It was an emotional moment for Robert Mackley when he flew over Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Auckland businessman and his copilot, Mat Wakelin, an Air New Zealand pilot, were among 32 crews to finish the 27-day London-to-Sydney air race on Saturday.
Their single-engined Mooney M20C was the only New Zealand entry in the race, which retraced the "Kangaroo route" of pioneering flyers as part of Australia's centenary of federation celebrations. The 19,300km itinerary led through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
"It was pretty emotional, just that it was all coming to the end," Mr Mackley said of the flypast over the bridge. "It's a hell of a distance and we had made it."
The only real scare was in Britain before the start, when metal was found in the engine's oil filter, he said.
"After a lot of phoning around, at the 11th hour and 59th minute, we found a guy in Exeter who had worked on this type of engine. He drove up and was able to repair it the day before we were due to leave."
The pair started from the Second World War Royal Air Force base at Biggin Hill, competing in the speed section. A third of the way through, they switched to precision racing, a discipline in which Mr Wakelin is a former world champion.
"Our aircraft is a 1966 model and it just couldn't foot it against turbo-charged opposition," Mr Mackley said. "We were just beating the thing to death and couldn't go any faster."
The late switch meant they never had enough points to challenge for a top-three finish overall.
- NZPA
Kiwis retrace path of aerial pioneers
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