Tracey Curtis-Taylor (Merged threads)

[Sam Rutherford]

The version on that page is longer than that posted above - did it get longer?

I thought I would waste a little more of my time responding in a fraction more detail...

At the bottom are my thoughts following your 'answers' here:

1. Yes, the Spirit of Artemis is an original Boeing Stearman B75 built in 1942, powered by an upgraded version of the original engine, a 300HP Lycoming built the same year. The airplane had been fully restored in 2012/13 by my company, 3G Classic Aviation in Austria.
Like the airplanes of the early pioneers of aviation, the Spirit of Artemis is equipped with additional fuel tanks for long range flights over water, desert, jungles, etc. But as it does not have the range to cross the Pacific or Atlantic it was shipped across these two oceans, just like it was done by many aviation pioneers on their expeditions in the 1920s and 30s.
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2. Yes, this Boeing Stearman airplane is owned by Tracey Curtis-Taylor, who commissioned the restoration in 2012.
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3. Yes, the Spirit of Artemis is a basic stick and rudder airplane, like in the old days of aviation, no autopilots, artificial horizon or modern IFR equipment installed. The only up-to-date addition is a radio, transponder and GPS. This is a legal requirement for flying into controlled airspaces, like around international airports. Naturally this had not been a requirement in the early 1900s.
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4. Yes, all the expedition flights were performed by basic VFR navigation, following rivers, roads, railroads, coastlines, etc, at low level. Although the GPS served as a backup these flights were not performed IFR or on instruments.
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5. Yes, Tracey Curtis Taylor was the sole pilot on all her expedition flights. She has more than enough flight-experience as well as piloting and navigational skills to perform all of these flights on her own.
It was never planned to copy the historic flights in every detail or to break any historic records, but to celebrate the achievements of the pioneers of aviation by retracing their routes in a beautiful biplane from this era (where politically possible).
Tracey Curtis-Taylor has earned the acknowledgement and awards given to her. Flying such a basic, historic airplane VFR all across five continents (not IFR on instruments and autopilot), is a fascinating adventure and achievement many would dream about. In contrast to the ones criticising her she just did it.
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6. My role during the expedition from Cape Town to England was initially the reassembly of the airplane in Cape Town and the technical support during the expedition. Additionally I had to take over the flight planning across Africa at short notice, which was done together with the professional African pilots in our team and two major aviation companies. On the following expeditions I took over the tasks of supporting Tracey Curtis-Taylor with all the flight planning and logistics. Besides I am taking care of the technical needs of this airplane, the chase plane, supporting the ground handling, filming and ordering the drinks for the crews in the evenings.
Yes, like others I had the opportunity to enjoy a very special view on planet earth from the front seat of this open cockpit biplane. But I did NOT act as a pilot nor as a flight instructor on these expedition flights.
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7. Yes, the flight-planning & logistics of our expedition across Africa in 2013 was problematic. This expensive and at best disappointing experience was the reason to do all the flight planning and logistics for the following expeditions by ourselves.


Perhaps some thoughts:

1. Then perhaps better to avoid calling it a 'circumnavigation of the world' as this could be, horror, misunderstood?

2. Not according to the FAA.

3. GPS is not a legal requirement, and you have three of them on the aircraft (though why you needed one in the front is odd as Tracey was the sole pilot?).

4. I think this statement can be treated with the disdain it deserves, I remember discussions where you (not Tracey) were insistent (absolutely insistent) on following beneath IFR airways whilst I was trying to explain how flying direct would save time and fuel. My background is helicopters (always pick the shortest route cos we're slow and fuel-hungry), yours is airliners - go figure...

5. "Sole" - careful with this one, you begin to sound as slippery as your client. The Africa flight was planned solo, the world was then told it had been done solo, it was not done solo. Australia was planned dual (sorry, I mean "sole"), then you told the world it had been done solo (ref award from AWPA in Sydney), it was not solo. Spot the problem?

6. "Did not act as pilot" - really? Not at any stage? Time to get back to the truth perhaps? Nor instructor? Tracey's biennials?

7. It was problematic, as the trip was not done as I was expecting it to be done! However it all went exactly on schedule with everything in place at every location as it needed to be. The two biggest issues were:

a. finding additional fuel in Juba when you incorrectly calculated the fuel needed, I had to buy an extra drum in emergency (this is a VERY big deal in South Sudan) and then we only used 17 litres from it (which followed my calculations but you knew better). Price per used litre (given that 183L had to be given away), about $180 if I remember right.
b. when we arrived in Sudan as aircrew, but unbeknownst to me the film company had requested a film permit. This caused a huge mess that I had to fix.



I now have a question for Ewald:

After the Stearman hit the parked R44 only 6 weeks before the Australia trip - can you let us know how closely you followed the FAA propstrike requirements? I've been wondering for a while, particularly considering that the engine failed +/- 6 months later.