1987 Warbirds Register

In both cases the numbers have almost doubled and further increases can be expected.

It is of interest that 11 Australian-designed and built Winjeels are now flying and interest in Wirraways and Boomerangs has also increased.

Could this be national spirit or just local availability of aircraft and components? Also of note is that the first civil jet fighter warbird, Vampire VH-ICP/A79-649, is flying and more will follow.

Another interesting point is the planned rebuilding and flying of a WWII Japanese single-engine fighter, a Nakajima Ki-43 ‘Oscar’, by warbird owner and pilot Col Pay of Scone, NSW.

A very few years ago even the mere thought of this possibility would have been undreamed of and yet Col Pay is the man who, with engineer John Delaney, put a Spitfire back into the air.

Given these projects alone, one can only speculate as to what the future will bring for warbird type aircraft.

With this 1987 Warbirds Register, it is best to note several points.

The first is that the Boeing Stearman biplane trainers have been excluded.

They were noted in the 1984 Register.

It is felt that if the Stearmans were included so should the 135 Tiger Moths, the ex RAF Chipmunks as well as such others as the Ryans, both STM and PT22 models, the Piper L4’s, DH94 Moth Minor and other types, including the DC-3/C-47’s that had seen military service.

Of the exclusions above some of these will be listed periodically in our regular warbirds column.

The second point to note is that the register does not cover static museum aircraft or aircraft destined for museums.

It is basically a listing of aircraft that saw military service including some post-WWII aircraft, that can be described as heavy metal and are flying or have a reasonable chance of being rebuilt to do so.

Safety

From a safety point of view the operation of warbird-type aircraft would appear to be good, so far.

This is not to say that the maintenance and operation of these types of machines cannot be improved.

To date the only accident of note has been when the automatic oil cooler control on the Sea Fury being flown by Guido Zuccoli failed to operate and the end result was a gear-up forced landing.

The aircraft is now back in the air.

The operation of warbirds has not been entirely without incident.

While no one stands up and announces this is, one hears reports of various incidents such as propeller blades being clipped during a full power run-up, the fact that the B-25 has had two engine changes and at a major airshow a high performance warbird had a takeoff aborted, resulting in an overrun and controlled ground loop, followed later on by a brief but total loss of power after lift off; both attributed to an engine problem.

Quite obviously there have been other incidents but to the credit of the warbird operators they can rightly say that over the same period there has been many a general aviation type aircraft bent or written off with a lot less fanfare.

There can be no doubt that the Department of Aviation is keeping a very close eye on the safety and operation of warbirds and indeed all ANR.108A aircraft.

Should there be any incidents or accidents to these types you can be assured that any follow up action will be more restrictive rather than a loosening of the reins.

Problems, Problems

In every area of human endeavour problems arise and the warbird movement is no exception.

The greatest problem facing the warbird operator is probably summed up under costs.

Warbirds were designed to be operated to achieve a performance level and the cost of fuel was of little or no concern.

For the civilian operator of a warbird, it is almost the reverse situation and with the current cost of aircraft fuel you could be looking at around $45 per hour just to feed the P&W R985 radial engine in a Winjeel.

Other costs are fixed maintenance, unscheduled maintenance, spares; the likes of which are not becoming easier to obtain, Government charges; Air Nav and Airport costs, hangarage and miscellaneous charges.

All of this for an aircraft that cannot be used commercially and in theory is limited to some 30 hours flying per year.

The ideal way to lower the level of the outgoing expenses is to have someone else pay the bill and to this end warbird operators are usually keen to attend airshows and similar events.

The ultimate solution would be to have a full-time sponsor but as they would require something in return, usually advertising, this then crosses into that grey area of flying commercially for hire or reward.

In the USA legally recognised aero museums can operate aircraft and donations made to the museum are tax deductible.

Such, unfortunately, is not the case here in Australia. When ANR.

108A was introduced the first warbirds to be operated were ex-New Zealand Air Force T-6 Harvards quickly followed by locally built ex-RAAF Winjeels.

Today these two types are still the most plentiful warbirds in operation in Australia.

As the warbird movement started to pick up pace a small number of warbird aircraft were imported, however in the last two years the imports have almost stopped.

This stoppage has been caused by a number of reasons and include rising sale prices as awareness and appreciation of warbirds grows overseas, the devastating effect of the slide of the Australian dollar and hence the more one has to pay to buy an overseas aircraft.

Even when an aircraft is imported, Government charges imposed on them once again increase the bottom line to an extraordinary figure, especially when one considers that warbirds cannot be used commercially and are restricted as to how much and what sort of flying they can do.

