A test flight of 51 days

Belgium may be a small country, but it played a very important role in aviation. For example, in 1925, three Belgians were the first to fly across the Sahara, although this undertaking took 51 days. The French had never managed that. It is fitting that this is commemorated by post in Belgium. Hero Wit My friend Hero Wit, whose health is failing, asked me if I would write a blog post about a test flight using his information. Hero has been a philatelic journalist continuously for over 60 years. I cannot match that. Nevertheless, I am going to try to put his information into a blog post. In 2009, I had the honor of presenting Hero with the federation pin of the Royal Netherlands Federation of Philatelic Societies (KNBF). First flight to Congo Edmond Thieffry, Joseph de Bruycker, and Leopold Roger flew from Belgium to Leopoldville in 1925. This city is now called Kinshasa and is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Edmond Thieffry was a celebrated pilot in the Belgian Air Force during the First World War. Leopold Roger was also a skilled pilot, and Joseph de Bruycker an experienced mechanic. On February 12, 1925, this 'dream team' set off for Leopoldville. This journey of over 8000 kilometers took 51 days. The aircraft, a Handley Page W.8f O-BAHO from Sabena, was equipped with extra fuel tanks and advanced navigation instruments. Nevertheless, the flight was anything but trouble-free. Due to technical problems and weather conditions, the crew had to make no fewer than five emergency landings. Finally, the O-BAHO named “Prinses Marie-José” landed in Leopoldville on April 3, 1925. This was 44 days later than planned. This groundbreaking first flight is commemorated by the Belgian Post with the stamp sheet '100 years first flight to Congo', which depicts both the aircraft and the crew, and the flight route on the left.   Historical awareness My friend Hero believes that a postal company should pay attention to historical events. In Belgium, this legendary stunt flight was the reason for dedicating a stamp sheet to it. The print run is 14.000 sheets. Hero asked me to draw attention to the 'Hollandse Uiver'. This innovative, aluminium aircraft became world-famous in 1934 when it won the Melbourne race. Hero believes this certainly needs to be commemorated in 2034. So, PostNL: please put this on your list. The question, of course, is whether stamps will still be issued in 2034?