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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by Sir Ross Smith 



THE PLANE WHICH MADE THE LONDON-TO-AUSTRALIA PLIGHT 



This standard Vickers-Vimy bombing plane, equipped with two Rolls-Royce "Eagle VIII" 

 engines of 360 horsepower each, is the same type of machine with which Sir John Alcock 

 made the non-stop transatlantic flight. 



the flight. This, at first, they refused to 

 do, but after General Borton pointed out 

 that I had already done a considerable 

 amount of long-distance flying and had 

 been over nearly the whole route, as well 

 as assisted in pioneering" it, they finally 

 consented. 



My brother Keith was at the time in 

 England awaiting repatriation to Aus- 

 tralia. During the latter part of the war 

 he had been flying with the Royal Air 

 Force and had gained extensive and 

 varied air experience. I therefore de- 

 cided that he would be the best man to 

 take as assistant air pilot and navigator. 



Sergeants Bennett and Shiers, in view 



of their excellent services and the knowl- 

 edge of machines that they gained in the 

 flight from Cairo to Calcutta, were to ac- 

 company us as air mechanics, thus mak- 

 ing a total crew of four. 



Vickers did not definitely decide to 

 enter the machine for the competition 

 until October, and as we left London on 

 November 12, it will be seen that the time 

 to prepare for such an undertaking was 

 very limited. Our preparations were 

 doubly hurried, first by the knowledge 

 that four other machines had entered the 

 competition and were actually ready to 

 start before the Vickers Company had 

 handed over their machine to us, and, 



