Volume
48, No. 7, May 04, 2006
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Two
F/A-18 aircraft escort a New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757
above Darwin.
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Photo by LAC Steve Duncan
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Lord
Howe Island, looking from the north across the lagoon to
Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower.
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AIR
FORCE has helped Lord Howe Island celebrate the 75th anniversary
of the arrival of the first aircraft to its shores, with a Hercules
flight piloted by Air Commander AVM John Quaife.
AVM Quaife’s flight was in recognition of Sir Francis Chichester’s
historic flight in 1931, when he flew from New Zealand to Australia
in his Gypsy Moth I, fitted-out as a seaplane, in what became
a renowned flight across the Tasman Sea.
The Gypsy’s range was only 750 miles, and since the crossing
was 1,450 miles, Sir Francis’ plan was to refuel at Norfolk
Island and Lord Howe Island along the way.
Sir Francis landed on the lagoon at Lord Howe Island, but there
was a gale the night he arrived and his aircraft was blown upside
down at its moorings and sank.
With considerable help from the Lord Howe Island community during
a two-month period, he was able to overcome this setback by completely
rebuilding the aeroplane, including completely dismantling and
reassembling the engine, before resuming his flight to mainland
Australia.
