On 9th February 1897, an Australian aviation pioneer, Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith, was born in Brisbane.
In 1928, Kingsford Smith successfully completed the first transpacific flight in aviation history. His over 11,500-kilometre-long trip was made with Fokker F.VII/3, named ´Southern Cross´. Kingsford Smith started on 31st May in Oakland, California and concluded the transpacific journey on 9th June in Brisbane.
More information about the Australian aviation pioneer, as well as his record flight, can be found here – in our article from the Aviation History Friday series, issued in June of 2023
Cover photo: Charles Kingsford Smith in the cockpit of ´Lady Southern Cross´ (photo: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Public Domain)
