Warbirds

Australian warbird enthusiasts will no doubt mourn the loss of the Spitfire as there are all too few of the type in this country.

It is most probable that the new buyer will rebuild the aircraft to airworthy condition and it may yet take to the skies again but not in Australia.

Chipmunk Imports

Four DHC-1 Chipmunks have recently been imported. The aircraft, which are not totally complete, have come from Thailand and were imported by Warbird Man, Col Pay of Scone, NSW.

It is reported that Ray Windred of Dungog, NSW, will do the rebuilding of at least some of the Chipmunks and parts are now being obtained and the DH Gipsy Major 10 engines overhauled.

One of the finished aircraft will probably be put back into Thai Air Force markings and as such will be a colourful entry on the local flying scene.

Berwick Aerodrome to Close

It has been reported that Casey Field Aerodrome at Berwick, on the Eastern outskirts of Melbourne, Vic. is to close.

It is understood that the property is being sold to land developers for approximately $1. 4 million and that the aerodrome has a minimum life of 18 months and possibly up to 4 years depending on the requirements of the new owners.

The now picturesque aerodrome is the home base to a number of antique aircraft and it is quite normal for several fabric-covered machines to fly in on any one day.

Berwick was once a township out of Melbourne but the last few years has seen a gradual encroachment of the aerodrome by housing development particularly since improvements were made to the nearby rail line. The aerodrome is named after the late Lord Casey who lived at Berwick and travelled to Canberra where he was a member of the Federal Parliament. Lord Casey used the grass airstrip to fly to Canberra using such aircraft as a Vega Gull, Fairchild F24R, Miles Messenger and Cessna 180, all of which he owned over the years.

The aerodrome is the closest to Moorabbin Airport and its closure will create problems, particularly for VFR aircraft unable to land at Moorabbin due to weather, light or no radio.

MT Isa P39 Airacobra Rebuild

At Mt. Isa in Queensland a rare Bell P-39F Airacobra is being rebuilt to static display condition.

On May 1st, 1942, six of the P-39s were on a flight to New Guinea when they lost their way and crashed or force-landed in the Oxford Bay area of Cape York.

Years later two of the aircraft were recovered. One P-39D, USAAC sin 41-6951, is now displayed at Sid Beck’s Townsville Museum while another, P-39F, USAAC sin 41-7215 was transported with great difficulty to Cairns in August 1972. Later it was again on the move, this time to Mt. Isa. Here a small group, including RFDS pilot Nick Watling and DofA Flight Service officer Ian Mullins, have been rebuilding the fighter over the last 14 years. The aircraft required not only repair work from the forced landing but also when ordinance demolition damage was suffered in November 1971.

To date the complete rear fuselage and tail assembly have been restored to as new condition and the engine stripped and rebuilt. While there is a lot of work to be done yet the P-39 is on the road to being a fitting reminder of the aircraft that saved Australia during WWII.

As a footnote, it is understood that the group have made contact with the pilot who originally force-landed the machine, former USAAF Major H. W. Harvey of Hartsville, South Carolina, USA, who follows their progress with keen interest.

Dh Dove to Qld Air Museum

The Queensland Air Museum (QAM) has obtained DH104 Mk. 1 Dove, VH-DSM, for its Caloundra-based Air Museum.

The Dove is currently stored at Evans Head, NSW and will be trucked north to Caloundra. Built in 1948 the aircraft has a colourful history having seen service in Africa and New Guinea before coming to Australia. Following its arrival here in 1954 it has been operated by at least eight companies. Over the years it has carried registration markings VP-KEJ, VH-MAL, VH-AWE, VH-GVE, VH-BCB and VH-DSM.

A good number of DH Doves came to Australia but few are to be seen these days. With the display of VH-DSM, the QAM will correct this situation and further expand their aircraft collection at Caloundra Airport.

In recording the history of their Dove, the QAM advise that they have almost no photos of the machine in its earlier days and ask if readers have photos or negatives or even notes about the use of the aircraft, could they please contact the Museum: QAM, GPO Box 2315, Brisbane, OLD 4001.

Sopwith Pup Project

Not content with several warbird projects including a Winjeel and Kittyhawk, ardent rebuilder and restorer, Nelson Wilson of Wandin, Vic. is gradually obtaining the parts and materials needed to build a replica WWI Sopwith Pup.

