In Two Up Down Under, Ron and Jim enjoy a road trip around Canberra and the Riverina in Jim’s 50-year old VW Kombi, Miss October. As well as the journey, the story of Miss October is told, and, as would be expected, there are over 190 photos mostly in colour as there is a focus on both flying and on vintage aircraft in Australia.

Ron Smith has had a long and varied association with aviation. He is an aerospace engineer, a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, ex-Chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society Rotorcraft Committee, author of aviation books and articles, aircraft owner, private pilot and aviation photographer. After 15 years at Westland Helicopters and 22 years with British Aerospace / BAE Systems, Ron’s books include the 5 volume British Built Aircraft series (The History Press); Cessna 172: A Pocket History & Piper Cherokee: A Family History (Amberley Publishing); Classic Light Aircraft, & Twin Cessna, (Schiffer Publishing).

Jim Smith recently retired from a senior management position after 14 years at the Australian Defence Science and Technology Group. Trained as an aeronautical engineer, he has BSc and Masters degrees from the University of Southampton, UK. Before moving to Australia, Jim worked for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for 28 years. His experience includes involvement with a wealth of British and Australian research and major defence projects, many of which were with international partners.