Published by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
May 1995

Open only to Aussie airmen, the Australian-sponsored race offered a £10,000 prize to the first pilot to link the heart of the British Empire with its far-flung commonwealth.

The catch: The 11,000-mile journey had to be completed in 30 days or less. Six planes competed; victory was finally clinched by brothers Ross and Keith Smith in a twin-engine Vickers Vimy, repaired en route with chewing gum and pieces of fruit crates.

"It was an amazing feat of endurance," marvels Peter McMillan, whose expedition reenacted the Vimy's epic journey last year. Besides the usual dangers of storm and mechanical failure, the American-Australian team dodged a more modern obstacle: red tape.

One of Australia's most decorated World War I pilots, Ross Smith (left) recruited his brother Keith (right) and two ace mechanics to ensure the first place in the 1919 race. Of the 16 contestants, four died in crashes, two were arrested as spies in Yugoslavia, and two others - after a forced landing in Iraq - had to fend off local tribesmen with hand grenades

Only half joking, Smith's crew read their Vimy's
G-EAOU registration letters as "God 'Elp All Of Us."