I was a navigator during the Vietnam War in C-141’s. Our mission was to deliver supplies to troops from New Jersey to Vietnam and Europe. The toughest navigation legs were penetrating the Japanese ADIZ with the Jet Stream always hitting us on the side in the Pacific and the North Atlantic great circle route with large magnetic variations. Never did I fly the Atlantic trip with so few fixes (this was before GPS) and the grueling conditions that Alcock and Brown faced on their First Crossing in their double wing Vimy Aircraft.
Ooh My Goodness! The story is incredible.
The pilot Alcock flew that plane for 16 solid hours by hand (no auto pilot) with a ruptured exhaust pipe in high right ear. And the navigator – in the soup – only worked with DR (Dead Reckoning), double drift calculations to determine wind, and perhaps one sun line and two star shots entirely across the Atlantic. He also dealt with extreme variation between True North and Magnetic North (compass headings started at 124 Deg and ending up at 170), I think he only had one shot on Polaris (the easiest star shot of all) and several sun lines. I thought I had it tough with loran, radar, and celestial at 35,000 Ft. Brown was in between cloud layers, wing icing, overhead wing to block his celestial shots, and no radio.
And they hit Ireland spot on!
How did they do it?
Bob Hard tells a fascinating story that all aviators will enjoy. Superb technical detail.
Please read this fascinating story.
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Under-recognized achievement!
The Accomplishments of Alcock and Brown are not recognized in the US nearly as well as in much of the rest of the world. Having said that, they are known by far too few.Mr Robert Harder has set out to help change that with a wonderful page turner of a book about the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1919. Very well researched and detailed, it conveys the depth of commitment and the determination of the two adventurers, and great details of how their lives brought them together, unequaled in their qualifications and compatibility, to accomplish the harrowing flight.In the mid 1990's Peter Mc Millian and Lange Kidby set out to remind the world of the accomplishments of Alcock and Brown by undertaking the huge challenge of building a very accurate replica of the Vickers Vimy. That replica re-enacted the three most famous flights of the Vimy: England to Australia, England to South Africa, and Alcock and Brown's flight. Peter and Lange's creation accomplished all three!I was fortunate to be allowed to help the project as a support pilot for the team. Having accumulated about 80hrs of Vimy pilot time (over 40hrs just to fly from Oshosh to San Francisco), I can attest to some insight of how unbelievable the accomplishment of Alcock and Brown (and Mark Rebholz and Steve Fossett in 2005) to wrestle that machine through the night and instrument conditions for the 16 hours of flight necessary for the crossing. The Vimy is obviously a capable machine, but it does not fly in a conventional manner, you only suggest a heading, and then hang on as it wanders through the sky. Any inattention, and control could be lost.Thank you to Mr. Harder for helping keep knowledge of the Alcock and Brown's accomplishments in the Vimy alive. It is a great read.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2022
I was a navigator during the Vietnam War in C-141’s. Our mission was to deliver supplies to troops from New Jersey to Vietnam and Europe. The toughest navigation legs were penetrating the Japanese ADIZ with the Jet Stream always hitting us on the side in the Pacific and the North Atlantic great circle route with large magnetic variations. Never did I fly the Atlantic trip with so few fixes (this was before GPS) and the grueling conditions that Alcock and Brown faced on their First Crossing in their double wing Vimy Aircraft.
Ooh My Goodness! The story is incredible.
The pilot Alcock flew that plane for 16 solid hours by hand (no auto pilot) with a ruptured exhaust pipe in high right ear. And the navigator – in the soup – only worked with DR (Dead Reckoning), double drift calculations to determine wind, and perhaps one sun line and two star shots entirely across the Atlantic. He also dealt with extreme variation between True North and Magnetic North (compass headings started at 124 Deg and ending up at 170), I think he only had one shot on Polaris (the easiest star shot of all) and several sun lines. I thought I had it tough with loran, radar, and celestial at 35,000 Ft. Brown was in between cloud layers, wing icing, overhead wing to block his celestial shots, and no radio.
