Two men from Bendigo (Vic) are preparing for a world-first circumnavigation of the globe in an aircraft totally designed and manufactured in Australia.

And MAF will be one of only two organisations to benefit from funds raised by the epic journey.

Ken Evers 33 and Tim Pryse 51, will depart from Bendigo Aerodrome on a day to be determined in May bound for Norfolk Island.

They will continue their journey across the Pacific to California via Hawaii then on to Arizona and New Orleans. From there they will touch down to refuel in Jamaica and Barbados before heading south to Brazil, then due east across the Atlantic to Africa, on to India, Vietnam, the Philippines, PNG and back to Australia.

The history-making flight commemorates Australia’s Centenary of Flight when the famous contortionist Harry Houdini conducted Australia’s first controlled, powered flight in March 1910, changing the landscape of flying in this country forever.

Ken and Tim will fly a GA8-TC Airvan over 26,740 nautical miles in 230 flight hours. The eight-seat Airvan is manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics in Morwell (Vic).

The flight aims to draw attention to malaria, the world’s most common infectious, mosquito-borne disease, claiming over a million lives annually. Most victims are those least able to afford preventative drugs or treatments.

The pilots hope to raise one million dollars

to combat the global impact of malaria by inviting donations via the millionsagainstmalaria.com website to two nominated charities - Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) and the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and Pacific (AFAP).

People in many of the tropical and sub-tropical areas the pair will fly across suffer from malaria including Papua New Guinea where Ken Evers grew up as a teenager and was deeply impacted by the Work of MAF.

“MAF pilots are my heroes”

“For me, MAF was the epitome of aviation. MAF pilots are my heroes,” he said.

“Living in PNG and watching the work of MAF taught me the lesson that you can use the gifts you have been given to do the right thing. And of course in the case of MAF it is using the gift of flight to help people.

“I watched what MAF did in PNG. I saw my friend’s life saved (by a MAF flight) and now I want to offer my support. I think MAF is such an unsung group. People fail to see that MAF is saving countless lives every year. ”

For further details about Ken and Tim’s epic journey and an opportunity to donate online to MAF, go to  www.millionsagainstmalaria.com