Bert Hinkler: The astonishing true story of the pioneering WWII aviator who was dubbed the most daring man in the world, from the award-winning author of BANJO, BANKS and SISTER VIV
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4.2 • 16 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The thrilling life of Bert Hinkler, Bundaberg boy, who grew up to become a pioneer of aviation, Mussolini's favourite pilot, dubbed 'the most daring man in the world' by adoring crowds who turned out to see him fly.
Grantlee Kieza tells the thrilling story of Bert's life and with it the bigger story of how the world was changed forever by men like Hinkler. Fast paced and revealing, this is an overdue, full-blooded biography about one of Australia's most astonishing sons. He's all but been lost from history but once upon a time, Bert Hinkler, a small, unprepossessing man from Bundaberg was feted as one of the most daring aviators in the world. Mussolini's favourite pilot, Hinkler was an adventurer who along with early pioneers flew single handed across countries, continents and oceans-often with nothing more than a lunchbox and the page of an atlas to guide him. Whether as an aerial showman or as a World War I fighter pilot, Hinkler's exploits thrilled the world, drawing massive crowds, and in his time he enjoyed the fame and adulation of his peers like Charles Kingsford Smith and Amelia Earhart. But behind the headlines was a more private-and more complex-man, who juggled two relationships with two different women on two continents.
Customer Reviews
Unsung hero
An Australian hero whose incredible feats of navigation, airmanship and endurance should have become part of the fabric of Australia. An unusual modesty for aviation adventurers of the time, Bert's achievements have been drowned out over the years by the brash and boastful. This books brings it all together in a well researched and gripping story only to be marred by the authors lack of understanding of basic aeronautics. Any aviation minded reader will be disappointed in references like "the engine stalled and the plane plummeted to earth". Even modern jets can safely glide to earth if their engines stop. Aircraft only "stall" when when they fly so slowly that the air flowing over the wings cannot generate lift equal to or greater than the weight. Finally, references to altitude, then as now, is measured in feet in aviation. I feel the author should have respected that convention and not used meters.