Warbirds

Formerly BuAer serial 145921 the Neptune is a late production model built around 1960. It went into long-term storage at Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, USA, on December 6th, 1974. For the 8 months before the transpacific flight the aircraft was being worked on to bring it up to ferry standard following the Neptune being acquired by Theo Valerio, who was previously connected with Boeing 727 Freighter VH-LAP as Bloodstock Air Services.

It is understood that the intention is to keep the machine on the US register and over the next year turn it into a firebombing tanker like the aircraft of the firm Aero Union but be able to do freelance firebombing worldwide as required. The Neptune was chosen as less expensive to operate than other large aircraft types already in the firebombing role.

At least two more Neptunes are due to arrive and be sister tankers with N54317. At first it was proposed that a hangar be built at Perth Airport; however, due to some problems there, a move to Beverley Airport is now planned.

. In addition to the WA Neptune there is already VH-IOY/ A89-273 based out of Camden, NSW. Owned by Bob De La Hunty, this Neptune is to be joined by another, this one coming from French Tahiti. The French Aeronavale had used Neptunes in the South Pacific for a number of years and has now phased them out of service. The Aeronavale aircraft for Bob De La Hunty is the airworthy one of three of the type at Tahiti.

South Pacific ferry flying will not be new to Bob as he joined N54317 half way across the Pacific to ferry it to Perth. With two Neptunes at Sydney it will hopefully now be possible to have two of the type perform at Air Shows together.

In Brisbane a group led by Steve Forest is understood to have the former Chewing Gutn Field Neptune, A89-281, in the Brisbane Valley and are working on it to bring it back up to airworthy condition so that it too may join the other former patrol bombers in Australian skies.

In addition to the above Neptunes, another seven of the machines are scattered up the east coast on static display.

Trojans Arrive

Late November saw the arrival of the first batch of former Laotian Air Force North American T-28D Trojans at Bankstown, NSW, to be unpacked prior to rebuild work commencing. December, likewise, saw a repeat exercise take place at Essendon when four T-28Ds arrived to be unpacked at the Airepair hangar.

Initial indications are that most if not all the aircraft require some rebuild work before going back in the air. The import of the Trojans can only be looked at as a great coup for Col Pay and the local warbird scene. Never before has such a large number of warbirds arrived en masse to boost the local warbird scene. All readers will no doubt wait with keen interest to see the machines back in the air.

Of the known owners ever keen Randel McFarlane in Queensland has already reserved a registration for his T-28D; VH-XVT.

Moorabbin Air Museum Opens New Building

Sunday April 9th, 1989, will be the day that the Moorabbin Air Museum holds a formal opening ceremony for the Museums’ new display hangar.

Situated at Moorabbin Airport, Vic. , the MAM is the operating name of the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group. The AARG is one of the oldest privately administered aviation museums in the world but has been without an aircraft display building until now. The sale of a Wirraway in 1988 assisted in creating funds for the construction of the new building. The museum, however, still holds a Wirraway, A20-10, and this along with the following aircraft will be on display: Wackett Trainer A3-22, Fairey Firefly WD827, Gipsy Moth VH-UKV, Percival Proctor VH-AUC, DH Sea Venom WZ901 and Bristol Sycamore A91-1.

The Guild of Aviation Artists will also hold their first major exhibition at the museum to coincide with the opening ceremony. The opening of the display building will no doubt advance the preservation work of the museum and allow it to display other items of aviation memorabilia that until now could not be put on public display.

Second Spitfire Flvs

At Toowoomba, Qld in late September, Spitfire Mk. XVI, VH-XDI, was finally completed and flown by Jim Czerwinski. Previously TE384, the Spitfire took some six years to rebuild, such was the amount of work required and not forgetting that Spitfire parts are not nowadays normal items on the shelf of the local aircraft parts store.

It has however been reported that a main engine bearing turned during the test flight resulting in engine problems and that the machine is now pending more spanner work.

Vampire Imports

Having just recovered from the import of a Neptune and a squadron of T-28 Trojans, the local warbird movement was surprised to learn that no less than seven DH Vampires had been imported from Zimbabwe, Africa.

Originally supplied to the Rhodesian Air Force the machines, two DH115 T. 11 Vampire trainers and five FB Mk. 9 Vampires, became part of the Zimbabwe Air Force when the white Government was forced to hand over power.

