Story of visionary exceptionally told

THIS REMARKABLE AVIATION PIONEER DESERVES HIS PLACE ALONGSIDE KINGSFORD SMITH AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST HEROES.

Charles Ulm

AUTHOR: Rick Searle

PUBLISHER: Allen and Unwin RRP: $32.99

REVIEWER: Mary Ann Elliott

WITH the new Qantas Dreamliner taking off from Brisbane to Los Angeles, it is extraordinary to think of the valiant attempts to cross the Pacific some 90 years ago.

There weren’t even telephone links between the United States and Australia in 1928, only telegraphic cables.

With only a compass as their guide, Charles Ulm and Charles Kingsford Smith achieved the impossible.

There was only a millimetre of thick fabric covering to protect them and communication between the pilots and the navigator was effected by a broom handle with a nail at each end, through which messages slips could be spiked!

The fuselage fabric and massive plywood wings of the Southern Cross had to lift a staggering four tons of fuel into the air.

On arrival at Brisbane, a crowd of 15,000 people was there to welcome the intrepid fliers. The Fokker had completed a journey of almost 12,000 kms in a flying time of 84 hours.

For Smith it was a great aerial adventure; he lived for flying but Ulm’s ambitions went further. For him this flight was the first step in a long journey to fulfil his dream of establishing a viable commercial air service.

Ulm’s final flight in 1934 was meant to elicit support for a new airline. However, his plane disappeared between San Francisco and Hawaii and was never found.

Author Rick Searle’s exceptional storytelling skills highlight Ulm’s superiority as a visionary and organiser.

This remarkable aviation pioneer deserves his place alongside Kingsford Smith as one of Australia’s greatest heroes.