The race was organised by an Air Race Committee, with representatives from the Australian government, aviation, and Melbourne Centenary authorities. The race ran from
RAF Mildenhall in
East Anglia to
Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, A further 22 optional stops were provided with stocks of fuel and oil provided by
Shell and
Stanavo. The Royal Aero Club put some effort into persuading the countries along the route to improve the facilities at the stopping points. The basic rules were: no limit to the size of aircraft or power, no limit to crew size, and no pilot to join the aircraft after it had left England. Aircraft had to carry three days' rations per crew member, floats (e.g. buoyancy aids or
personal flotation devices), smoke signals, and efficient instruments. There were prizes for the outright fastest aircraft (£10,000 and a trophy, £1,500 and £500) and for the best performance on a handicap formula (£2000 and £1000) by any aircraft finishing within 16 days. Lyle Ferris, the chief electrical engineer of the post office, went to the power station and signalled "A-L-B-U-R-Y" to the aircraft in Morse code by turning the town street lights on and off. Arthur Newnham, the announcer on radio station
2CO Corowa appealed for cars to line up on the racecourse to light up a makeshift runway. The race was the basis for a 1991 Australian television miniseries
The Great Air Race. == Competitors ==