Oxford to Sydney in a KR2

Staffordshire’s Colin Hales dreamed the impossible dream — to fly his own plane around the world. Sadly he was of modest means and couldn’t afford a plane, so he built one from odds ’n’ sods and nick-named it ‘Bitsy’. With thousands of hours of graft invested,  even before he left, this was a man on a mission. Eventually, with tons of ONC flight maps scrunched into the tiny cockpit, he
and his partner Nadine took off from a runway in Oxfordshire and a few months later were landing in Sydney. They had the trip of a lifetime and set a record for the smallest plane to EVER make that journey. This is DIY adventure and DIY film-making captured as perfectly as we will ever see. Also, Colin is the loveliest man alive, come and meet him (AND the plane) at the festival!

FIVE MINUTES WITH COLIN HALES…

ATFF:

Hello, not long now till this summer’s Adventure Travel Film Festival. We are so excited to be sharing so many fantastic films this year. Lets start with a quick summary of yours, what’s it about?

COLIN:

I built a plane and wondered how far I could take it? Sydney Australia seemed about the furthest away, so with a good friend, we set off to see how close we could get.

ATFF:

How did the film come about? Was it something that you’ve always been interested in?

COLIN:

There was no intention to make a film. We just waved a camera around at things our family and friends may want to see in the future.

ATFF:

This years films have spanned oceans mountains, glaciers… a huge range of environments. What challenges did you face in making yours?

COLIN:

66 flights through 22 countries, some 16,000 miles, all totally unsupported. We crossed oceans, mountains, deserts, swamp land, stormy skies, snow, rain, thunder, heat. Every type of weather the world wanted to throw at us. But we new this would not be easy.

ATFF:

Is there anything that you would like audiences to take away from your film?

COLIN:

Most adventure films are made by film makers who had to make up an adventure. Our adventure film is made by adventurers who had to make up a film.

ATFF:

We have lots of people come to the festival who aspire to future film makers. Do you have any advice?

COLIN:

Don’t let the filming get in the way of your adventure. Your experiences are far more important than any film can be.

ATFF:

Are you coming to this years festival? How can audiences find out more and connect with you?

COLIN:

Come see the actual aircraft we took to Australia! We are bringing it along to the London 2018 festival for you all to see…

ATFF:

Thanks, we can’t wait to share the films this year!

More films: