The Great Air Race on SBS this Sunday
 

SBS have produced a program about the Smith flight, in cooperation with the South Australian History Trust and the one-hour program will air nationally on SBS TV at 7.30pm on Sunday 8 December.

That's this Sunday... Don't miss the program !

Thanks for that. Noted.
To celebrate the Smith Bros Vimy Flight, with Engineers Bennet and Shiers (who kept it going), another Smith is en-route from UK to Oz in his beautiful new Russian "SeaBear" twin amphib.
You can track his progress Online Journal Voyages of the Southern Sun.
Having done the 50th, interesting (for me) to compare his route and where he couldnt go, and I could then.
How the world has changed...and not for the better.

Aroa;
Are you suggesting we can no longer use a Shell Roadmap to cross the Arabian deserts and the Asian sub-continent.
Next you will be telling me we can't just pop into Baghdad, Allahabad, thank God for Raffles Hotel in Singapore!

AFAIK Raffles is still there. Singapore has grown bigger tho...but the airfield I landed at no longer exists built over with high rise.
On both Mike Smith's flights, Searay, going west, and this one eastbound he has had to stay well off-shore from now Iran, with very long hours over water.
50 years ago one could cross the Strait of Hormuz to the Persian coast, over Jask an Imperial airways stop-over, and follow the very spectacular coastline to Bachulistan/West Pakistan and Karachi, thence India. I had an overnight at Jiwani...luckily for me, lit for the BP Air Race as I got there in the dark !. China now wants a major Belt and Road Port at Chabahar on that coast not so far away.
I had no Shell road map or WAC to cross the sub continent but an Indian Railways map at 1" =100 miles scale.. Plenty of IFRs to get you to your destination.
Having come more southerly I bypassed Iraq for Saudi and Bahrain , after Lebanon and Damascus.
Then as now Baghdad wasnt recommended !
IN the Vimy days most of the world map was pink with Empire and chaps could pretty well go where they pleased.
Not any more.

Mike Smith is getting close to jumping the Timor ditch so his eta Darwin will be am on the 10th...just like 100 years ago.

Mike is in the new Russkie Seabear L65 VH-OMS for those that don't know.

aroa what were you in in the 50th. I was in Darwin helping with the aero club meeting the arivals then.

https://www.casa.gov.au/aircraft-reg...eld_ar_serial=
gives this as a single engine. I thought he was in a twin this time.

ok...I have seen the photo now.....looks like the super accurate CASA is not.

An excellent doco. Cheers for the headsup. Lost count the amount of times i've walked past the Vimy and never really appreciated it's history. I do now.

Great program, really enjoyed it ! Thanks SBS

Harryw...aeroclub folk gave me a hand and someone whose name I have forgotten gave me a bed and lots of coldies that night. I was well behind the Air Race folk, tho.
I was in $2000 Auster J5P G-AOHF Trip time to Adelaide (where the Vimy inspired me as a kid) was 2 months and 138 flying hours. Pleased I couldnt afford to buy into the BP Air Race...entry fee + ADF install $2000+.
Chugged along as wx permitted..pretty winter crappy until Rhodos Greece ...aah some warmth at last.! Was able to enjoy places, food etc. I arrived in DWN 21 1 '70 from Dili, Portuguese Timor with 3 dollars left !
The 50th commemorative mail I carried made the RAF museum who produced it, heaps of dosh and my lot paid for the trip. On this day my old disintegrating log book says ? nothing? . Between 7 and 10 Dec I was in Beirut(ed) ..lots of battle damage about...waiting for a Saudi clearance. Got away to Damascus on the 11 th
First try at departure at the holding point, 2 Mirages cut me off and departed to bomb Israel? and I was advised to come back tomorrow as the airspace was now closed. In all, a very entertaining and educational trip.

SBS doco was great...plenty of historic pics of of contestants and aircraft in the Race. For the Vimy crew .. a monumental effort. Bravo! those four men.
Watching Mike Smith's blog with envy... I should have gone and done it again.!!
And his new SeaBear is a thing of. beauty.