Warbirds

With c/n 15133 the model H-87A-2 Kittyhawk 1 was originally to go to the RAF as s/n AK752 but was transferred to the RCAF were it became s/n 1028. Following wartime service it was sold as surplus to a farmer who stripped it for what he could get out of it then reportedly buried it in his Alberta farm where it lay for 23 years!

Located and recovered by Kittyhawk enthusiast John R Paul the machine later went to Steve Seghetti in California who spent eight years on restoration work before Col Pay obtained it in 1984 and completed the rebuild work. Seghetti had the registration N96045 alloted to the Curtiss. This was eventually cancelled on December 4th. The Kittyhawk was listed to be on the program for the National Airshow at Ballarat on February 24/25 and no doubt former WWII Kittyhawk pilots will turn out to see and hear the machine at its first public showing.

While one Kittyhawk is in the air there are now five more in Australia that are also planned to be put back in the air. At Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Vic. Jack McDonald has Kittyhawk P-40E, A29-28, in a jig while it undergoes a rebuild. The aircraft was in the first batch to see action in PNG during WWII. Later it became a training aid at Mildura where the rear fuselage was removed. Obtained from the Mildura WarbirdsAir Museum a few years ago Jack is now engaged in an active rebuild project and is keen to hear from anyone who may have P-40 components that could assist him in his quest to put the historic machine back in the air.

The middle of January also saw the arrival of two basket case P-40F Kittyhawks from Vanuatu in the South Pacific. These aircraft, which were Merlin not Allison powered, are reported to have made force landings in 1944. The USAAF stripped the aircraft of what they could and left them – to be salvaged in 1990.

The P-40F model is rather unique in that it was Merlin V-1650 powered instead of the usual Allison engine. The difference can be picked in the lack of an air intake scoop on top of the cowl. Some 1300 of the P-40F, correctly known as the Warhawk, were built. The two just salvaged are the only ones known to survive.

One of the P-40Fs is owned by T-28 owner, Judy Pay of Tyabb, Vic and the other by warbird rebuilder Ian Whitney. A lot of rebuild work is required but as proven here and overseas it can be done.

Rag, Sticksand Wire

That is the title of an ABC Radio series on the social history of Australian aviation. The eight part series highlights the achievements of the Australian aviation industry during the past seventy years.

Produced by Bill Bunbury of the ABC Radio National’s Social History Unit in Per th the series runs from February 4 to March 25 on Sunday afternoons at 1. 30pm and again the following Thursday at 7. 30pm on ABC regional radio. Topics covered are Qantas in Longreach 1921-1930, An Airline goes Overseas, The achievements of Kingsford Smith and Ulm, The Flying Doctor Service begins, Flying Boats at Rose Bay 1938-39, Catalinas; Perth/ Columbo 1943-45, Aviation following the war; The start of mass travel and the impact of jet travel.

The series could almost be described as an aviation history book on the radio and should be well worth listening to.

Ballarat Aviation Museum

Situated in a hanger and attached display building at Ballarat Airport, Vic. the Museum has on show a small but interesting collection of aircraft and memorabilia.

The aircraft on display are the Demoiselle, a replica used in the film ‘Magnificent Men and their Flying Machines’, Wirraway A20-502, the all yellow Harvard VH-HVD/NZrn75, a Flying Flea homebuilt, Auster VH-ASZ, Vampire A79-840 and the Fokker Universal monoplane imported from Europe and rebuilt to represent VH-UTO of the early Ansett Airways. Also on display are the bare fuselages of Auster VH-GCV and a Gere Sport biplane. In the hanger Chipmunk VH-RSM ‘WB710’ is on show and like the Harvard is privately owned. Both are flown when not on display. Of particular note is the wooden mock-up of a proposed 1960’s era CAC tandem seated fighter bomber. The proposal was for the role ultimately won by the General Dynamics F-111 as an RAAF service aircraft. Carrying the marking AA-107 the mock-up is reported to have not been allocated a CAC design number. Consisting of a fuselage, tail and one wing the one sided mock-up is an interesting chapter in Australian aircraft design development.

In the Museum building are numerous exhibits, photos and displays. Open on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays between 1-5pm admission is $3 adults, $3 children or $7 for a family. The Museum is well worth visiting and due to being on the former WWII airport at Ballarat it presents an ideal venue for aviation enthusiasts to fly to during the weekend.

Bird Dogs and Dragonflies

While the major attention at Scone, NSW, may be that the Kittyhawk has finally flown, Col Pay has also been busy importing surplus military aircraft from Vietnam.

