To answer your point Wageslave I believe that a map,compass and a radio is all you need to fly the route. Can it be done in a Tiger Moth? For sure as Amy Johnson did it without modern oils etc in 21 days.
There is the challenge for any female aviator.
Did Tracy Curtis Taylor commemorate her trip?
I don't think so I and will come back to that later.
Without actually saying it FL you agree the spirit of Maurice Kirk,who flew a Cub from the UK to Japan and was then let down by his engine not his flying ,is what we are discussing here.
Sadly he will never get the society recognition for his flying achievements he deserves.
A social pariah but wonderful aviator does not qualify for awards in the past or now.
Kirk set off illegally from a farmers field on the north island of New Zealand knowing he could never make Norfolk Island in a Piper Cub if he played by the rules and left a customs designated airfield .
He did it and and went on to reach Japan before the engine not his flying let him down. He achieved a succesful forced landing and did the same some time later when his engine once again resulted in a ditching in the sea en route to South America.
During WW2 he would have been another Douglas Bader. If you google his site the man lets nothing beat him.
It is the spirit of adventure pilots and their airmanship I admire.
Check out the pilots and aircraft who were up front in the last London to Sydney Air Race it was nothing more than a well funded milk run.
A factory restored 700CR Aerostar, "Spirit of Kai Tak," has won the 2001 London to Sydney Air Race. Flown by a crew of four, consisting of chief pilot Mike Miller and pilot crew members James D'Arcy, John D'Arcy, and Mark Graham, the Spirit of Kai Tak finished first and averaged the fastest ground speed in the race with a blistering 279 knots (321 mph). The next fastest finishers were a King Air C90B with an average speed of 253 knots, a Piper Malibu Mirage at 211 knots, and
Expensive well funded flying hardware.
Speed Chart
It would have been more interesting if they all had to fly a small aircarft with map compass and radio along that route.
Dave Sykes managed it in a very basic airframe with a wheel chair. Eve Jackson and Brian Milton did the trip in a microlight so a Tiger Moth would be sheer luxury in comparison?
As for the question am I having a go a Tracy Curtis Taylor?
We all know her well oiled Artemis funded publicity machine and sponsors conveyed the impression it was a modern day Amy doing the route again. No mention the Stearman is a giant compared to the De Havilland or indeed that the aircraft owner , aircraft rebuilder and experienced flying instructor would be sitting up front for the entire trip.
Has she got questions to answer?
For sure.
“But she never actually said she was solo.”
So the response is:
· Lying by omission?
· It’s just by chance that ALL the press have reported it as solo?
· It’s just by chance that her sponsors’ publications have reported it as solo?
· Why has she never made a correction to any publication?
· Why has she never posted on any of the multiple forum threads to defend the accusations of duplicity made against her?
Is this is raising the profile of women in aviation where a man,who is easily recognised as Ewald Grinstch,can be seen trying to hide from the international press in Sydney?
Surely he deserved credit for his help on the flight and work on the aircraft?
She has a lot of questions to answer.
I hope on the evening she is given the Masters Medal she is honest enough to tell the truth.
It was a duel flight but the press were misled. Sadly she has never attempted to explain that.
Never identified the mystery man hiding in the front of the Stearman as she wallows in the media applause in this picture.
On a final note...Tracy Curtis Taylor has a well edited Wiki page on the strength of her South Africa and UK to Sydney flights which are suggested as solo but clearly not.
Maurice Kirk has no wiki page despite his flying adventures and imprisonment for over three years in the UK without ever been found guilty of any crime deserving a custodial sentence.
If I had to appear before the HCAP on the evening she gets her token award I would be making the point there are others more worthy out there.