Amy Johnson

Between them, they had enough hours and demanding conditions to fill a logbook twice over.

The second DH-88 was Black Magic, flown by Jim Mollison and his wife Amy Johnson.

If the names mean anything to you, they should.

Mollison had been the first person to fly solo from Australia to England.

Amy Johnson had been the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, in a second-hand gypsy moth in 1930.

They were the most famous aviation couple in the world, and they were sitting in one of the most capable aircraft ever designed.

The press attention surrounding Blackmagic was extraordinary.

Blackmagic did not make it through India.

Historic Croydon Airport describes it as Britain's first major airport and the birthplace of air traffic control.

And on May 5th, 1930, Amy Johnson took off from there.

Destination, Australia.

Aircraft, a secondhand de Havilland Gypsy Moth called Jason.

We get mildly put out when the seat back screen won't work.

I've just been congratulating myself on walking forty-two miles.

Amy Johnson rather puts that achievement in its place.

And Croydon Airport gave us something else.

This explores the future of aviation, from the design and sustainability of future planes to the people who keep them flying and make sure that your experience is top-notch.

In this podcast, AMY Aviation is in Hull, finding out about Amy Johnson, one of the world's most famous women pilots.

Amy Johnson was born in 1903, so early, the very early days of aviation.

By the time she was 26, she'd not only got her pilot's license but an engineer's license, too.

Just two years later, in 1930, she undertook an incredibly famous, enormous journey, a solo flight from the UK all the way to Australia.

It's a big city in an area called the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Now, whilst Hull has its own airport, that's not why we're here.

Hull was home to an amazing pilot, and she was another Amy, Amy Johnson.