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.
Industry Reviews
" I have had the privilege of having a preview reading and its a great story about the adventures and history of his Kombi "Miss October". Now this story is appealing to me as it about how a car becomes part of the family and moves countries with the family and how they enjoy many adventures together. So I will say if you like a bit of light reading and enjoy reading about the adventures of our fellow VW family this is a good bit of reading." Review from The VW Club Australia
Miss October is a 50-year-old VW Kombi. She’s a migrant to Australia: from Germany via the UK, and she’s beautiful. Miss October is the main character in ‘Two Up Down Under’, which also features her owner Jim Smith, his twin brother Ron, a selection of vintage aircraft and some amazing Australian scenery. Miss October’s story is an interesting one. Her fit out as a camper (with a Canterbury-Pitt camper conversion in 1967), followed by her restoration in 1994 and her emigration to Australia in 2002. Any VW aficionado will enjoy reading about Miss October (including how she came by that name). I enjoyed Jim Smith’s ‘Up Again’: his account of rediscovering the joys of flying. How fortunate that Jim came across an Internet offer of ‘half-price flying training’ just up the road (from Canberra) in Goulburn. But the heart of this book for me is Ron Smith’s ‘Two Up On The Road’ which is a delightful account of the trip he and Jim undertook in Miss October around the Canberra and Riverina regions of Australia. I’ve lived in the Canberra region for over forty years, and while I’m familiar with a number of the places Jim and Ron visited in Miss October, I’ve added a few more places to my ‘must visit’ list. I can’t finish this review without mentioning the photographs. The photographs bring each of the journeys to life. And if you have an interest in vintage airplanes and (or) vintage cars, many of these photographs will be of interest. A picture is definitely worth a thousand words! Note: My thanks to Jim Smith for providing me with an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. Jennifer Cameron-Smith
