Amy Johnson: Pilot's 1930 Australia flight feat to be celebrated
The 95th anniversary of aviation pioneer Amy Johnson's historic 11,000-mile (18,000 km) flight to Australia will be celebrated at the location where she departed the UK.She began her journey to become the first woman to fly solo from the UK to Australia at Croydon airport, south London, on 5 May 1930.A flypast of a biplane similar to the one used by Johnson is planned for Sunday."What we want to do is inspire future aviation enthusiasts, and also highlight women in aviation," said Micha Nestor, visitor centre manager at Croydon airport, which is now a museum.
"Amy was one of the major celebrities of the 1930s. We really want to amplify her story, because Amy was a big deal."Throughout this weekend, the airport will host guided tours of the control tower and an exhibition dedicated to the Hull-born pilot, while discussions and workshops will take place at the adjacent Croydon Aerodrome Hotel.
Uncharted land
Johnson had only 100 hours of flying experience when she took off from Croydon in her second-hand Gipsy Moth plane, named Jason.The 27-year-old had no radio link to the ground, no reliable weather information and only basic maps to guide her over uncharted land and some of the world's most inhospitable terrain.She braved sandstorms, forced landings and the amorous attentions of Arab sheikhs to reach Darwin in northern Australia 19 days later.On her return to Croydon, she was greeted by an estimated 200,000 people who lined the route to the airport.
Ms Nestor said: "There's one term that she used to use, and that's air mindedness."At almost each stop (to Australia) she had to deal with a different problem, and use all those different skills she'd gathered, whether it's engineering, maths, all different bits and pieces, to figure it out."That's what we want to promote: thinking on the ball."
Papers released by The National Archives in 2005 revealed that a senior UK diplomat wrote before the flight that there should be restrictions on Johnson's plans given her "sex, youth and comparative inexperience".She was an "adventuress" who needed protecting from herself, the official communique suggested.Johnson died aged 37 when a plane she was flying crashed into the sea off Herne Bay, Kent in January 1941.At the time, she was serving as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary, which delivered aircraft for the RAF.Her body was never found.
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