The route of an aerial relay to mark the centenary of the first airmail flown in Australia has been released.
The event, to be held 12-14 July, will follow the route taken by Frenchman Maurice Guillaux in 1914 as he flew the first mail from Melbourne to Sydney.
Guillaux took off from Flemington Showgrounds in a Bleriot XI and delivered the mail to Moore Park, a total of nine hours and 15 minutes spread over three days, staying two nights at Harden, NSW, due to bad weather.
The re-enactment flight has been organised by a group formed by the Aviation Historical Society of Australia, and will follow the original route as closely as possible, with a diversion to Temora thrown in. The route as published at the time of writing is:
Saturday 12 July: Essendon-Mangalore-Benalla-Wangaratta-Albury
Sunday 13 July: Albury-Wagga Wagga-Temora-Harden
Monday 14 July: Harden-Goulburn-Mittagong-Bankstown
The mail carried will then go by road to Powerhouse Museum for an official reception.
Jabiru pilot Owen Zupp will carry a load of 1475 postcards across the route, with a parallel relay of other aircraft carrying an Australia Post load of 18 kg.
Aircraft planned for the relay include CT-4 VH-PTM, Aero 145, Ryan STM and Piper Cub. Details of other aircraft have yet to be made public.
For more information, go to the official website.