Hinkler, Bert (1892-1933), an Australian aviator, made the first solo flight from Britain to Australia in 1928. He made the flight in a single-engine Avro Avian aircraft in 151/2 days. After the flight, which broke five aviation records, the Australian government made him an honorary squadron leader.
Louis John Hinkler was born at Bundaberg in Queensland. As a boy, he studied the flight of ibises. Later, he tried to fly by strapping wings to his back. At the age of 19, he successfully flew his homemade glider to a height of 33 feet (10 meters). He became a mechanic and pilot with a showman and gave flying exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand. The plane used in the exhibitions was eventually smashed beyond repair.
At the age of 21, Hinkler went to England and joined the Royal Naval Air Service as an observer-gunner. He won the Distinguished Service Medal in France. He also served as a pilot in Italy.
In 1919, Hinkler joined A.V. Roe as a mechanic and finally managed to obtain a plane to fly to Australia. He set out on May 31, 1920. He set a new record for a long-distance flight in a light airplane by flying from London to Turin, Italy, in 91/2 hours. But war in Egypt and Syria forced him to abandon the trip. He finally began his record-breaking flight on Feb. 7, 1928. He landed in Darwin on February 22. During a second flight along the same route in 1933, Hinkler crashed and died in the Italian Alps. Hinkler’s home town of Bundaberg has erected monuments in his honor.
