England to Australia Flight
Part II: Building an Authentic Vimy
by Peter McMillan
Seventy-five years before, a brash young Australian pilot
named Ross Smith, his navigator brother, Keith, and mechanics
Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers flew a Vickers Vimy over
this same spot on their way to becoming the first aviators
in history to fly 11,000 miles from England to Australia
— an astounding feat in 1919. Barely 16 years had passed
since the Wright brothers had lifted off from Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina, skimming just above the ground for only
120 feet.
Ross Smith and his crew were part of an epic race. Australia's
flamboyant prime minister, W M "Billy" Hughes,
had offered a prize of £10,000, the equivalent of
nearly half a million dollars today, to the first Australians
to make the England to Australia journey in 30 days or
less. His aim was to draw the world's attention to his
up-and-coming nation, whose soldiers had recently made
a name for themselves on the battlefields of World War
I.
But the race had a greater impact on the history of aviation,
demonstrating the feasibility of long-distance air travel.
At least one major airline, Quantas, traces its origins
directly to the 1919 race.
But who remembers the race today?
To remind the world of those courageous heroes and their
daring achievement — that was the idea that took hold
of Lang and me. For the 75th anniversary of the flight,
we would build a brand-new Vimy and fly it from England
to Australia.
Ross Smith had gotten his Vimy directly from the manufacturer,
Vickers Ltd, of Brooklands, near Weybridge, Surrey. Measuring
43 1/2 feet long, with a 68 foot wing span — more than
twice the size of biplane fighters of the day — the twin
engine biplane was a state-of-the-art heavy bomber. But
it entered production too late for the war.
We wanted our new Vimy to duplicate the original as closely
as possible, from the hand-sewn cotton fabric on her wings
to her steel bracing wires, made in the same factory as
the originals. But our engineers, John LaNoue and Wayne
Daley, could not avoid a few changes.
In place of Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines, which haven't
been made for over 70 years, we installed two 454-cubic
inch Chevrolet V8 engines like those found in dragsters.
To help us deal with air-traffic controllers, who didn't
exist 75 years ago, we added radios and navigational equipment.
It took us two years, 20,000 man-hours, and more than
a million dollars to finish the job.
We could have done many other things to improve the Vimy's
handling. With her 114 external bracing wires, 20 massive
struts, and eight-foot-long mahogany-and-ash nose skid,
she creates a huge amount of drag when she flies, making
her feel heavy and sluggish. But we didn't want a better
Vimy.
We wanted an authentic time machine to take us back 75
years to join Ross and Keith Smith on their great adventure.
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