1931 Mati, Davao to Ormoc, Leyte First Flight
By Francis Chichester
On His Solo Round the World Flight Leg
In 1931, Francis Chichester became the first man to fly solo across the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia. He then embarked on a round-the-world solo flight and proceeded as far as Japan (via Philippines and China), but crashed at Katsuura, damaging the plane beyond repair. Cover addressed to Iloilo carried on Mati to Ormoc stage, with proper cachet and confirming Ormoc cancel on reverse (July 13), also Iloilo receiver (July 19). 105 covers were carried;  these are far more elusive than popular Chichester-signed covers flown to Japan. Chichester's flights of 1931 had earned him the prestigious Johnson Trophy, As for the plans for circumnavigating the globe solo, these were postponed, but not forgotten. 30+ years later, Francis Chichester became the first man to sail alone around the world. His Gypsy Moth IV yacht was named after his old DH Moth plane. 

This cover is more elusive than the signed crash covers. If 105 were really flown where are the rest. This cover is seldomly offered in auctions and personally I have handled and seen less than 10 of them. The David G. Chiong flight cover hoard did not have a duplicate.