Led by local airline Captain, Ray Vuillermin of Melbourne, a group was formed to purchase and import the jets following their discovery by Ray during a 1988 visit to Africa.

Now stored dismantled on the Mornington Peninsula, the T. 11s have now flown for three years but, Ray advises, are basically airworthy. The FB 9s have not flown for some 9 years and are said to only require minor work to also be airworthy. In addition to the actual aircraft eight containers of support spares were also brought in including 17 spare Goblin engines. When first inspected, one of the Vampires was judged as possible to be started and taxied there and then, such was its condition.

The two seat T. 11 s came from the New Sarum Air Force base on the military side of Harare Airport while the FB 9s came from Thorn Hill near Gwelo in central Zimbabwe. Serial numbers for the machines are understood to be R4221 and R2424 tot the T. 11s and R1835, R1378, R1829, R1382 and R8128 for the FB 9s.

At this stage Ray indicates that the intention is probably to get a single and a two seater in the air as soon as possible. The jets are for sale and already there have been serious enquiries for the camouflaged machines. Ever the keen aviator, Ray Vuillermin said when interviewed that he would be pleased if one each was left for him to be involved with.

It seems ironic that not many years ago a number of surplus RAAF T. 35 Vampires were exported to the USA because departmental regulations then would not allow their operation here. Now the type is being imported.

Tax and Duty Update

Following the item in the November Warbirds, regarding Sales Tax and Customs Duty, reader John Currie of Dean Management Services Pty Ltd, Customs Agents, of Tullamarine Airport. Vic has advised that the Customs Duty fee of 2% (not 2%) on imported aircraft is no longer applicable and that the fee was dropped early in 1988.

With regard to the deleting of the 20% sales tax previously applied to imported aircraft, it has now been clarified that aircraft spare parts are also exempt.

The Nam and Parliament House

Act One: A few years ago the subject of the National Aviation Museum was common place discussion in the aviation scene. Where was it to be located? When would construction start? Where would exhibits come from? These were the questions that were being asked along with the key question; who would fund the project? Suddenly there was silence and still is as to all intents and purposes. The NAM project died a natural death as Government, Federal and State alike, could not see their way clear to fund such a project in times of a tough economy.

Act Two: Mid 1988 and the new Federal Parliament building was formally opened at Canberra.

The building, overlooking Lake Burley Griffin, can be described as magnificent and truly fitting the seat of Government of this young and vibrant nation of ours.

This then left one problem. What to do with the old Parliament House? Recently it was reported that the Federal Government is considering turning the old building into a-wait for it-Political Science museum. A place where the masses and others could come to see exhibits and displays about the history and how the due process of Government takes place in this country. And the figure mentioned as needed to outfit the building for its proposed new task; $40 to $50 million! Now the points that we wish to make are twofold. One-which project has been in the pipeline longer? and Two – which museum is likely to attract a greater interest from both Australians and those overseas tourists that the Government is always talking about? There are major Government Art Galleries in each state but as yet there is not a Government Museum to cater for those with an interest in the history and technology of aviation in Australia.

Now is the time to do something about NAM and not again put it on a back burner while a Political Science Museum is brought to the fore and uses those funds that cannot be found to build a NAM.

Fairey Fireflys the Ran Survivors

From the first flight on December 22nd, 1941 through to 1955 some 1702 Fairey Fireflys of various marks were built.

The Royal Australian Navy took 108 on strength and as a result of the last of these machines being paid off relatively recently in the mid 1960s, former RAN Fireflys now make up nine of the 14 odd aircraft of the type surviving worldwide today.

Here in Australia there are four Fireflys on static display plus the RAN Historic Flight machine VH-NVU (WD826) which has been seen flying at a number of Air Shows since it was put back into the air on October 4th, 1986 following 21 years of static display.

In addition to the above there is also the basically intact remains of Mike Wansey’s Firefly VH-HMW (ex WD828) which crash landed near Camden, NSW, on December 12th 1987 following engine failure. After the accident the machine was removed to the RAN Naval Aviation Museum at Nowra, NSW, where, now standing on the undercarriage, it awaits a decision on its future.

Below is a listing of the Australian Fireflys and their owners: VX388 Camden Aviation Museum, Narellan, NSW. WB518 RSL Club, Griffith, NSW.

