A Yarraville businessman has realised a decade-long dream by completing a six-month solo journey around the globe in an amphibious aircraft.
Captivated by the story of the grand flying boats of the pre-war era, Sun Theatre owner Michael Smith retraced the Qantas Empire Flying Boat route of 1938 from Sydney to London in his little Searey amphibian amphibious aeroplane Southern Sun.
The trip – 10 years in the planning and the first solo circumnavigation by an amphibious plane – started from Williamstown on April 12 and wrapped up on Saturday as
Southern Sun soared back in to where it all began.
The route took in 25 countries including Timor Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia and India en route to the UK.
MICHAEL SMITH AT LONGREACH WITH SOUTHERN SUN (SUPPLIED)
“This journey has been the trip of a lifetime,” Mr Smith said upon his return. “I find the idea of 1930s era flying boat travel very romantic, even if my small two seater plane has none of the luxuries that passengers once enjoyed.”
Wherever possible Mr Smith used the same landing spots and hotels used on the original Qantas route. He visited cinemas in every city along the way, as research for his Masters thesis into their perceived value to communities.
On landing at Southampton in the UK, Mr Smith set a record for the first solo flying boat trip from Sydney to Southampton.
He then crossed the Atlantic via Iceland and Greenland to New York, landing on the Hudson River to set another record and again marking the first solo journey on that route.
The long Pacific legs proved a challenge to Mr Smith’s aim for a full circumnavigation.
After a three-week wait for the right weather, he completed a gruelling 23-hour trip from the Aleutian islands off Alaska to Japan.
From there it was a hop, skip and jump via the Philippines and Indonesia back to the Australian mainland, and finally Williamstown.
Read about his adventures so far on the Southern Sun’s blog site.
