She began flight instruction in September 1928. On June 9, 1929 she received her 'A' pilot's licence. On December 10, 1929 she became the first woman to earn a British Ground Engineer's license.
In 1930, Amy bought a used airplane from W.L. Hope of Air Taxis Ltd for L600. The machine she purchased was an open cockpit biplane, the fourth production 60G Gipsy Moth, with a 100 horsepower Gipsy I engine, maker's number 804. It was registered as G-AAAH. She painted it green and named it "Jason".
With fewer then 100 logged hours, and flying the Moth for only the third time, Amy set off from Croydon on May 5, 1930 bound for Australia.
Amy's airplane required repair a number of times along the way. These included mending a damaged undercarriage, replacing a broken propeller, and repeatedly mending the wings.
She landed in Darwin on May 24, 1930 just after 3:00pm.
Johnson's accomplishment was met with a great deal of enthusiasm, and she was showered with acclaim and gifts. Among these was a new closed cabin Puss Moth awarded her by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. (She named it Jason II.)
Her rewards for her feat were not only financial. The King named her Commander of the British Empire.
In 1931 she piloted Jason II (with C.S. Humphries as co-pilot) from London, across Russia, to Toyko and then back to England.
In 1932 she married fellow pilot James Mollison. In that same year beat his record time to Capetown, making the trip in 4 days, 6 hours and 54 minutes. She bettered her husband's record by 10 hours, 28 minutes.
During WWII she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary as a ferry pilot. On January 5, 1941 she was flying a twin-engined Oxford from the north of England to London when the clouds closed in on her. The airplane had neither a radio nor radar. While she was searching for an airfield her fuel tanks ran dry. She jettisoned her door (the standard method for abandoning that type of aircraft) and stepped out with her parachute. She died in the estuary of the Thames.
A boat's crew thought they saw a man fall into the water as well. Investigations revealed that what they thought was another person was, in fact, the jettisoned door.
The DH 82 Tiger Moth was one of the most successful of all light aircraft. Over 5,000 were built in England, and almost 3,000 more in the Commonwealth. The reference to joining "the Flying Circus" could have one of two meanings.
The "Gloster Gladiator" was the last British biplane fighter. Designed in the 1930's, they were flown by both the RAF and Finnish Airforce during WWII. In the RAF, it equipped No. 263 Squadron, which fought over Norway in 1940. Three of these airplanes, named "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity" provided the initial defending force over Malta.
Author
Kim Dyer (kimbis@aol.com)
Last updated: May 31, 1995