Nelson has been obtaining parts for a number of years and has even managed to acquire a 100hp Le Rhone rotary engine. Unfortunately, the engine is not complete and Nelson asks for help in obtaining the following parts: prop hub, a cylinder and a set of conrods-small, medium and long. Can any reader help? N Wilson, Ph (059) 64-4774.

Ca-28 Ceres Donated to Drage Airworld

At Wangaratta, Vic. the Drage Airworld Air Museum continues to expand with the recent addition of a donated CA-28 Ceres agricultural aircraft.

The Ceres, VH-SSY, was one of twenty of the type built by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Melbourne during the 1950s. The design used a large number of CAC Wirraway components. Three Ceres are_§till flying. Powered by a 600hp P&W radial engine the machine can carry a ton of superphosphate. The Ceres has never had a pilot fatality, a tribute to the design and strength of the type, over some 27 years of operation.

Ceres VH-SSY was donated by Mr Jack Tully, a fruit grower and commercial pilot who purchased the aircraft 18 months ago.

West Australian Vampires

There has been some movement of former RAAF T. 35 Vampires around Perth in recent months.

Vampire A79-620 has been displayed outside Claremont Air Training Corps, on Perth’s busy Stirling Highway, for the past 15 years but recently the aircraft was moved across town to the Belmont ATC.

Meanwhile at Belmont ATC, Vampire A79-606 along with A79-664 at Fremantle ATC have both been sold by tender for a total of $4800 (no engines) to Alan Neal Autos of Perth. The two weather-beaten airframes will be combined to make up a single Vampire to be pole-mounted in the front yard of Alan Neal Autos at Midland.

On the other side of the country, at Blacksmiths, south of Newcastle, Vampire T. 35 A79-608, ex No. 16 Flight ATC, has been purchased by Melbourne Warbird enthusiast, Nigel Apperly. The machine will be stored pending a decision on its future.

Another Kittyhawk Saved

While Melbourne and Scone are the locations of Kittyhawk proiects that are not too distant from being airborne another, but long term, project has come to light at Townsville in Queensland.

Local buff Keith Hopper has managed to salvage the remains of Kittyhawk A29-462 from an old air gunnery range near Townsville. The aircraft entered RAAF service in late 1943 and was written off following an engine failure and forced landing on Rattlesnake Island on April 7th 1943.

Keith is the first to admit that what he has will mostly be used as pattern material however, as others have proved, flyable aircraft have been rebuilt or re-manufactured from even less. Already he has obtained from the USA and is working through local firm, Rundle Air Services, on the rebuild.

Keith asks for any and all help in obtaining P-40 parts of all kinds and in particular an Allison engine suitable for a Kittyhawk. A long-term project but a worthwhile one. Contact Keith Hopper, Ph: (077) 72-1787 (ah).

In Brief

• The replica Southern Cross being built at Parafield Airport, Adelaide, SA is almost looking like a real aircraft at last-the wing is now in position, a couple of engines fitted and the fuselage fabric painted blue. Although this project has had a number of stops and starts since it was commenced we may yet see it in the air in 1987!

• A new museum on the highway near Dubbo, NSW, has recently received a Lockheed Neptune that was previously on display at Ryan’s Shepparton Military Museum. With the Neptune is a DH Vampire in a camouflage colour scheme.

• At Canberra, ACT, the Australian Society of Aero-Historical Preservation is restoring the WWI DH-9 ‘PD’ for eventual display in the Australian War Memorial. The Siddeley Puma engine in the aircraft lacks both magnetos and the ASAP asks can any reader help with finding a replacement pair. Contact ASAP, c/o Mr R. Cowley of the AWM, Canberra.

• In Brisbane, Old. , Transcorp P/L is reported to have imported a Stearman Biplane from the Phillipines in order to provide a mount for adventurer Hans Tholstrop to enter the March 1987 Singapore to Christchurch air race. What an adventure!

Correction

A writer’s pen sometimes slips. In the last issue of Warbirds the paragraph entitled First Flights noted that Wirraway A20-722 (VH-WIR) had just flown. This of course should have read A20-652.