Promotional pamphlet for The Southern Cross Museum Trust

A map detailing the route of Charles Kingsford Smith’s 1928 flight across the Pacific Ocean. A transpacific flight was widely thought to be impossible — no plane existed with the requisite range. Aerial navigation was also in its infancy and this was a critical issue when flying long distances over the ocean.

Kingsford Smith and Ulm planned to complete the crossing in three long hops: California–Hawaii, Hawaii–Fiji, Fiji–Brisbane. If they missed Hawaii or Fiji, they would run out of fuel and crash.