The remarkable flight was the cover story for the May 1995 edition of National Geographic . Rebholz, a 767 captain for United Air Lines with more than 20,000 hours in his logbook, as well as being the Silver Queen's test pilot, was the pilot in command. After enduring countless delays, dangers and frustrations, the crew finally brought the Silver Queen into Capetown on July 30, following a harrowing flight through bad weather and hazardous mountainous terrain. Their epic adventure was featured in the May 2000 issue of National Geographic . Recreating the third of the three great Vimy long- distance flights, across the Atlantic.
Current plans call for an attempt to be made sometime next year.
Prior to that, the Silver Queen is scheduled to appear this year at the Experimental Aircraft Association's mammoth annual gathering - formally named AirVenture, but generally referred to simply as Oshkosh. The Queen was supposed to be there last year, but was unable to make it due a mechanical problem with one of the reduction gearboxes fitted between the engines and propellers. These gearboxes step down the high engine revs to something appropriate for the big, slow-turning wooden props. Repairs required custom-made gears, but no one could be found to make them in time. However, an Australian company has since come to the rescue.