Tracey Curtis-Taylor is an accomplished pilot who flies her vintage Boeing Stearman biplane, the Spirit of Victory, throughout the world following the pioneering flights of early female aviators.

Tracey flew nearly 10,000 miles open cockpit from Cape Town to Goodwood in 2013. This journey was inspired by Lady Mary Heath who was the first person to fly solo from South Africa to the UK in 1928. The Cape Town to Goodwood flight took two months to complete with 38 stops.

In  2015 she next took on the challenge of flying the Stearman from the UK to Australia following the route of Amy Johnson, the first pioneering female pilot to complete the 13,000 mile route.

Marking the centenary of the Boeing Company, in 2016 Tracey embarked on a flight across America following the historic US airmail route from Seattle to Boston. Sadly, the Transcontinental Flight came to an abrupt halt when the Spirit of Artemis crashed in the desert shortly after take off from Winslow, Arizona.

It was then resumed in June 2017 and successfully completed in July by arriving at the American Airpower Museum at historic Republic Airport, New York.

Following these three epic flights, Tracey expanded her Public Speaking activities and also wrote Bird; a book about her life and flying adventures.

Information on every flight can be accessed through the menu at the top of this page or click here to catch up on other events.

 
     

Bird tells the remarkable personal story of how Tracey Curtis-Taylor overcame extreme adversity to complete her three remarkable journeys.


From cheating death twice and saving her crew from a firing squad to overcoming a bitter campaign waged by a male-dominated aviation industry; from her relationship with a mysterious French spy to the shocking secret that drove her family apart.

Bird is the action-packed, inspirational story of a woman who fulfilled her high-flying ambitions, was brought crashing down to earth in more ways than one, yet still survived to tell the tale.

Bird is available now - buy from Amazon, WHSmith, Waterstones, Foyles or other good booksellers.

The book was launched on March 30th
at the Royal Air Force Club.
Pictures of the launch event are here