Bird

Tracey Curtis-Taylor has created headlines around the world with three epic flights in a 1942 Boeing Stearman biplane. Paying homage to two historic female aviators, she flew from Cape Town to Goodwood in 2013, from London to Australia in 2015 and, two years later, completed a transcontinental flight across the USA, after surviving a plane crash during the expedition.

But her daring exploits came at a huge personal cost.

From the moment the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) awarded her a prestigious trophy for “navigation, a feat of aviation, endurance and tenacity”, several men with personal grudges made it their mission not just to strip Tracey of her award but to destroy her reputation.

Now, for the first time and with searing honesty, Tracey tells, in breathtaking detail, the remarkable story of how she overcame extreme adversity to complete her three epic journeys. And she charts the bitter campaign waged against her, revealing the rank misogyny and hypocrisy that exists in British aviation.