Though they are expensive to operate, a prime condition warbird has proven a ‘solid gold’ investment in recent years as resale prices have soared.

Of Imports & Exports

Australia is indeed fortunate to have acquired a number of ex-Iraqi Air Force Hawker Fury fighters. Modified to Sea Fury standards, the big radial-engined warbirds are a favourite at any airshow. This excellent example belongs to Bruce Andrews of Victoria. (right) One of two Lockheed Hudson aircraft of the expansive Malcolm Long collection. This aircraft is based at the excellent Drage Air World facility at Wangaratta, Vic. (Dave Prossor)

In the late 1960’s and there was quite a flow of historic aircraft exported out of the country.

This flow eventually slowed almost to a stop and now permission is required to be obtained and not always granted, if the export of an historic aircraft or warbird is contemplated.

As if to make up for the aircraft exported, the last few years has seen a number of historic aircraft types, including warbirds, imported into Australia.

Of these imports probably the most notable are the T-6 Harvard/Texans, the Sea Furys and the AWM B-25 Mitchell.

Comment has been made both for and against this situation of no exports but welcoming imports.

Some people have said that the imports simply make up for the lost exports while others say the market should be allowed to freely import or export with the view that what you lose (to overseas) can be made up by imports and that either way the machine goes to an owner that wants the aircraft, will look after it and one way or another is saving the machine rather than letting it languish.

At the present time the rate of exchange for the Australian dollar goes against this argument.

It is of note that a good deal of the criticism of the restrictions on the export of historic aircraft from Australia, comes from England, often by people who are enthusiasts rather than potential owners or operators.

The past year has seen a number of UK historic type aircraft departing to new owners overseas resulting in cries of ‘another one lost’.

It is of note that the UK is also a significant warbird importer.

Perhaps the only adverse comment about the import/export aspect is that components and parts have been exported while at the same time there are re-builders in this country who vitally need those very items and futhermore the exporter was aware of that situation.

Airshows

Airshows come and go and while no self-respecting airshow organizer today would dream of holding a successful event without the inclusion of at least one warbird there has been only one airshow exclusive to warbirds.

That event has now been held twice at Scone, NSW, the home base of warbird pilot and owner, Col Pay.

Should the event continue and there is no reason to suppose it will not, it will become somewhat of a Mecca that keen warbird enthusiasts will want to attend.

Organizations

In both America and the UK there are various organizations claiming to be THE organization looking after warbirds in that country.

While the motives and aims of ‘one voice, unity and helping to keep the warbirds flying’ are the reasons most often put forward for the existence of these organizations, behind the scenes there is often a power struggle as individuals of one or more of the organizations seeks to dominate the warbird scene, sometimes for no other reason than wanting to impose their will on others in order to bask in the limelight.

In Australia there are a number of sport-flying organizations, however, only two rate prominence in fhe warbird area.

The first is the Australian Wing of the Confederate Air Force.

The CAF is an American organization with overseas branches or Wings in both the UK and Australia.

The CAF (Aust) was the first organization staking claim to the local warbird scene but in the last year or two has slipped from sight.

This could be due to a lack of an effective publicity machine but it is a fact that the CAF does not appear to be such a driving force as it claimed to be several years ago.

It would also appear that Australians, as a general rule, do not go in for the wearing of uniforms, becoming Colonels or being a local member of a foreign organization such as the CAF is The above are in part some of the reasons for the establishment of a new local warbird body, Warbirds of Australia.

Although the title Warbirds of Australia had been used for nearly ten years by a West Australian enthusiast and warbird re-builder, the Warbirds of Australia organization burst onto the local scene early in 1986 as a collection of pilots, owners and operators of warbirds who intended to kick off with a series of warbird airshows up and down the east coast.

To date these airshows have not taken place.

Reasons have not been stated but it is speculated that legal incorporation, indemnity and the sharing of the proceeds of such events have all been stumbling blocks that have arisen in the path of the Warbirds of Australia.

If the WofA is to continue as a viable identity it will have to overcome the problems in front of it and do what it claims it can. One other problem that WofA will need to address is that membership is only open to pilots, owners and operators of warbirds. The enthusiast is not eligible for associate membership and yet it is these very people who are the reason for the existence of the warbird movement.

Guide to Status of Aircraft Listed

F = Flying S = Stored U/R = Under Restoration SPA = Stored Pending Restoration

The left hand column shows the Australian Civil Registration where issued. A registration in brackets is a reserved marking. The second column is the (major) previous identity, if known.

Please note that this register lists only warbird aircraft that are presently flying or are seriously under restoration to flyable status. Permanently static exhibits are not listed.