the aviation industry and all of us at ‘There and Back’ are looking forward to announcing this major milestone.
Stay tuned. the news is breaking…..
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Hi All,
Here are some teaser pics from Paul Sadler’s Tuesday photo shoot of Strategic Airlines’s A330-200 from an R44 helicopter at the Gold Coast. Look out for the best pics and a detailed feature article on Strategic Airlines in our Australian Aviation’s October edition. Along with my ...
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At some point in my childhood, between converting Mum’s clothes-horse to a P-51 and sitting atop our garage with binoculars, I asked my father a fairly simple question, “What was a Tiger Moth like?”
Starry-eyed, I awaited the reply that would define the sheer essence of aviation and the pioneer spirit. “The Tiger?” he started, “It was cold, draughty, noisy and you’d end up with windburn, sunburn and ...
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I was recently asked to review another book and it was my absolute pleasure to do so. Some stories slip through the cracks of history. They are rich on flavour, but perceived as too slight to catch. Fortunately, Pat Studdy-Clift took the time to prevent one such tale from fading into the past. It is the story of a tiny little aeroplane with a very big heart; the Incredible Klemm.
A rag ...
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Seventy years after the first Tiger Moth took flight over English fields from the quaintly named ‘Stag Lane’, cars have parked on the verge of Old South Road to witness a similar scene. As a child sits atop their father’s shoulders, an older gentleman with a straight Air Force back casts a knowing eye. A little embarrassed by the attention, my passenger and I clamber into our ...
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Wartime experience and the technical development of aircraft made it obvious that air power had become an essential element in any military equation.
In Australia negotiations between Army, Navy and Defence officials from 1917 to 1921 resulted in the Australian Air Force being formed on 31 March 1921, with approval to use the ‘Royal’ prefix granted on 13 August 1921. At that time the RAAF comprised of 21 Officers, ...
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In the words of McMaster, Winton was `the official birthplace of Qantas’. The first and only meeting of directors in the town was held on 10 February 1921. Qantas operations were then moved 160km south-east to Longreach, which was more central to the operational area.
Qantas’ first office in Longreach was destroyed by fire. A temporary office was provided free in stock and station agent Frank Cory’s plank-fronted store. ...
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In 1919 the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes announced the now famous ‘AIR RACE’. A prize of £10,000 was to be awarded for the first machine to fly from London to Australia in 30 days or less. Taking up the challenge, Ross Smith applied to the British company Vickers to supply a Vickers Vimy bomber for the race, and the Smith brothers flew their way into Australian folklore.
Landing ...
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In 1909 and 1910 there was a desperate race to be the first person in Australia to fly in a powered aircraft. The first few flights were made in aeroplanes that had been brought in from overseas, and which only stayed in the air for a few minutes. On 16 July 1910, at Mia Mia in Victoria, pioneer aviator John Duigan was the first person to fly an Australian ...
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In 1909, Houdini became fascinated with aviation, bought a French Voisin biplane for $5000 and hired a full-time mechanic, Antonio Brassac. The Voisin had been built especially for Houdini in 1909. It weighed 1,350 pounds, “..with Mr. Houdini mounted.” The 8 foot propeller was behind the pilot. The Voisin aircraft resembled an enlarged powered version of the box kites. After crashing once, Houdini made his first successful flight on ...
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Lawrence Hargrave (1850-1915)
On November 12, 1894, Lawrence Hargrave, the Australian inventor of the box kite, linked four of his kites together, added a sling seat, and flew 16 feet. By demonstrating to a sceptical public that it was possible to build a safe and stable flying machine, Hargrave opened the door to other inventors and pioneers. The Hargrave-designed box kite, with its improved lift-to-drag ratio, was to provide ...
Continue Reading →Aviation pioneer, Bert Hinkler hailed from the Queensland township of Bundaberg.
Renowned for his solo long distance feats in the frail aircraft of yesteryear, his most famous achievement was his flight from England to Australia. This epic flight in 1928 was achieved in a small Avro Avian biplane with his primary means of navigation being a copy of ‘The Times Atlas’. However, in 1931 his most amazing effort was to fly from Canada to New York then non-stop to Jamaica, then ...
Continue Reading →Across the world dedicated owners, engineers and supporters keep a fleet of beautiful aircraft aloft from days gone by.
Here are just some of those machines that provide us with timeless skies.
Continue Reading →This weekend I was able to visit the Australian War Memorial at Canberra.
The personal stories that emerge from this remarkable Australian memorial seemed to be limitless and no less thought provoking. The display of historically significant artefacts are tremendously complemented by the impressive ‘sound and light’ presentations in the various great halls. These serve to bring the stories to life in a form that captures the imagination of everyone from 2 to 102. This was my first viewing of the ...
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