Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

IT'S A CULTURE THING

1. We're off to polish the engines

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RIGHT CHOICE

2. The Pregnant Pup

3. The Nadi 'bump'

EVER-PRESENT DANGER

4. Taim Bilong Balus

5. 'Skippy Squadron'

6. Cyclone Tracy

SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT

7. Training at the Bay of Pigs

8. 'Qantas never crashes'

9. Dangerous skies

10. Two minutes of terror over the Middle East

11. Battling the elements

AN AIRLINE FULL OF CHARACTERS

12. Life was never dull

13. Postings . . . not all milk and honey

14. Spies, bombs and bicycles

15. Penny pinching and clashing personalities

16. Flaws among the brilliance

UNUSUAL LOADS

17. Gum trees from wheel wells

18. Not your normal passenger service

19. Gough . . . and other 'royals'

20. The return of the Gallipoli veterans

21. How to smuggle a future princess

A CHALLENGING BUSINESS

22. Strikes and fuel . . . a lethal combination

23. When the wheels fell off the tricycle and other political problems

24. Red tails and blue tails . . . the story of a reverse takeover

25. Reflections

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Jim Eames is author of The Country Undertaker, Six Feet Under or Up in Smoke and Taking to the Skies. As one of Australia's first aviation writers, and former press secretary to the Minister for Aviation and former Director of Public Affairs for Qantas, he is a man who has lived and breathed aviation. He also tells a great yarn.

Reviews

A riveting collection of untold or forgotten stories... Richly told accounts of colourful characters, political intrigues and hushed-up operations.
*The Australian*

A collection of often amazing stories... A great read... Generously detailed.
*Sydney Morning Herald*

An extraordinary book of secrets and insights... Full of details never before seen in public print... It's an often surprising, non fairy floss reminder of how Qantas has come so far in its 95 years.
*Crikey*

Everyone who has ever flown will enjoy The Flying Kangaroo. These are stories of passion and dedication, of risk and resilience, of excellence and Australian larrikinism, of inventiveness and determination. They reflect my pride for an airline that connected the world and became a national icon.
*Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny, Pilot in Command QF 32*

Some of the company's most heroic moments and its most bizarre. The author covers everything from the risk takers who launched the airline through to the special demands of VIP passengers.
*Vacations & Travel*