Jon Johanson (born 1956) is an Australian aviator known for his pioneering flights in a home-built Van's Aircraft RV-4.

Early life

Johanson was born in 1956 in Warburton, Victoria, the third of four children. His father was a dairy farmer in

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale () ( Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia in a region traditionally owned by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated population of Bairnsdale urban area was 15,411 at Ju ...

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: East Gippsland (St ...

. Johanson had his first solo flight at age 46, following which the family relocated to Horsham, where his interest in aviation grew.

Flights

In 1995, Johanson flew easterly around the world and made a stop over flight at Oshkosh,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

at the EAA. In 1996 he made another stop over flight to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the EAA, then Johanson flew his second around the world flight going westerly. On his third around the world flight in 2000, Johanson set four aviation world records. As he was flying over the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

the cold air cracked his windscreen. In 2003, he made the first solo flight in a single-engine home-built aircraft over the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. After landing at the

McMurdo Vice-Admiral Archibald McMurdo (24 September 1812 – 11 December 1875) was a Scottish naval officer and polar explorer after whom Antarctica's McMurdo Sound, McMurdo Station, McMurdo Ice Shelf, McMurdo Dry Valleys and McMurdo–South Pole ...

- Scott base he became stranded when the base, not wishing to encourage future private flights, refused to sell him fuel. After a fuel donation by fellow adventurer

Polly Vacher Polly Vacher (born 1944) is an English aviator specialising in long-distance solo flights. She was awarded the MBE for services to charity in 2002. She lives in Oxfordshire. Born in south Devon, she trained in physiotherapy and spent twen ...

, he was able to fly on to Australia, via

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Awards and records

In 2004 Johanson was awarded the ''FAI Gold Air Medal'' by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI); it is one of the organisation's highest awards. At the time he held 47 FAI world records. The same year, Johanson was also named the Adventurer of the Year by the

Australian Geographic Society Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclop ...

Personal life

Johanson is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, although he acknowledged in an interview with an Adventist publication that he was not a "good one". In addition to being a pilot, Johanson is also a qualified

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

, and carpenter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johanson, Jon 1956 births Living people Aviation pioneers Australian aviators People from Warburton, Victoria