Jon Johanson (born 1956 in Warburton, Victoria) is a world-record setting Australian aviator. He is well known for his pioneering flights in a home-built Van's Aircraft RV-4. Johanson is a qualified nurse, midwife, carpenter and air-transport pilot.[1]
In 2003 he made the first solo flight in a single-engine home-built aircraft over the South Pole. Due to a lack of fuel he became stranded temporarily at the McMurdo-Scott base. [2] After a fuel donation by fellow adventurer Polly Vacher, he was able to fly on to Australia, via New Zealand.[3]
In 2004 Johanson was awarded the FAI Gold Air Medal by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI); it is one of the organisations highest awards. At the time he held 47 FAI world records.[4]
In 2004, Johanson was also named the Adventurer of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society.