Women and Planes

It is generally accepted that the age of exploration and adventure is over.

There are just not that many things left on planet Earth to discover, scarcely any mega-treks to undertake and very few square miles left unmapped or untrodden.

Once in a while someone does something intrepid and courageous that catches the imagination and passion of the people.

In my lifetime I have been inspired by the likes of Thor Heyerdahl on his Kon Tiki balsa wood boat, Ranulph Fiennes on his Polar expeditions, lone around the world yachtsmen and women, ocean crossing rowers and swimmers, long distance cyclists, ultra endurance athletes and the new generation of speedsters, space explorers and the occasional eccentric just trying to get in the forthcoming edition of the Guinness Book of Records.

I have been excited by such things but have not really done anything myself to emulate their achievements. Perhaps my closest connection was witnessing a fellow pupil capture the world record for crawling over some 9 miles on the school playing field in 1976 or thereabouts. That particular effort did get into print but for only one Guinness edition before being surpassed by some considerable distance.

Others are motivated to follow their heroes in a sort of homage and in this category is a 53 year old aviator, Tracey Curtis-Taylor who on January 1st (four days ago) completed an epic flight in an open cockpit, 1942 Biplane following the pioneering and altogether extraordinary feat of Amy Johnson who in 1930 flew solo from Croydon near London to Darwin, Australia, a distance of some 10,000 miles in a remarkable 20 days.

The inter war era was still to be regarded as the early days of aircraft design with implications for the durability, airworthiness and reliability of frames, wings and mechanicals not to mention the ability of a pilot to withstand the weather and rigours of open air flight.

Amy Johnson came from a wealthy Hull and East Yorkshire family whose fortune had come from the fishing industry. They offered to buy her a plane for her long planned flight to her chosen destination of Australia but Amy petitioned Ministers and Millionaire businessmen for patronage and sponsorship and the £600 cost of a second hand De Haviland Moth biplane was eventually shared between her family and the head of the Castrol Oil Company.

There was little time, in fact only 3 weeks, for familiarisation with the plane, christened Jason and given a green paint job, with practice confined to a trial flight from London to Hull.

Modifications gave the plane an extended range of 13 hours in one fuelling which would cover most scenarios for the journey, some sections over large expanses of ocean, uninhabited jungle, rugged terrain and desert.

Adverse weather on a number of days and damage on a landing in India did delay Amy. These did prevent her from capturing the England to Australia record but the distinction of being the first woman to fly that route solo propelled her to celebrity status with recognition by royalty, peer pioneers including Lindbergh and Bleriot and with a reported million strong crowd lining the roadside from Croydon to central London on her truimphant return.

Back to Ms Curtis Taylor and her emulation of the Amy Johnson flight.

Although the choice of aircraft, a Boeing Stearman biplane , was pretty authentic there had to be obvious concessions and allowances for today's much more congested skies and of course a very different and difficult political situation which meant that an alternative route to that of Amy in 1930 was required, avoiding war and conflict zones in the Middle East. This added some 3000 miles to the Johnson route.

The 50 refuelling stops and 93 day duration of Ms Curtis-Taylors represented another major difference.

The longest individual leg of the flight did not exceed five hours compared to the 13 hours endured Amy Johnson.  Logistical problems included the refusal of the French to accept a credit card for fuel resulting in having to borrow a fuel card from another flyer. There were a few diversions and distractions to enhance the media value of Ms Curtis Taylor's venture including giving a ride to a Saudi Arabian Princess and the son of a former Greek Ruler.

The vintage Boeing proved to be up to the task and did not suffer any major mechanical failures although global warming was behind storm conditions, torrential rain and pollution contributing to smog induced poor visibility which will have been alien to Amy Johnson in 1930.

The two women, in their respective era's epitomise a pioneering spirit that has been eroded by many factors from cost to health and safety considerations, political unrest and environmental considerations.

There may not be many opportunities left for such epic adventures and that makes me a little bit sad.