Life on a Wing and a Prayer
by Peter G. Dickens
“What did you do in the war, daddy, how did you help us to win?
Loops, circuits and bumps, laddie, and how to get out of a spin?”
—Douglas Glen Dickens, author’s father
This pilot-turned-author has a rich panoply of stories to share in his memoir of a life spent plying the skies in a wide variety of aircraft. Peter G. Dickens’ lifelong practice of maintaining detailed logbooks “which included date, aero type, captain and co-pilot, task and flight times” proved its worth throughout his career and no doubt also served as memory joggers when recalling trips and stories for his book.
Shortly after graduating high school in1963 Dickens entered the Royal Australian Air Force to begin flight training. The following year he moved onto advanced training passing his Wings Test in August, posting to become a jet fighter pilot which he achieved in January 1965 then assigned to a squadron from which the photos are sourced. After a trio of years with the squadron his next assignment was instructing others to fly in the Italian-made Macchi MB-326H jets produced under license in Australia. Next came flight instruction in the Avon Sabre CA-27, the Australian variant of North American’s F-86, redesigned and built by Commonwealth Aircraft Corp. Sabre’s are single-seaters so instructing entailed student and instructor each in his own aircraft, flying formation with one another.
Images in first section covering military experiences, middle left is a Sabre armed with Sidewinder missile on Alert status, bottom the squadron flight line. Facing page more squadron images.
Mid-year 1970 Dickens was offered an opportunity to attend the Empire Test Pilots’ School in the UK which is considered one of the top test pilot courses in the world. No surprise, reading his recollections of testing and flying over a dozen different aircraft, including an aerobatic performance at the 1975 Paris Air Show, makes for page-turning reading. Soon after, circumstances led Dickens “to realise that the air force was not my choice for the future—the attitude of ‘Officer first, pilot second’ did not sit well with me. Nor was Qantas, where seniority vs ability was the rule.”
Second section tells of his ferrying service and experiences. These three views are of a Chinese Xi’an MA60 prototype.
Submitting his resignation, by mid-1976 Dickens found his way to the US to discover what his options might be there. One experience led to his forming his own company, an aircraft ferrying service he named Southern Cross Aviation, Inc. As clients hired Southern Cross, Dickens found there was no lack of “very experienced pilots with experience ranging from World War Two and Vietnam operations to Hollywood studio special effects” wanting to fly for his company. Tales and experiences of Southern Cross flights is the heart of Dickens’ book, and amazingly international involving deliveries all over and around the globe.
Two years in, another bought into ownership of Southern Cross making it a partnership. Later Southern Cross became a “worldwide” company when joined with Southern Cross International based in the Netherlands. Over the years the statistics become rather impressive—something in excess of 140 different types of aircraft flown including ferrying Airbus 320s and flights taking the company, often with Dickens himself, between in excess of 130 different countries.
Who wouldn’t jump at a chance to fly a Constellation? Images below are a Cessna Caravan C208 and De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter.
You’ll read how aircraft with limited range such as Cessna 172s or comparable Pipers were outfitted with additional fuel tank systems (in their cabins) that were removed at destination just prior to delivering to client. And surprisingly even with the client paying costs of these mods, plus pilot and landing fees, etc that was a more economical method of transporting than disassembly and crating of the aircraft for shipment on the seas.
Given the number of people Dickens has come to know all over and around the globe there are likely many among them who would enjoy reading his memoir just as there are aviation enthusiasts everywhere who will find his book interesting. Thus he would be the ideal self-publisher to have used a printer with POD capabilities and presses located in many lands. As it is, be aware that all purchases of Life on A Wing and A Prayer will incur shipping charges from Australia where Dickens resides in retirement.
Copyright 2026 Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)
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