Air race in Australia

Press, 9 April 1979, Page 28

Air race in Australia

A two-day air race to promote aviation within Australia will be held later this year, and New Zealand participation is expected. Aircraft valued at more than SISM will participate in the Southern Cross Air Race. They will take to the air at 30-second intervals from 8 a.m. on December 1, from Bankstown Airport, near Sydney. From Bankstown about 250 aircraft, from 1935 Tiger Moths to the modern G.A.F. Nomad will fly via Tooraweenah to Parkes, in

New South Wales, on the first day. The second leg .of the race will be completed on Sunday, December 2 when the entrants reach Ballarat, in Victoria. The race will be a precisely detailed handicap event, organised along similar lines to a car trial. A questionnaire will be supplied about various landmarks along the route, and pilots will have to estimate arrival times. They will gain or lose points according to the accuracy of their estimates. Mr J, Ives, the race’s coordinator, said that he believed no air race in Australia had been organised to such an exacting degree. A computer would be linked between Ballarat and Melbourne to tally all results. Prizes valued at more

than $lO,OOO will be offered. The winner will get a trip to the United States plus other goods. The second prize will be a trip to New Zealand and other goods. Entries are expected from al! over Australia, and representation from New Zealand, the United States, and Fiji has been promised. Aircraft numbers will be limited to 250. The entry fee this year is $llO and if payment is received before August 20 a reduction of $3O will apply. Most of the aircraft will carry four-person crews; some all-women crews have entered. Additional information about the race can be obtained from the secretary. Southern Cross Air Race, 29 Short Street, Balmain, N.S.W. 2041, Australia.