Stearman flight from Britain to Australia

My kind of woman,pilot who actually flys,may own the airplane,drinks and not bad looking.
 
I didn't see anything about the overwater section, what was the longest leg feet wet and did she need ferry tanks?
 
frfly172 said:
My kind of woman,pilot who actually flys,may own the airplane,drinks and not bad looking.
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Not bad looking?! She's hot man! :yesnod::yesnod::yesnod:

But seriously, cool feat especially in a Stearman. :thumbsup:
 
It's something of a sham.

She claims to be solo but is accompanied on almost every flight by the aircraft owner/20,000+ hour instructor who restored it. The head of the support crew posted this on a British forum about her previous flight:

She did 44 flights within Africa from Cape Town to Crete in Greece.
On 40 of these flights, she was accompanied by her instructor (20000+ hours, and the same man who (beautifully) rebuilt the aeroplane from scratch).
On two of the solo flights, she asked the C208 to fly slowly in front of her as she was worried she wouldn't find the destination airfield (despite having two moving map GPS in the cockpit).
She had three pilots doing all the flight planning and preparation, filing of flight plans etc. and a full support organisation for all the ground logistics.

In short, perhaps not the 'achievement' she seeks to portray.

In 2014 she accepted the prestigious Light Aircraft Association's Bill Woodhams Trophy normally awarded for 'Feats of Navigation'. I consider it unfortunate:

- That her flight was judged the winner for 2014.
- That she was prepared to accept it (as opposed to politely declining).
- That whoever was in 'second place' missed out on what should perhaps have been theirs?
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The flight itself is cool, but for me it is completely ruined by the dishonesty.
 
Katamarino said:
It's something of a sham.

She claims to be solo but is accompanied on almost every flight by the aircraft owner/20,000+ hour instructor who restored it. The head of the support crew posted this on a British forum about her previous flight:



The flight itself is cool, but for me it is completely ruined by the dishonesty.
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Hmmm. I wonder. If the instructor/restorer had flown the airplane by himself over the exact same route how many camera crews and newscasts would he have attracted? :goofy:
 
Happily, there are people actually doing what she simply claims to be; such as this guy: http://capetocape.net/

Northern Europe to Cape Town, *actually* solo, in a vintage biplane.

This lady is hoping to fly solo (as in, no-one else in the airplane, and even no support crew) in a Tiger Moth from Britain to Australia: http://amandajharrison.com/
 
Katamarino said:
Happily, there are people actually doing what she simply claims to be; such as this guy: http://capetocape.net/

Northern Europe to Cape Town, *actually* solo, in a vintage biplane.

This lady is hoping to fly solo (as in, no-one else in the airplane, and even no support crew) in a Tiger Moth from Britain to Australia: http://amandajharrison.com/
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How about Peter MacMillan and Lang Kidby. First they built a very accurate replica of a Vicker Vimy bomber. Then it flew from the UK to Australia, to Cape Town and finally recreated Alcock and Brown's feat of crossing the Atlantic. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mos...-replica-1919-Vimy-plane-fly-round-world.html
 
Katamarino said:
The flight itself is cool, but for me it is completely ruined by the dishonesty.
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The information you posted seems to be about a different flight from 2014. Do you have information that this statement about her recent flight is incorrect?:

"While Curtis-Taylor was the only pilot of the plane, a support crew flew along with her in a separate aircraft, as well as a camera crew who sometimes sat with her."
 
Lindberg said:
The information you posted seems to be about a different flight from 2014. Do you have information that this statement about her recent flight is incorrect?:

"While Curtis-Taylor was the only pilot of the plane, a support crew flew along with her in a separate aircraft, as well as a camera crew who sometimes sat with her."
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Yes, this is incorrect. A few media reports in more out-of-the-way places have actually named the second pilot as the same instructor/airplane owner (Ewald Gritsch) who flew it for her on the 2014 trip. If you look you'll notice that he's visible in almost every photo between England and Australia, too.

Edit: This posted on Saturday by the head of the support team again:

Tracey has told many people, verbally and in writing that she was solo on both CT-Goodwood and this jaunt. But both trips had Ewald in the front seat for 90%+ of the time.
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