And they hit Ireland spot on!
How did they do it?
Bob Hard tells a fascinating story that all aviators will enjoy. Superb technical detail.
Please read this fascinating story.
Ooh My Goodness! The story is incredible.
The pilot Alcock flew that plane for 16 solid hours by hand (no auto pilot) with a ruptured exhaust pipe in high right ear. And the navigator – in the soup – only worked with DR (Dead Reckoning), double drift calculations to determine wind, and perhaps one sun line and two star shots entirely across the Atlantic. He also dealt with extreme variation between True North and Magnetic North (compass headings started at 124 Deg and ending up at 170), I think he only had one shot on Polaris (the easiest star shot of all) and several sun lines. I thought I had it tough with loran, radar, and celestial at 35,000 Ft. Brown was in between cloud layers, wing icing, overhead wing to block his celestial shots, and no radio.
And they hit Ireland spot on!
How did they do it?
Bob Hard tells a fascinating story that all aviators will enjoy. Superb technical detail.
Please read this fascinating story.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2022
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2022
The Accomplishments of Alcock and Brown are not recognized in the US nearly as well as in much of the rest of the world. Having said that, they are known by far too few.
Mr Robert Harder has set out to help change that with a wonderful page turner of a book about the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1919. Very well researched and detailed, it conveys the depth of commitment and the determination of the two adventurers, and great details of how their lives brought them together, unequaled in their qualifications and compatibility, to accomplish the harrowing flight.
In the mid 1990's Peter Mc Millian and Lange Kidby set out to remind the world of the accomplishments of Alcock and Brown by undertaking the huge challenge of building a very accurate replica of the Vickers Vimy. That replica re-enacted the three most famous flights of the Vimy: England to Australia, England to South Africa, and Alcock and Brown's flight. Peter and Lange's creation accomplished all three!
I was fortunate to be allowed to help the project as a support pilot for the team. Having accumulated about 80hrs of Vimy pilot time (over 40hrs just to fly from Oshosh to San Francisco), I can attest to some insight of how unbelievable the accomplishment of Alcock and Brown (and Mark Rebholz and Steve Fossett in 2005) to wrestle that machine through the night and instrument conditions for the 16 hours of flight necessary for the crossing. The Vimy is obviously a capable machine, but it does not fly in a conventional manner, you only suggest a heading, and then hang on as it wanders through the sky. Any inattention, and control could be lost.
Thank you to Mr. Harder for helping keep knowledge of the Alcock and Brown's accomplishments in the Vimy alive. It is a great read.
Mr Robert Harder has set out to help change that with a wonderful page turner of a book about the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1919. Very well researched and detailed, it conveys the depth of commitment and the determination of the two adventurers, and great details of how their lives brought them together, unequaled in their qualifications and compatibility, to accomplish the harrowing flight.
In the mid 1990's Peter Mc Millian and Lange Kidby set out to remind the world of the accomplishments of Alcock and Brown by undertaking the huge challenge of building a very accurate replica of the Vickers Vimy. That replica re-enacted the three most famous flights of the Vimy: England to Australia, England to South Africa, and Alcock and Brown's flight. Peter and Lange's creation accomplished all three!
I was fortunate to be allowed to help the project as a support pilot for the team. Having accumulated about 80hrs of Vimy pilot time (over 40hrs just to fly from Oshosh to San Francisco), I can attest to some insight of how unbelievable the accomplishment of Alcock and Brown (and Mark Rebholz and Steve Fossett in 2005) to wrestle that machine through the night and instrument conditions for the 16 hours of flight necessary for the crossing. The Vimy is obviously a capable machine, but it does not fly in a conventional manner, you only suggest a heading, and then hang on as it wanders through the sky. Any inattention, and control could be lost.
Thank you to Mr. Harder for helping keep knowledge of the Alcock and Brown's accomplishments in the Vimy alive. It is a great read.
Images in this review