WD827 Moorabbin Air Museum, Moorabbin Airport, Vic. WJ109 RAN Naval Aviation Museum, Nowra, NSW. VH-NVU (WD826) RAN Historic Flight, Nowra, NSW. VH-HMW (WD828) Mike Wansey, Newcastle, NSW. The Griffith Firefly is mounted on a pole outside the RSL Club and is quite imposing.

Overseas, former RAN Fireflys are in the UK, Canada and the USA.

In the UK, Firefly WB271 now flies with the RN Historic Flight based at RN Air Station Yeovilton. Following RAN service the machine was put up for disposal in 1966 and eventually purchased for £160 by the Officers of the RN carrier HMS Victorious which was visiting Sydney. Given to the RN FAA Museum, restoration work commenced in 1972 and the machine again took to the air on September 21st of that year.

Another quite well travelled Firefly is WD833, a model AS. 6. After disposal in 1956 this machine remained for many years in a paddock in the outer Melbourne suburb of Notting Hill. Passing through the hands of a number of owners by 1975, it has eventu ally ended up in the Strathallan Collection in the UK.

Later rationalisation plans by Strathallan saw several aircraft which were needing rebuild work, including WD833, sold off and the machine continued its travels, this time to the USA where it is understood it remains today, still unairworthy.

Canada at one stage operated Fireflys and, as a result of this, a group calling itself Canadian Warplane Heritage (CWH) was started in 1971 when Dennis Bradley and Alan Ness purchased ex RAN Firefly WD901 in the USA and took it to Canada. Resto- red as a Mk. 5 but retaining the larger Mk. 6 engine it was painted up in RCN colours and flew registered as CF-BDH.

In 1977 the machine crashed into Lake Ontario while performing at the Toronto Air Show. The pilot Alan Ness was killed. The CWH decided to obtain a replacement aircraft and so, in 1979, managed to acquire another Firefly, WH632, in Australia. Shipped to Canada the aircraft was in storage for a number of years but at last report was under active rebuild to again take to the air, this time as C-GBDG.

DH60 – Loose One, Gain Two.

The end of December saw the last flight of DH60M VH-UNI when it was flown in the cargo hold of an RAAF C-130 from Mt Hope, in outback NSW, to Katherine, NT.

Built back in 1929 the Moth came to Australia and had several owners until purchased by a Dr Clyde Fenton and used on medical flights in the Northern Territory in the mid 1930s.

Fenton became a legend in his own time due to his concern for his patients and duels with the (then) Civil Aviation Department. VH-UNI eventually crashed and after a rebuild over many years found new owners. In 1952 Cliff Wright of Mt. Hope obtained the Moth and has been flying it up until the last few years when valve problems effectively grounded it.

Katherine MP Mike Reed started a fund and raised $100,000 to purchase the historic machine which is now to be displayed at Katherine in an airconditioned museum building as a memorial to the lives it helped save in the Territory and its pioneering work for the Flying Doctors.

Meanwhile, much further south, at Bendigo, Victoria, local Moth restorer, Les Penna, has completed and flown what is in effect a new DH60M, VH-ULP. According to CAA records Les rebuilt the Moth from parts of VH-ULP that had been impressed into RAAF service as A7-78 during the war and finally broken up for components. VH-ULP was put on the register on March 30th, 1988, The Moth, complete with a single long exhaust pipe, is reported to fly faster than a DH82 Tiger Moth.

Another Gipsy Moth is also reported to be back in the air. The DH60M VH-UQV has recently been restored at the Oaks, outside Sydney, NSW, by and for owners Max and Mike Honeysett, Many years ago the aircraft was owned by Mr Honeysett Snr. The aircraft then changed hands and looked like being quietly shipped out of the country by an English gentleman who seemed to have scant regard for the locals. The subject gentleman was also involved in efforts to ship a Mustang and the sole Me109 out of the country. At the last minute the exports were prevented. For a number of years the warbirds and the Moth were held in storage by the Australian Customs. During this time Mike Honeysett commenced negotiations to again get the Moth back with the family and finally succeeded. Much work was needed to cure the years of inadequate storage but at last report Mike had the machine back where it belongs in the air.

As for the Mustang and the Me109, well the Messerschmitt went to the Australian War Memorial and the Mustang ended up with the RAAF Museum at Point Cook, Vic.

Overseas: Preserved in Ice

Preserved in a time lock is one way of looking at a ghost squadron of six P-38s and two B-17s that have been located under 250 feet of ice in a remote area of Greenland.

