Record Breaking Flights
DH.80s were used for a number of record breaking flights during the early 1930s. Early in 1931 Nevill Vintcent made the first flight from England to Ceylon in G-AAXJ. In July-August 1931 Amy Johnson made an eight-day solo flight to Tokyo in G-AAZI Jason II. Late in 1931, the Australian Bert Hinkler piloted a Canadian-built CF-APK on a series of important flights including New York-Jamaica, Jamaica to Venezuela, and a 22-hour west-east crossing of the South Atlantic, only the second solo transatlantic crossing. Most famous of the record breaking Puss Moths was Jim Mollison's G-ABXY The Heart's Content which included the first solo east-west Atlantic crossing in August 1932 and the first east-west crossing of the South Atlantic from Lympne Aerodrome to Natal, Brazil in February 1933. His wife Amy Johnson made record flights between England and Cape Town using G-ACAB Desert Cloud in 1932. It was also used in a number of World War II battles, including D-day. C.J. Melrose flew VH-UQO, named 'My Hildegarde' in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race. They finished overall seventh and second on handicap in a time of 10 days 16 hours.
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When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
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“Old man, it’s four flights up and for what?
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stooped over the thin rail and the wornout tread.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)