Tracey Curtis-Taylor (Merged threads)
Well done Barry, it should turn out to be a very interesting AGM 
Indeed, well done Barry. I am an LAA member but will not be at the AGM to vote. I fully support the motion and trust it will be carried by a unanimous majority.
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I note that a certain minor Royal will be unveiling a statue of Amy Johnson in Herne Bay on Saturday after which Lauren Richardson will carry out an air display in her Pitts. I was wondering if TC-T might drive there to honour one of her inspirations?
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@Sam Thanks for the info! 
A somewhat belated comment:
Having read the latest post on the thread, I thought I would look up some details of Amy Johnson's flight which I believe Ms Curtis-Taylor said she was trying to emulate.
From the History.co.uk article:
From this it rather looks as though the equivalent entourage was:
1. A. Johnson (pilot)
2. Erm....
3. That's it.
Also, she seems to have been able to muddle through without either a GNS 430 or an iPad.
Sadly, I don't think she got an HCAP Master's Medal; but I suppose a CBE is a decent enough consolation prize.....
But who knows, though, what the New Year Honours list in January may bring for Ms Curtis-Taylor?........
A somewhat belated comment:
On the Cape Town to Goodwood trip we were:
1 'Sole' pilot, Tracey
1 'Engineer', Ewald
1 Pilot of C208 support plane
1 Logistics, me
1 Director
1 Sound
1 Camera
1 Second camera/gopro/comms
So, eight in total, of which four were pilots.
1 'Sole' pilot, Tracey
1 'Engineer', Ewald
1 Pilot of C208 support plane
1 Logistics, me
1 Director
1 Sound
1 Camera
1 Second camera/gopro/comms
So, eight in total, of which four were pilots.
From the History.co.uk article:
Amy set off ALONE [My emphasis] from Croydon on 5 May 1930, and landed in Darwin on 24 May, a flight distance of 11,000 miles. She was the first woman to fly ALONE to Australia, and came home to the UK to a hero’s welcome which culminated in her award of a C.B.E.
1. A. Johnson (pilot)
2. Erm....
3. That's it.
Also, she seems to have been able to muddle through without either a GNS 430 or an iPad.
Sadly, I don't think she got an HCAP Master's Medal; but I suppose a CBE is a decent enough consolation prize.....
But who knows, though, what the New Year Honours list in January may bring for Ms Curtis-Taylor?........
Thread Starter
I guess future awards will be based on her being 'inspirational'
Orinary pilots could never deliver wonderful quotes such as this...
I suspect Alan Partridge is doing some of her writing
Orinary pilots could never deliver wonderful quotes such as this...
A plane like this is "probably the best flying adventure in the world," Curtis-Taylor told Trace. She explained that they're almost like art more than they are machine -- an art that should be preserved because it's starting to die out.
Curtis-Taylor said she often encounters aviation students that don't know how to fly planes like these and she thinks it's quite a shame. "I think this generation needs to be reminded ya know, that civil aviation was based really on people like me getting into wooden-fabric airplanes," she told Trace.
That's the important thing to remember: aviation as we know it today wouldn't have been possible without people like Tracy Curtis-Taylor, her piloting skills, her past
Curtis-Taylor said she often encounters aviation students that don't know how to fly planes like these and she thinks it's quite a shame. "I think this generation needs to be reminded ya know, that civil aviation was based really on people like me getting into wooden-fabric airplanes," she told Trace.
That's the important thing to remember: aviation as we know it today wouldn't have been possible without people like Tracy Curtis-Taylor, her piloting skills, her past
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Curtis-Taylor said she often encounters aviation students that don't know how to fly planes like these and she thinks it's quite a shame. "I think this generation needs to be reminded ya know, that civil aviation was based really on people like me getting into wooden-fabric airplanes," she told Trace.
That's the important thing to remember: aviation as we know it today wouldn't have been possible without people like Tracy Curtis-Taylor, her piloting skills, her past
That's the important thing to remember: aviation as we know it today wouldn't have been possible without people like Tracy Curtis-Taylor, her piloting skills, her past
Thread Starter
In response to Piperboy she certainly did say that.
One Pilot Explains Our Deep Desire To Fly - Video
The video at the top of the page is by a Discovery producer.
One Pilot Explains Our Deep Desire To Fly - Video
The video at the top of the page is by a Discovery producer.
Thread Starter
I should have stated the video interview was by a Discovery Channel producer for Boeing.
It appears to be a video news release.
The message is clear. TCT flew solo.
It appears to be a video news release.