No less than 10 Cessna L-19 Bird Dog observation aircraft have been obtained and following a few adverts they were going fast. Based on the civil Cessna 170 design the L-19 had only two seats in tandem and was powered by the 220hp Continental 0-470. One of these machines has been obtained by former Australian Army pilot, Charlie Miller of Qld. The aircraft are reported to be in good condition in spite of the time they have been out of service.

Also at Scone are five CessnaA-37B Dragonfly ground attack aircraft. These side-by-side low wing jet aircraft are powered by two 2,850Ib thrust General Electric J85 turbojets. The aircraft have a gross weight of 12,000lb and a max speed of around 415 knots. Again the condition of the aircraft is reported as good and

The Auster Turns 50

1989 was the 50th anniversary since the TaylorcrafVAuster series of light aircraft first took to the skies of Great Britain. Over the years more than 200 Austers have come to Australia where they have been used for a wide ranging variety of tasks including military spotting, flying training, air ag work, aero club and private usage, aerial ambulances and even glider towing.

These days the 100 or so Austers on the civil register are treated to much TLC (tender loving care) by their enthusiastic owners while further Austers are in the process of being rebuilt.

Each year the Auster Squadron of the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia holds an Auster Rally and the 12th such Rally, held in November at St Arnaud, Vic attracted 34 of the breed – approximately a third of the Austers on the civil register. Aircraft attended from five states with the longest flight being made by Ern Clarke of Caboolture in Queensland. already three have been sold, one remaining and one to be retained by Col himself.

As the Dragonfly, as it is known, has not yet arrived in American warbird circles it would appear that the local movement has something unique in its midst. With Dragonflys and MiGs around what can the next month bring?

Dh. 88 Com E T Replica UND Reconstruction

A replica DH. 88 Comet (refer Jan 89 AA centrespread) is understood to be under construction in Melbourne for a film about the 1934 England to Australia Air Race.

The non flying replica is to represent the Comet G-ACSS ‘Grosvenor House’ that won the race. The actual aircraft was brought to Australia in 1985 for the 50th anniversary celebrations and shortly after its return to England its restoration was fully completed and it once again took to the air.

Gremlins also got the better of us in our January issue page 15 caption on the Comet centrespread. In the second paragraph it should naturally read that G-ACSS was flown by C W A Scott and Tom Campbell-Black rather than T Campbell flying our mythical ‘Black to Victory’. It’s amazing the havoc a simple substitution of a comma for a hyphen can do in the grand scheme of life!

Drover to Powerhouse Museum

A new acquisition for the Sydney Powerhouse Museum is an Australian built De Havilland Drover.

The purchase of the trimotor was formally announced at the Aviation Museums Conference by the Hon Peter Collins, the Minister for the Arts and Health.

The Drover, VH-FBC, a DHA-3 Mk3A, c/n 5019, arrived in Australia from New Zealand in 1988 as ZK-DDD. Based at Berwick, Vic. the aircraft took up Australian registration marks on 15/9/88 with Robert Youl of Mt Eliza, Vic as the owner. Powered by three Lycoming engines the machine had previously been registered in Australia as VH-CMA, VH-UNK and before that as VH-FDA with the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

An Antique and Classic Imports

The past few years has seen a constant flow of second-hand General Aviation type aircraft arriving from America. In amongst these aircraft there have also been a number of antique and classic type aircraft in addition to some warbirds.

Of the classics we are seeing aircraft such as Aeroncas, Luscombes, Cessna 120, 140 and 195s, Piper J3s and J5s, Stearmans and even a Waco and Ryan or two appearing. Of the bigger and older antiques a gull wing Stinson Reliant has just been imported by Rob Black and is now in Melbourne. One other Reliant is at Airworld Museum at Wangaratta, Vic. News has also been received that a Curtiss Robin high wing monoplane is being shipped to Australia. Built between 1928 and 1930 more than 700 Robins were produced, the first powered by a surplus WWI water cooled OX-5 V-8 engine.

The model B Robin being imported, N766M, is now powered by a Wright R540. With a wing span of 41 feet the Robin has three seats. Never considered to be overpowered the aircraft was a rugged type which probably explains why in excess of 50 are still flying more than half a century later. The owner of the Robin being imported is unknown but no doubt antique buffs will look forward to sighting the machine.