The aircraft were being ferried from the USA to the UK via Greenland during WWII. After departing Greenland on July 15, 1942, the aircraft ran into communications and weather problems and eventually put down on the ice. Abandoned, the warplanes were soon covered by snow and ice.

Recently two Americans heard about the squadron and mounted a search for the aircraft. A low frequency radar eventually found the machines.

Following the recent success of digging out – and flying out – a C-130 buried for 16 years under Antarctic snow and ice, the two men who conducted the search, Pat Epps and Richard Taylor, are confident that if a corporate sponsor can be found to fund the recovery, at least two aircraft can be made airworthy on the spot and flown off the ice cap!

The Wacos Are Coming

You can pronounce it Way-co, Wack-o, Waar-co or even Wok-o but whichever way you will be doing it more often when the contents of a container, due from the USA about now, are unpacked in Sydney.

Not one but two Waco cabin biplanes are being imported for Australian owners. One machine, a model YKS-7, is reported to be for well known Sydney wood and fabric aircraft restorer, John Gallagher, who has found the demands of his trade do not leave him enough time to restore an aircraft for himself so he opted to obtain an antique that was ready to go. The registration VH-UKS has been reserved for this aircraft.

The second of the Wacos is for a Canberra based owner. A model HKS-7 (previously a model VKS-?F) this Waco, N31672, was built in October 1942 and was the 9th last off the production line before Waco ceased building civilian aircraft in favour of wartime machines and components.

Meanwhile, at Toowoomba, Qld, a Stearman and a Waco UPF-7 biplane recently arrived for WA owner Rob Poynton of Sea Fury fame. The UPF-7 is an open cockpit two seat machine that has more appealing lines than the Stearman.

For the record, three other Waco cabin biplanes exist in Australia. VH-UYD a model TKS-6 (see pie on p. 33 Nov 88 AA) is based up Broken Hill way, VH-AAF an EGC-8 has recently been restored at Coolangatta and ZK-ALA an UOC is being restored with components now at both Camden, NSW and Berwick, Vic. All three of the above are big and roomy cabin biplanes powered by radial engines and sporting fixed tailwheel type undercards.

Endorsements . . .

Obviously if you are reading this column you are appreciative of the older generation of aircraft, what they achieved and those people who lovingly spend much of their free time promoting the heritage of such aircraft. Consequently we would like to give two publications a ‘plug’ that they more than deserve.

One is the excellently produced Warbirds Worldwide, a high quality super glossy production which is produced quarterly and the other is Propliner. Certainly if your specific area of interest is in warbirds then WW is for you. Cost of an annual subscription is $42. 00 and is available from Warbirds Worldwide, 19 Highcliffe Ave, Shirebrook, Mansfield, Notts, NG20 8NB, UK.

Propliner probably needs little introduction as it has been around now for quite a few years. Dedicated to the history of all propeller-driven civil and military transport aircraft, Propliner is full of interesting stories of that long gone age of aviation that literally throbbed with the beat of the large Wright and Pratt pistons. Their latest edition (No. 36) even has a colour pie of the Connie that almost made it to Australia to fly the Qantas flag at ABAS. Propliner is also produced quarterly and is available for £12 per year from Propliner, ‘New Roots’ Sutton Green Rd, Sutton Green, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 ?QD, UK.

In Brief

• Laverton Air Force Base, Vic. saw an unusual set of acceleration races from a standing start take place on December 20th between a new $385,000 Bentley Turbo R Saloon, driven by Alan Hamilton, and Spitfire VH-HET flown by owner Col Pay. Arranged by prestige vehicle dealers, Hamiltons, to show off the new range of RRs and Bentleys, it was claimed that both the Bentley and the Spitfire had Rolls-Royce engines and leather seats but that similarities ended there. For the record the Spitfire won all three races!

• Since the T-6 Harvard listing in the January issue of Warbirds another of the type has entered the country. Displaying the RNZAF serial number NZ947 the golden yellow painted Harvard was formally handed over to RAAF Air Vice Marshal Alan Reed by the RNZAF at a special ceremony at Point Cook, Vic. on December 12th. The machine is now on display at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. As a side note, the museum’s other T-6, which as VH-SFY is now flown at displays, is formerly NZ1060 but in fact has NZ934 on the tail. It is probable that NZ947 on the new Harvard is not its correct serial number.