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Agence France-Presse

Adventurer Tracey Curtis-Taylor on Saturday completed her epic flight from Britain to Australia, landing her vintage, open-cockpit 1942 Boeing Stearman in Sydney.
“I need a drink,” she joked after finishing the final leg of the three-month journey which saw her contend with some treacherous weather in the air and logistical obstacles on the ground.
Modelled after pioneering aviator Amy Johnson’s historic 1930 solo flight from England to Australia, Curtis-Taylor said her journey was a homage to female pilots of the past.

She said flying the open cockpit biplane had given her an “insight into something of what she (Johnson) went through getting here”.
“The flying has been sensational and that's why you do it,” she told reporters at Sydney airport shortly after her arrival.
“To fly something like this, low level, halfway around the world seeing all the the most iconic landscapes, geology, vegetation... it's just the best view in the world. It's the best adventure in the world.”
Curtis-Taylor, who flew from Cape Town to Goodwood, England in 2013, took off from Farnborough on October 1, with a flight path over Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
 
 


 Happy memories of flying #spiritofartemis along the stunning coastline of South Africa on the first day of my Cape Town to Goodwood flight in 2013 #TBT
A photo posted by Tracey Curtis-Taylor (@biplanebird) on Jun 11, 2015 at 10:54am PDT


The route of nearly 21,000 kilometres (13,000 miles) saw her stop in places such as Vienna, Istanbul and Amman before she headed to Pakistan and India and on to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
She crossed the Timor Sea to Australia this month.
Curtis-Taylor said she struck some bad weather, mostly in eastern Europe, as she flew the stick and rudder airplane with basic period instruments.
But as the journey involved frequent stops because of the plane’s short range, many of her obstacles were not related to flying.
“I've lost my rag several times dealing with people on the ground,” she said, adding that she spent seven hours trying to get fuel at one airport.
“In the end I just lay down on the tarmac and went to sleep with my head on my handbag.”
She said that it was an experience to fly over Australia, where her stops included the outback towns of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs and flying over the monolithic rock Uluru.

Curtis-Taylor, 53, said she would love to continue the adventure and fly up north along Australia’s east coast.
The plane, which the aviator said “did not miss a beat” during the epic journey, will be shipped to the United States.


Female pilot lands in Sydney after epic 3-month journey from Britain in vintage biplane

British aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor pilots her biplane past Australia's Uluru rock formation during her historic England-to-Australia journey, in this handout picture taken January 6, 2016. Curtis-Taylor arrived in Australia's largest city on Saturday, three months after setting off from England to retrace a pioneering feat of early aviation. Picture taken January 6, 2016. REUTERS/ Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE

Adventurer Tracey Curtis-Taylor waves from her vintage, open-cockpit 1942 Boeing Stearman aircraft after landing at Sydney International airport in Sydney on January 9, 2016. Curtis-Taylor completed an epic, three-month solo flight from Britain to Australia flying 13,000 miles (nearly 21,000 kilometres) spanning 23 countries and was modeled after British aviatrix Amy Johnson’s flight from Britain to Australia in 1930 in what is known as one of the greatest solo flight achievements in history. AFP PHOTO / Peter PARKS

British aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor poses for a photo after she landed her 1942 Boeing Stearman Spirit of Artemis aircraft at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. The 53 year-old aviator set out from Britain in October 2015 to recreate Amy Johnson's 1930 flight from Britain to Australia, a 13,000-mile solo flight in a vintage open cockpit biplane fling across 23 countries.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith)

Tracey Curtis-Taylor's flight is in honour of Amy Johnson and her epic solo flight to Australia in 1930. Photo: EPA

Smooth flying: Breakthrough in understanding gravity waves could help pilots predict and avoid turbulence, scientists say

No Caption Available.

Gravity waves should not be confused with the gravitational waves first proposed by Einstein and referring to a theoretical distortion in space and time caused by massive objects like a black hole. In contrast, gravity waves are invisible but proven ripples in the atmosphere. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Turbulence is hard to see coming even on a plane’s radar, but bumpy flights could be greatly reduced if gravity waves can be read to predict when disturbances will occur, scientists say. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Female pilot lands in Sydney after epic 3-month journey from Britain in vintage biplane

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