Perhaps the best known Robin was that flown by Douglas Corrigan across the Atlantic. Corrigan announced that he was going to make a non-stop flight from New York to California and return but ended up in Ireland. He received the name Wrong Way Corrigan as a result of the flight. Both Corrigan and the Robin survive to this day.

One Curtiss Robin came to Australia in 1928 and ended its days in a children’s playground in PNG in the late 1950s. This aircraft was VH-UJE, later to become VH-CSB.

Of Books and Films

A new aviation film to watch for is ‘Always’. Well known Director Steven Spielberg puts his ample talents to work in this film about an American Vietnam veteran flying Douglas A-26 Invader and Catalina aircraft on fire bombing work. Background filming took place over several fire seasons and the action built around these round engine powered aircraft is reported as just spectacular.

If you went to the fabulous Bicentennial Airshow at Richmond in October 1988 one book that you will want to obtain as a keepsm<e of the event is ‘The Australian Bicentennial Airshow’. Produced by the Chevron Publishing Group and edited by Stewart Wilson. The soft covered book has some 178 pages each filled with colour photos of the aircraft and action that made the Airshow the spectacle the it was. Priced at around $15 the book will be a lasting memory of what was probably the greatest Airshow that this country will ever see.

Sop with Pup Import

When Beaufighter rebuilder, Robert Greinert, was recently in the UK following up on the availability of Beaufighter parts he was presented with the opportunity to purchase two unique aircraft, which he did.

The first was the bare fuselage of an F2B Bristol Fighter of WW1 fame. A few years ago six of these fuselage frames were discovered in a loft in the UK. Four of the frames went to the RAF Museum.

The other machine was a Sopwith Pup replica. The Pup was one of two built a few years ago in the UK. On its first flight the pilot reportedly had an adjustment with the cockpit controls of the 80hp Le Rhone rotary engine. The engine quit and the Pup stalled in. The pilot was injured but lived to fly another day.

The forward fuselage of the machine is damaged but aircraft woodworker, John Gallagher, has inspected it and declared that he can rebuild what was an insurance write off into an airworthy aircraft.

One thing that didn’t come with the Pup was an 80hp Le Rhone rotary and Robert asks does anyone have such an engine that he can buy, lease, borrow or otherwise obtain in order to get the Pup into the air and let all Australians see and hear a true rotary powered aircraft.

In Brief

• A Newcastle firm, Austra Hi-Tech Pty. Ltd. has just completed a full sized static replica of Bert Hinkler’s Avro Avian. The replica, looking for all the world like the real thing, is to be displayed at a new ‘theme’ shopping centre at Cairns, Old. In 1928 Hinkler flew the original Avian, G-EBOV, from England to Australia. It is now on display at the Queensland Museum in South Brisbane.

• The former Ted Allen Sea Fury, VH-HFA, ‘Magnificient Obsession’ was bought by John McGuire of El Paso, Texas, USA, and now flies as N57JB. The Fury is much travelled having been built and flown in the UK. From there it went to Iraq for the IAF as s/n 253. Sold as surplus in 1979, it went to the USA where it was Allotted the registration N40SF. Sold, it continued travelling, this time to Australia where, following a rebuild, it became VH-HFA. Now it is back in the USA.

• A Winjeel Military Trainer group is to be formed amongst the owners of civil registered Winjeel Warbirds. The proposal came following discussions between Winjeel owners who were keen to have a low key one type Fly-In, like the anriual’AAAA Chipmunk and Auster gatherings. A first off Annual Fly-in was to take place at Donald, Vic. on the Australia Day weekend at which eight Winjeels were planning to attend.

• Two historic aircraft have recently been damaged. In the Brisbane area Winjeel VH-IOX owned by Bill McMongale was blown from its tie-downs during a storm in late December. The former Air Force trainer collided with another aircraft and suffered aileron, fuselage and tail damage. The second aircraft damaged was Waco EGC8 VH-CGF. The machine is reported as having been in the process of being flown from Chewing Gum field on Queensland’s Gold Coast to nearby Coolangatta Airport when it overturned during takeoff. No one was injured.

• The Catalina being rebuilt for static display at Lake Boga, Victoria, a former WWII Catalina base, has now had the RAAF serial numberA24-30 painted on it. The aircraft has in fact been built up from parts of several aircraft. Where major components of the Unidentified Cat were located on a farm property. Crew seats with the serial ‘A24-30’ etched on the back were found nearby and thus the assumption that the Catalina is A24-30. If nothing else the aircraft now looks more convincing with a serial number on its side