The Great Race

In the relatively short history of aviation, there are certain names that stand out, names that are recognised, even by those people with no particular interest in aviation. The Wright brothers of course for the first powered flight, Louis Blériot for the first crossing of the English Channel, Alcock and Brown for crossing the Atlantic, and many others like, Amy Johnston, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Douglas Bader, Chuck Yeagar and many more.

This is the story of just a few. In an attempt to be the first to fly from Britain to Australia, they faced more than just the normal hazards of flight at that time, the comparatively flimsy airframes, the unreliable engines, open cockpits in all weathers, together the difficulties of navigation and lack of communication systems. They faced the additional challenge of flying over difficult and often hostile terrain with no proper landing sites, mountains, jungles, deserts and seas, places where any kind of forced landing would probably end in serious injury or death.

After suffering injuries, being frozen half to death, arrested by militia or attacked by hostile tribes, some of those who set out where ultimately successful in their quest, some fell short of their goal, some stumbled at the last hurdle, and sadly, some paid with their lives.