England to Australia Flight
Part III: The Trip Begins
by Peter McMillan
We began our flight to Australia in a frantic blur on
11 September 1994 at the Farnborough International Air
Show, south of London. As a Quantas 747 painted with Aboriginal
designs did a low-level fly-by over our starboard wing,
I pushed the throttles forward and accelerated down the
runway.
"One small step for a 747, and one giant leap for
a Vickers Vimy," the tower radioed. "Have a
safe journey now."
Photographer Jim Stanfield was riding in the gunner's
seat in the nose. Dan Nelson, who had helped build the
plane and knew her better than anyone on the trip, and
the mechanic's seat behind the wings. Two chase planes
were right behind us with expedition personnel, a National
Geographic television crew and photo technician, a BBC
radio reporter, and gear.
"Turn left, turn left!" Lang shouted as we
rose above the runway, worried that we might fly into
the turbulent vortices of air spinning off the jumbo jet's
wingtips. Although I had flown many types of antique aircraft
over the years, I was still getting used to the Vimy's
stubborn ways — like an old horse, she wouldn't do anything
in a hurry. Lang, who'd had a bad bout with fish-and-chips
the day before, was not eager for a bumpy flight.
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