Two Top Tours

The tour includes such highlights as the Farnborough Air Show, the Hendon RAF Museum, a visit to Biggleswade to see the unique Shuttleworth Collection, to Duxford to inspect the Imperial War Museum, Lincoln, Birmingham, Bristol, home of the famous Red Arrows crack flying display team, Bournemouth, Biggin Hill and of course London.

• A 22-day aviation enthusiast’s tour of the US West Coast area and Hawaii is being organised by Mike Clayton who is widely known for his Douglas DC3 aircraft charters out of Sydney.

Leaving Sydney on October 7, fly direct to Los Angeles and then take in several days in the area visiting military and civil airports, bases, airfields museums and factories including McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed plus American Gulfstream and the premier USAF Base, Edwards. At Chino, Ed Mahoney’s “Planes of Fame” museum will get a good looking over.

By coach up the scenic inland route to San Francisco taking in the many interesting airports and strips along the way including visits to some fire-bomber bases. At San Francisco, visits to both the major airports plus the premier USN Air Base of Alameda. In both Los Angeles and San Francisco, the tour party will have some spare days for tour members to pursue alternative interests. From San Francisco, the tour takes to the air for a Convair 580 flight to Lake Tahoe followed by a scenic drive to Reno for a night stopover.

By Delta DC8-60 series airliner to Las Vegas where the tour party is scheduled to take a Ford Tri-Motor flight. If the weather prevents this, then the luxury of Scenic Airlines Cessna Titans will have to suffice. Late on the second day of the Las Vegas stopover, the party will fly out to Phoenix in a Hughes Air West DC9. Mesa Falcon Field is the big attraction of the Phoenix area as well as a USAF base tour. By coach, southward to Tucson, with a night stop at famed Marana Airport on the way. Once at Tucson, the tour will visit the mammoth USAF aircraft stockpile at Davis Monthan Air Force Base as well as the nearby Pima County Air Museum.

To the air again in a Continental Airlines 727 for the repositioning of the tour party in Los Angeles. Next morning, a domestic flight by Northwest Orient Airlines 747 to Hawaii (Honolulu). At Hawaii, the International Airport and the Hickam Air Force base will give all enough to do, or any tour member wishing to do so could take one of the famed Beech 18 Island tours. Pan Am 747 will fly the party back to Sydney. Currently, the tour price, without meals, passports and visas, but all other expenses included (subject to final confirmation) should be around $2195. 00. However, this price has been estimated at 1980 prices but due to the oil price rises, the tour price could also rise. It is thought that $2500 (Australian) should see the average person through the tour including food and sufficient rolls of film. Mike Clayton will be on the tour and act as a secondary tour guide thus ensuring a personal interest in the aviation needs/requirements of most tour party members.