“Riveting.… [R]estores the 1919 achievement of those two young men, Alcock and Brown, to their rightful place in aviation history.” —Julia Flynn Siler, Wall Street JournalThe ...

David Rooney's account of the daring pilots who competed to make "the big hop" in 1919 is a true-life thriller

David Smith and Fraser MacIntyre flew across the Atlantic, with stops in Iceland, Greenland and northern Canada.

YouTube video by The Aviation Show

A non-stop flight across the Atlantic might seem routine today. But it is only possible because of those who went first. ‘Vivid and compelling’ John Lancaster ‘A delectable serving of escapist nostal...

How electrical engineering, the American inventive urge, and a taste for gold and diamonds made one of the world's most celebrated aviators

In 1919, four British teams arrived in Newfoundland to attempt to be the first to fly across the Atlantic non-stop, the Big Hop, and claim the Daily Mail's £10,000 prize. Author David Rooney joins us…

Looking for a history book this Christmas? Here's a list of our favourites.

On the evening of Monday 8 December 2025, join writer, historian and museum curator David Rooney for History at The Hall – The Big Hop: Adventures in the Workshop and the Air.

On the evening of Monday 8 December 2025, join writer, historian and museum curator David Rooney for History at The Hall – The Big Hop: Adventures in the Workshop and the Air.

On the evening of Monday 8 December 2025, join writer, historian and museum curator David Rooney for History at The Hall – The Big Hop: Adventures in the Workshop and the Air.

Jack Alcock – the Vickers pilot

Ted Brown – the Vickers navigator

Ted Brown – the Vickers navigator

Mac Grieve and Harry Hawker – the Sopwith team

Mac Grieve and Harry Hawker – the Sopwith team

Charles Morgan, Conrad Biddlecombe, and Fred Raynham – the Martinsyde team

Charles Morgan, Conrad Biddlecombe, and Fred Raynham – the Martinsyde team

YouTube video by British Pathé

Sir+John+Alcock+pilots+a+Pathe+cameraman+for+Aerial+pictures+of+London.

In 1919, in Newfoundland, four teams of aviators came from Britain to compete in “the Big Hop”: an audacious race to be the first to fly, nonstop, across the Atlantic Ocean. One pair of competitors wa...

David Rooney's account of the daring pilots who competed to make