After first-hand experiences with Malaria during his teenage years in Papua New Guinea, in April 2009 Evers initiated the Millions Against Malaria project – a circumnavigation of the globe, stopping off in the most Malaria-stricken regions, to raise funds and awareness of the disease.
The marathon flight will take Evers and co-pilot Tim Pryse through 16 countries over 55 days and see them clock up 27,167 nautical miles and between them log 233.7 flight hours.
The timing proved serendipitous as the pair will depart Bendigo on March 20, almost 100 years to the day since Harry Houdini conducted the first controlled, powered flight in Australia.
While it is still debatable whether Houdini is actually the rightful owner of that accolade, the Millions Against Malaria project will nonetheless serve as a commemoration of the Centenary of Australian Aviation.
And surely there’s no better way to acknowledge Australian aviation history than, in a world first, to circumnavigate the globe in an Australian commercially manufactured single-engine aeroplane.
Making the trip uniquely Australian, Evers and Pryse will conduct the flight in the turbo-charged GA8-TC 320 Airvan from Gippsland Aeronautics.
Evers believes the GA8-TC Airvan is the perfect aircraft for the job.
“While the normally aspirated Airvan would certainly achieve the flight, the extra performance we will get out of the GA8-TC will add the extra safety margin when taking off fully loaded (with a 1000-litre turtle bladder) or when needing to climb over severe weather,” Evers says.
With some flight legs up to 20 hours long, Evers and Pryse will stock their Airvan with a range of avionics and equipment in the hope of ensuring a problem free flight.
“Internally we’ll be running a Garmin G500 on the right side of the panel and then a Garmin GNS 430 in the centre console,” he explains.
“As a secondary backup, we will also have two portable GPS units.
“We’ll have two alternators installed as a precautionary safety measure, and we’ll also be running an oxygen system for our ventures above 10,000 feet.
"With such long flight legs, running a three-axis autopilot is an important and necessary component to ensure a safe flight.”
While admitting that fund-raising is the biggest challenge he’s facing, Evers says he’s honoured and humbled by the support he’s received so far and optimistic about more supporters coming on board.
To make a donation or to find out more about Evers’ round the world jaunt visit www.millionsagainstmalaria.com.