The message is clear. TCT flew solo.
Thread Starter
Well said Sunday Driver.
Just after her first solo she qualified as the first British-trained woman ground engineer, the only woman in the world to do so at that time.
Amy was also the president of the Women's Engineering Society between 1935 and 1937.
To emulate her solo from the UK to Australia would require someone such as Amanda Harrison in a Tiger Moth.
The choice of a Stearman for both TCT's reality tv efforts is in no way near the original.
Just after her first solo she qualified as the first British-trained woman ground engineer, the only woman in the world to do so at that time.
Amy was also the president of the Women's Engineering Society between 1935 and 1937.
To emulate her solo from the UK to Australia would require someone such as Amanda Harrison in a Tiger Moth.
The choice of a Stearman for both TCT's reality tv efforts is in no way near the original.
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Re Jay Sata's earlier post referencing Alan Partridge..
As far as I'm aware, the character doesn't seem to have had much exposure 'down under', so I had to look him up.
A couple of comments via Wiki:
"He is utterly convinced of his own superiority .." .. and,
"His need for public attention drives him to deceit, treachery and shameless self-promotion .."
Well, it seems that Artemis, Boeing and others have found the opportunity to tap into a personable, politically correct, female reality version of
Partridge too good to pass up.
A parallel down here was 'Norman Gunston', who was, by proper management of things, able to con many media figures and celebrities into thinking
he was the real deal - for a little while, anyway.
.
As far as I'm aware, the character doesn't seem to have had much exposure 'down under', so I had to look him up.
A couple of comments via Wiki:
"He is utterly convinced of his own superiority .." .. and,
"His need for public attention drives him to deceit, treachery and shameless self-promotion .."
Well, it seems that Artemis, Boeing and others have found the opportunity to tap into a personable, politically correct, female reality version of
Partridge too good to pass up.
A parallel down here was 'Norman Gunston', who was, by proper management of things, able to con many media figures and celebrities into thinking
he was the real deal - for a little while, anyway.
.
Last edited by Stanwell; 14th Sep 2016 at 15:09.
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Quote:
From this it rather looks as though the equivalent entourage was:
1. A. Johnson (pilot)
2. Erm....
3. That's it.
Let's remember
2. A. Johnson (engineer)
SD
From this it rather looks as though the equivalent entourage was:
1. A. Johnson (pilot)
2. Erm....
3. That's it.
Let's remember
2. A. Johnson (engineer)
SD
You could also add:
3. A. Johnson (Navigator)
4. A. Johnson (Logistics and planning manager)
Sadly there seems to have been no room on the expedition for a self-publicising fraud making up phoney "achievements". Mainly, I suppose, because how do you make up a story that tops the reality of what Amy Johnson actually did?
Thread Starter
What puzzles me is why one of the worlds major aircraft manufacurers promotes a story where the media were misled in to thinking she was solo.
The pictures they released clearly show she was not.
Here is a Boeing press release of her 'solo' in Hungary. It appears to me that the front seat 'pilot' is flying as his head is facing the chase plane to formate. TCT is looking straight ahead.
http://www.boeing.com/resources/boei...essRelease.pdf
The pictures they released clearly show she was not.
Here is a Boeing press release of her 'solo' in Hungary. It appears to me that the front seat 'pilot' is flying as his head is facing the chase plane to formate. TCT is looking straight ahead.
- Boeing sponsors solo open cockpit flight from U.K. to Australia
Last edited by Mike Flynn; 14th Sep 2016 at 14:02.
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Mainly, I suppose, because how do you make up a story that tops the reality of what Amy Johnson actually did?
Now, that said, TCT, and her Team, completed a worthy trip. Applause.
Was it worthy of awards? No. 
The crime, for want of a better phrase, is to ALLUDE, that the trip was worthy of awards, by stating it was a solo flight. This then becomes fraud and deception. This in turn, becomes a very embarrassing issue. Lets not forget, a lot of sponsorship money was piled in, and the sponsors now look, frankly, stupid.
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What I'd really like to know is...
How come senior functionaries of otherwise respectable aviation institutions, from the LAA and HCAP to the RAeS and BAe,
appear to have been sucked into feting this fraudster?
I mean, the scam should have been obvious to a drover's dog.
Are those senior aviation people just gullible 'babes in the woods' .. or, has something been going on that we should know about?
.
How come senior functionaries of otherwise respectable aviation institutions, from the LAA and HCAP to the RAeS and BAe,
appear to have been sucked into feting this fraudster?
