The flight marks the centenary of powered flight in Australia and aims to raise one million dollars for the fight against malaria. MAF is one of only two organisations that will benefit from online donations.
Ken Evers 33 and Tim Pryse 51, will depart from Bendigo Aerodrome in May bound for Norfolk Island. Ken and Tim attend local Baptist churches with their families.
They will continue their journey across the Pacific to California via Hawaii then on to Arizona and New Orleans. From there they will touch down to refuel in Jamaica and Barbados before heading south to Brazil, then due east across the Atlantic to Africa, on to India, Vietnam, the Philippines, PNG and back to Australia.
The history-making endeavour commemorates Australia's Centenary of Flight when the famous contortionist Harry Houdini conducted Australia's first controlled, powered flight at Digger's Rest outside Melbourne in March 1910. Houdini's efforts changed the landscape of flying in this country forever.
To mark the event and to raise awareness of the global impact of malaria in many countries, Ken and Tim will take off in a GA8-TC Airvan and cover a total of over 26,740 nautical miles in 230 flight hours. The eight-seat Airvan is manufactured by Gippsland Aeronautics in Morwell (Vic). Malaria is the world's most common infectious, mosquito-borne disease, claiming over a million lives annually. Most victims are those least able to afford preventative drugs or treatments.
The pilots hope to raise one million dollars in the fight against malaria by inviting donations online to two nominated charities - Mission Aviation Fellowship and the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and Pacific (AFAP).
People in many of the tropical and sub-tropical areas the pair will fly across suffer from malaria including Papua New Guinea where Ken Evers grew up as a teenager and was deeply impacted by the Work of MAF.
"MAF pilots are my heroes"
"For me, MAF was the epitome of aviation. MAF pilots are my heroes," he said.
"Living in PNG and watching the work of MAF taught me the lesson that you can use the gifts you have been given to do the right thing. And of course in the case of MAF it is using the gift of flight to help people.
"I watched what MAF did in PNG. I saw my friend's life saved (by a MAF flight) and now I want to offer my support. I think MAF is such an unsung group. People fail to see that MAF is saving countless lives every year. "
Ken said he was determined to join the global battle against malaria after seeing the effects of it in Papua New Guinea.
"After personally seeing people suffer and die from malaria it is simply impossible not to become passionate about taking action against the disease," he said.
"I was frustrated at my inability to do anything about it so when this idea came up and the potential for making it happen became a reality, I pursued it wholeheartedly.
"This is my chance to finally take some action."
For further details about Ken and Tim's epic journey and an opportunity to donate online to MAF, go to www.millionsagainstmalaria.com