Fly Over Down Under

Green ants that defend their tree by attacking anyone who touches it…a mysterious lava-tube cave with hikers' flashlights floating like fireflies down into its blackness...fruit bats noisily lobbing mangos onto your cabin's tin roof. The beauties -- and dangers -- of the crocodile-infested Kakadu National Park. A crash landing at a remote island airstrip…a rugby match in Northern Territory (and why Aussie girls never “root” for their teams). In this colorful and remarkable book, written by a colorful and remarkable woman pilot, you'll find the most enjoyable way to discover Australia -- by flying a light airplane to its places of greatest interest while watching the exotic landscape unroll beneath you. Vistas of giant paisley patterned earth, caused by underlying salt strata. Stunning views of red landscapes, uplifted and contorted during the earth's primordial boil. The enormously long white beaches of Western Australia, lonesome and edged by brilliant aquas. And the Indian Ocean to the south, marked by hundreds of miles of cliffs. Whales breed there…You could get lucky. You don't have to be a pilot to enjoy this book. The author wrote it also for non-flyers, in non-technical terms, to let you see amazing things that pilots experience from their very special perspective. You'll want to read it, re-read it, and share it with your friends.

Aircraft of The Royal Australian Air Force tells the story of the RAAF’s first one hundred years by describing the acquisition, operation, and service record of the multitude of aircraft types flown by the RAAF. The 176 aircraft types include the flimsy wood and canvas aircraft typical of World War I, through the technological advances during and after World War II, to modern fifth-generation, complex aircraft like the F-35 Lightning II. Even before its formation Sir Richard Williams, the Father of the RAAF, had decided to employ an alpha-numeric numbering system to identify and account for each aircraft in service. This system started with A1, A2, A3 etc as each type of aircraft came into service. Each individual aircraft within each series was identified as A1-1, A1-2 and so on and the aircraft serial became known colloquially as the ‘A-number’. With some exceptions over the century since the A-number system started, aircraft entered RAAF service in broadly the sequence of the A-numbers, and so this book is intended to assist in charting the 100-year history of the RAAF by listing aircraft operated in A-number sequence, rather than by listing them by role (such as Fighter, Bomber, Maritime, Trainer, Transport etc) or alphabetically by name or by manufacturer. The inclusion of a comprehensive Index and the Quick Reference Guide to aircraft by role is intended to facilitate the location of the entry for any specific type of aircraft for those who may not already know its A-number. Aircraft of The Royal Australian Air Force is a must have for all those who have served in the RAAF, those with a passion for military aviation and aircraft in general, and the broader members of the public wishing to gain an appreciation of the Royal Australian Air Force in its centenary year.