Taking to the skies : daredevils, heroes and hijackers, Australian flying stories from the Catalina to the Jumbo / Jim Eames.

Includes bibliographical references (page 339-340)

Through two dawns to war: the Qantas Double Sunrise Service - Perth to Colombo -- RAAF 200 Flight: secret missions behind enemy lines -- Re-opening war-torn Darwin to the world -- Papua New Guinea and clouds with hard centres: training grounds don't come any harder -- The kingdom of Collopy -- 'How far ahead it he?' -- Nonstop across the world -- There's something about low flying -- Crime in the skies -- 'I'll blow this aeroplane up: you, me and everyone else.' -- The 'great plane robbery' -- Aerial suicide and murder at Alice -- Messrs 'Brown' and 'Smith' and the business of extortion in the air -- Buying a Boeing -- Embarrassing moments -- Ansett International arrives - well, in a fashion! -- When a runway 'isn't long enough' -- Cyclone Tracy and the forgotten story of the uplift -- Aeroplanes and animals - often not a good mix -- Humour in the air and the thoughts of Chairman Hugh.

So how do you test drive a Jumbo? And why did a civil aviation director once taxi a plane down Perth's main street to attend a ball? From the ridiculous to the downright dangerous, the story of Australian aviation is full of tales of adventure and nation building. It is also a story about tragedy and eccentric characters with wild larrikin spirits. In this surprising, fascinating and sometimes very funny collection, Jim Eames brings together the great forgotten and untold tales of Australian aviation. There are the stories of the Catalina flying boats that were Australia's only aviation link to the UK during World War II and that of Qantas' record-breaking non-stop flight across the world. And what of the long-forgotten hijacks and the dramas of the Darwin airlifts after Cyclone Tracy? Entertaining, nostalgic and very readable, the stories Jim tells will certainly make you want to take to the skies.