I mean, the scam should have been obvious to a drover's dog.
Are those senior aviation people just gullible 'babes in the woods' .. or, has something been going on that we should know about?
.
Last edited by Stanwell; 14th Sep 2016 at 15:13.
Reckon maxred has summed it pretty well.
Stanwell.... It is called "deception", practiced by many but just rather obvious in this case.
Just as a matter of interest, has any forumite met the lady herself?
Stanwell.... It is called "deception", practiced by many but just rather obvious in this case.
Just as a matter of interest, has any forumite met the lady herself?
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Just as a matter of interest, has any forumite met the lady herself?
In any presentation that I have watched, listened too, she is very professional. Talks a lot of rubbish at times, but to the uninitiated, comes across positive, professional and very charming, (If a Bird can be that). All the more reason that I reckon the sponsors had half an eye on the charm, and not the content......if you watch the Boeing/Discovery video, posted earlier, it is very hard to have a dig at that. However, the verbal content/commentary from TCT, is not correct, and laced with inaccuracy
Thread Starter
The Daily Mail journalist who doorstepped her in London told me of Tracy initially switching on the charm.
However when that approach failed he saw another side.
His words to me were she appeared to be someone who was used to getting her own way.
That also emerged in a BBC online report and in an interview on the Today programme on January 9th.
Tracey Curtis-Taylor finishes UK to Australia biplane flight - BBC News
She appears to speak from a well rehearsed script in all interviews which falls apart quickly if cross questioned.
I suspect this is why she has never allowed herself to fall in to such a scenario.
I have never met her ,or indeed had heard of TCT,until midway through the UK to Australia trip.
However I would certainly love to do a joint radio interview with her
Jon Donnison,the BBC Sydney correspondent , obviously failed to notice there were two people in his report above.
She seems adept at fooling journalists while spouting rubbish.
This from the Daily Telegraph on Jan 14 2014.
By and large, says Curtis-Taylor, Lady Heath had a more pleasant time. She was travelling through countries still largely under European rule and met by embassy people all the way. “I’ve had some rough experiences. I’ve been made to fly at the same altitudes as commercial jets. That’s just dangerous. No one understands that I could come in at 50ft and land on a sixpence.” Meanwhile, the addition of a film crew curtailed her freedom. “We underestimated the effort it would take to transport 65 bags of film equipment and eight people by plane every day,” she admits. “It meant I couldn’t fly the way Heath did. She could just get up and go. That’s been the most disappointing thing.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/avia...s-biplane.html
However when that approach failed he saw another side.
His words to me were she appeared to be someone who was used to getting her own way.
That also emerged in a BBC online report and in an interview on the Today programme on January 9th.
She admitted she had "lost my rag several times dealing with people on the ground" during frequent refuelling stops, but added: "The flying has been sensational and that's why you do it.
She appears to speak from a well rehearsed script in all interviews which falls apart quickly if cross questioned.
I suspect this is why she has never allowed herself to fall in to such a scenario.
I have never met her ,or indeed had heard of TCT,until midway through the UK to Australia trip.
However I would certainly love to do a joint radio interview with her
Jon Donnison,the BBC Sydney correspondent , obviously failed to notice there were two people in his report above.
She seems adept at fooling journalists while spouting rubbish.
This from the Daily Telegraph on Jan 14 2014.
By and large, says Curtis-Taylor, Lady Heath had a more pleasant time. She was travelling through countries still largely under European rule and met by embassy people all the way. “I’ve had some rough experiences. I’ve been made to fly at the same altitudes as commercial jets. That’s just dangerous. No one understands that I could come in at 50ft and land on a sixpence.” Meanwhile, the addition of a film crew curtailed her freedom. “We underestimated the effort it would take to transport 65 bags of film equipment and eight people by plane every day,” she admits. “It meant I couldn’t fly the way Heath did. She could just get up and go. That’s been the most disappointing thing.”
Last edited by Mike Flynn; 14th Sep 2016 at 16:48.
Actually, she was solo for the first crash...
Edit - I thought she was solo, so, in a curious turn, I'm obliged to make a public retraction as she was clearly not solo, but presumably "the sole pilot". My apologies for the error!
Any ideas who the 'passenger' was?
Edit - I thought she was solo, so, in a curious turn, I'm obliged to make a public retraction as she was clearly not solo, but presumably "the sole pilot". My apologies for the error!
Any ideas who the 'passenger' was?
Last edited by Sam Rutherford; 15th Sep 2016 at 15:10. Reason: not solo...