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The planes are following the route plied by Imperial Airways,
a British commercial air transport company that linked Britain's
colonies in Africa.
The trip is expected to take 35 days and teams are representing
18 countries, including Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia,
South Africa, the United States and Britain.
They will travel through 10 nations such as Egypt, Botswana,
Zanzibar, Zimbabwe and Tanzania and make 37 stops en route
before finishing in Cape Town.
"Hopefully, we'll all get there and have a massive party when we
arrive," said Vintage Air Rally organizer Sam Rutherford.
The planes will make a stop at the Giza pyramids in Egypt, the
first time a group of aircraft have been allowed to land there
in 80 years.
The plane flown by Robert Redford in the Oscar-winning film "Out
of Africa", which he starred in with Meryl Streep, will join the
journey in Kenya.
Pilots will be challenged by weather conditions in open cockpits
and will sleep in deserts, under the wings of their planes in
tents and on riverboats on the Nile.
Seven modern planes and three helicopters will be flying next to
the group for support. The winner of the charity rally will
receive a "Crete2Cape" winning cup.
The oldest plane dates from 1928 and the aircraft, which can fly
as low as 150 meters (490 feet) above the ground, will pass
famous African landmarks such as Victoria Falls.
(Reporting by Deborah Kyvrikosaios; Editing by Helen Popper)
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