page_title: James Peter Obeyesekere III
section_title: Aviation
hierarchical_section_title: James Peter Obeyesekere III / Aviation
caption_attribution_description: English: 1946-built Auster 5J1 Autocrat (G-AJEE) takes off at the Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Kemble Airport, Gloucestershire, England.
context_page_description: Deshamanya James Peter Obeyesekere III was a Sri Lankan politician and aviator. A Senator, he was also a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Finance.
context_section_description: With the outbreak of World War II he joined the Cambridge University Air Squadron becoming a qualified pilot, he was invited to join the Royal Air Force as a pilot, however he turned down the offer and instead joined the Royal Observer Corps. In November 1946, he flew his single-engined Auster Autocrat home to Ceylon from England, becoming the first Ceylonese to make such a flight. Throughout the epic journey, Obeyesekere was accompanied by Sqdn. Ldr. R.A.F. (Robert) Farquharson in an identical Auster. His companion was described in contemporary newspaper reports and early articles by Obeyesekere himself.
  His aviation interests were also strong as he was the Chairman of the Colombo Flying Club until its takeover by the government. He gave his Auster to the Ceylon Air Academy for civilian pilot training. The aircraft was destroyed in a fatal accident on March 11, 1971, but nearly 40 years later it was rebuilt for static display at the Sri Lanka Air Force Museum, Ratmalana in memory of his flight from England to Ceylon.
caption: Obeyesekere created aviation history in South Asia when he became the first Sri Lankan to undertake what is erroneously described as a "solo flight" from England to Sri Lanka in November 1946, in close company with another pilot in an identical Auster aircraft.
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