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Dozen vintage biplanes race from Europe to Africa

Sunday, 13 November 2016 3:59 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 13 November 2016 4:01 PM ]

A dozen biplanes from the 1920s and 1930s will fly 8,000 miles from Crete to Cape Town next month in a vintage aviation rally that harks back to the early days of air travel. (Photo by AFP)

A dozen vintage airplanes are flying from Greece down to the southern tip of Africa in a race that has never been attempted before.

The antique biplanes from the 1920s and 30s will be racing each other for over a month traveling more than 12,000 kilometers.

Amateur and professional pilots will fly through several countries including Botswana, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, making 37 stops before finishing in Cape Town.

The pilots will have to face several challenges such as weather conditions in open cockpits and sleeping in deserts along the way. But they don’t have to worry, as a group of professionals will back up the air rally.

To add to the uniqueness of the race, the planes are the first group of aircraft allowed to make a stop at Egypt’s Giza pyramids in many years. The aerial rally’s winner will be awarded with a Crete2Cape cup. All proceeds from the event will be given to charity.

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