FRIGATE BIRD

Inscribed and signed by PG ‘Bill’ Taylor on the title page

The longer I fly, Charles, the more I realise how much
there is to learn about the air: so every flight is still an
adventure, and every landfall a discovery.
I hope you will find it so in this book.
With best wishes for Christmas,
Bill Taylor
December 1953

NB this book probably belonged to the aviation historian Charles Gibbs-Smith

Published by Angus and Robertson.  First edition 1953. 243 pages and well illustrated with photographs and maps.

Fine condition hardback book in blue boards with silver gilt titles.  Very Good condition unclipped dustjacket  with just a little loss to the top and tail of the spine and to the corners.  Now in a protective cover.

‘Frigate Bird’ documents the 1951 flight of the Frigate Bird II, a Catalina flying boat which made the first air crossing of the South Pacific Ocean from Sydney, Australia to Chile, a flight of some 8000 miles. It is an exciting story of adventure and discovery, charged with incident and drama, and told always against the background of flight; of remote and solitary islands, of stars and space, that are the world of the airman.

Captain P.G. “Bill” Taylor GC MC (1896–1966) was one of Australia’s most accomplished aviators and a key figure in the development of long‑range flight in the interwar and post‑war periods. A WWI fighter pilot, (as documented in ‘Sopwith Scout 7309’) he built his reputation through a series of demanding survey and pioneering flights, often alongside Charles Kingsford Smith. Taylor’s calm judgement and technical skill were widely recognised; during the 1935 Southern Cross flight he famously climbed out along the wing struts to transfer oil between engines, an act that became part of aviation folklore and for which he was awarded the George Cross.

After the war he continued to shape Australia’s air routes, conducting oceanic survey flights that expanded commercial and military reach across the Pacific. His 1951 Frigate Bird II Catalina mission demonstrated the viability of long‑range flying‑boat operations and cemented his status as a meticulous, safety‑driven navigator. Taylor’s writings and flight records remain important sources on early Australian aviation and the practical realities of exploratory flying. He was knighted in 1954.

An excellent and scarce flying memoir with a very rare Taylor signature.  Also available is ‘Sopwith Scout 7309’.