British bomber expected

JAKARTA: A replica of an old British-made 1918's Vickers Vimy bomber will be making a stopover in six Indonesian cities, including Jakarta, on its nostalgic trip from Middlesex in Britain to Darwin in Australia.

The plane is scheduled to arrive at Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta on Sunday. The other five Indonesian stops will be Semarang, Surabaya, Denpasar, Mataram and Kupang before it makes the last dash towards Darwin.

The flight, sponsored by the multinational oil giant Shell and the National Geographic Society, is retracing the successful journey made by the bomber 75 years ago.

The plane, with registration number G-EAOU, will complete the journey in 27 days, stopping at 29 cities in 17 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. It is being flown by brothers Ross and Keith Smith.

The replica bomber will be flown by Peter McMillan, an American citizen, and Lang Kidby, an Australian, the Antara news agency reported quoting Shell Companies in Indonesia. (emb)