This looks more like a biography than a novel. One has to wonder what ground will be covered that was not covered by Mary Lovell.

It looks like this flight may be on hold until a full inspection of the Stearman is carried out........

Pilot Tracey Curtis-Taylor bidding to emulate Amy Johnson hits a parked helicopter | Daily Mail Online

Oh, I'm sure that'll buff out! Which is more than can be said for the Robinson...

Beryl Markham's book, Westward With The Night is available on Kindle. A wonderful read and a remarkable lady, although as I've said before, for sheer sex appeal Sheila Scott was THE lady. She had an incredible effect on me as a hormonal teenager!

SND

Same Blonde Lady has almost decapitated a Stationary R44 at Goodwood, whilst taxiing, good job no one was doing a rotors running preflight, could have been very messy,
But the upside is R44 owner will ( or may) get a better Heli..!;)

Will.

Engine and other components will find new homes though...

This from her facebook page:

Theo Claassen

Saw this lovely lady arriving at Yeovilton at last year's pre-show photo day after she reportedly had lost her way a couple of time on route from Goodwood. Can happen to anyone. Lovely Stearman too.

15 September at 08:41

LOST HER WAY FROM GOOD WOOD..!!!! :sad::eek:

well then, that don't sound healthy for a slightly longer trip to say.................err Africa..:eek: Or is this a build up to look at me sort of thingy, and then "WOW I have arrived in Africa".....smells like publicity or looking for a sponsor who see's a feckless Blonde Lass with a slight bent Boeing..?;)

Do you think her insurers will be aware of her latest Nav Skills or am I being a typical Bloke...:D

How she describes the accident:

The last few weeks have been difficult for many reasons. Not only was the Stearman damaged last month in a taxying incident at Goodwood,...

Well, it's not untrue... :cool:

An update (sort of)...
 

.....said lady was on the Today prog R4. She is setting off round about now but had already decided that she was going to divert from Le Touquet "because of adverse winds". "Where to?" "Somewhere with a runway more into wind"

Sounds like a plan?

The Ancient Mariner

Yes, she doesn't do crosswind landings. This was a recurring (planning) issue on the Africa flight...

Quote from Rossian:
'.....said lady was on the Today prog R4. She is setting off round about now but had already decided that she was going to divert from Le Touquet "because of adverse winds". "Where to?" "Somewhere with a runway more into wind" '

Yes, I heard that interview on Thursday morning. Good at least to know ones limitations, I guess, not to mention the aeroplane's.

Didn't see the TAF she was working with, but now see from the METARS that the mean wind strengths at Le Touquet from midday local time to sunset were as high as 16 knots from 050T, which is straight across Rwy 14/32. AFAIK, there are no grass runways. The old Rwy 07/25 is closed, and seems to have been partially built on.

As one who grew up not far off the route she took across Africa, I was disappointed by the first documentary. It seems there are two types of TV adventurer: those that acknowledge their entourage of producer, camera-person and sound-person; and those who present themselves as if they are alone. The former are in a minority, but include good old Ray Mears. The latter includes Bear Grylls, whom I stopped watching after he failed to mention that the cameraman filming his descent of a waterfall may have had a far more dangerous task than his.

Now we have this latter-day "solo" aviatrix in a robust aeroplane with GPS, and an escort team flying nearby, claiming that in some aspects her task is more challenging than Amy Johnson's was...

She would possibly get more interest,.. and conversely then more sponsorship if she was described as Aviatrix...Dominatrix , or am I being a typical Bloke!!:E

I just hope she doesn't bend her Boeing - again :rolleyes:

Does anyone know.....
 

.....if there is some way of following the flight other than the dreaded farcetome?
Only because I'm curious you understand.

The Ancient Mariner

Possibly by checking for Taxi-ing incidents or aborted crosswind incident in Africa..on Google:ok:

It sounds a bit like this guy SE-AMO
It doesn't say though if he took a hurdy-gurdy with him.

Stockholm to Cape Town in an (ahhh...) de Havilland D.H. 60 GIII Moth Major
 

Well, this guy left Stockholm on September 1st, had departed Arusha, Tanzania, by yesterday (October 6th), and is using the same type of aeroplane as his 1935 predecessor. From his excellent website:
"Andrée’s journey [in 1935] was an unprecedented feat – a lone aviator flying an open-cockpit plane over the vast deserts and jungles of the African continent, equipped with the most rudimentary of navigational instruments: a map and a compass. Johan Wiklund will repeat Andrée’s adventure... [...] He’ll also use the same navigational tools, [...] Johan Wiklund wants to prove that it is still possible. Using the same technology used by his compatriot Gösta André in 1935."

So, at risk of nit-picking, does he have routine access to the radar (position) feed advertised on his website as being available for fans to follow his progress? Presumably only when he has internet access?

The Boeing Stearman is a fine aircraft, but it's a pity it takes a Swede to fly an authentic, British type.

I think the Swedish guy's GPS is a little SPOT gizmo which transmits his co-ords to a satellite relay without being a displayable navaid onboard.

I greatly admire what he's doing. In a couple of ways it's actually much more difficult than the original as the bureaucracy and international tensions in Africa just weren't there in the 1930s. It's also more difficult to get petrol at many airports than it was in the '30s.

Then there's the fact he hasn't got a support or "chase" plane unlike the heavily sponsored publicity seekers.

For these wimmin who claim to emulate Amy Johnson or Amelia Earhart, it's all a bit bogus with GPS and support planes.

Australia
 

I saw that program, good stuff. The pilot reminded me of an avgas tanker driver I once met in the 90s who was also a Bell 47 pilot. Is she the woman doing the Australia solo ?