Warbirds

It ended up with the Royal Laotian Air Force and was eventually recovered by Col Pay and, along with others of the type, brought to Australia.

Also at Darwin are two other T-28D Trojans. Of these, both owned by Guido Zuccoli, serial number LAF3405/51-7521 will most likely be the next in the air while a decision has to be made regarding LAF3401/51-7556.

Spitfire to UK

A Spitfire previously being rebuilt in Australia has just been registered in the UK.

The Spitfire Vb, serial number BL628, was based on a fuselage found near St Merryn, Cornwall, in the late 1970s by then RAN Lieutenant Peter Croser. Later brought to Australia, much work was carried out before the machine was returned to the UK in 1988 where the fuselage was totally rebuilt by Dick Melton Aviation. New wings are being built for the aircraft.

The Spit was registered as G-BTTN on 13August to D J T John trading as Aerofab Restorations, Thruxton. This particular Spitfire, which has had no Australian service history, was one of the first batch of Spitfires to be converted for use at sea as Seafires. When found at Cornwall it had been used as a cubby house by the children of a farmer. From the serial number it was traced to service use by an RAF unit led by Battle of Britain pilot, Sqn Ldr E J Johnson.

Strikem Aster Progress

At Winrye Aviation at Bankstown, NSW the rebuild of former Singapore Air Force BAe 167 Strikemaster 84is well advanced.

The low winged two seat jet, SAF serial number 315, is one of 16 purchased by International Air Parts of Sydney but the others have now gone to the USA where they will no doubt find new owners in the warbird movement. The machine, which is for sale, is basically complete and only requires detail outfitting before it takes to the sky once more.

Also at Winrye is Gordon Glynn’s MiG-15 (see photo) which should be in the air around the end of the year. Another Winrye project of interest is Bill Pike’s T-28 Trojan. This is some 50% complete and requires the wings to be offered up to it in order that control and fuel runs can be completed. An engine and prop are ready to be installed on the aircraft.

Warbirds – From Museum to Airborne

When one thinks of aviation museums, it is usually with the thought that the aircraft on view have now been retired to a life of static display. This is not always the case and in Australia, as elsewhere in the world, aircraft, including warbirds, that have been on display in museums have been returned to airworthy condition and put back in the air.

On the Australian scene there is a small but increasing number of warbirds that have been on static display and that are now back in the air.

CAC built Mustang VH-AGJ is a good example. Following RAAF service this aircraft became VH-WAS and then was put on display in the Camden Aviation Museum. Later obtained by (then) RAAF Sqn Ldr Jeff Trappett, the aircraft was restored to airworthy condition at Morwell, Vic and now is a popular airshow display aircraft.

Fairey Firefly WB518 was for nearly 20 years on display on the top of a pole outside the RSL at Griffith, NSW but has recently been taken down and is to be restored to fly again. In its place is Firefly WD828NH-HMW that was damaged in an accident near Camden a few years ago. Wirraway A20-652 was for many years on a display stand at a service station at Preston, Melbourne. Restored, the machine now flies as VH-WIR.

Another museum Mustang is A68-105. Owned by Richard Hourigan, the aircraft was until recently on display at the Point Cook RAAF Museum but is now at Tyabb, Vic being restored to airworthy condition and will eventually fly as VH-JUC.

Two other warbirds are of note and both are Spitfires. Spitfire TE384 was a gate guard at RAF Syerston in the UK. After use in the film ‘Battle of Britain’ it was swapped for a Supermarine Seagull (Walrus) and emigrated to Australia. Restored at Toowoomba, Old by Jim Czerwinski, it was put back into the air as VH-XVI.

The other Spitfire is MV239. Originally from the Sid Marshall collection, the Spit was on display at the Camden Museum of Aviation until purchased by Col Pay and rebuilt at Scone, NSW. Now with registration VH-HET this machine is keenly sought after as a display aircraft at Australian airshows.

There are those that see every warbird on display in a museum as an aircraft that should be flying. Meanwhile, another group see the flying of warbirds as something fraught with danger and the possibility of writing off an aircraft so that it will disappear from public view for all time. One way or another there is and will be continuing connection between museums and the flying of warbirds.

Richmond Airshow Wrap Up

The Richmond Airshow, held over the weekend of 19/20 October as part of the RAAF’s 70th anniversary celebrations, was good value for the warbird enthusiast.

Highlights included the NZ formation aerobatic team, the Roaring 40s, which flew formation aeros in five borrowed local Harvards – complete with smoke!

Other aircraft of note were Hockey Treloar’s MiG 15, the RAAF Vampire, Spitfire, Wirraway, P-40, RAAF Sabre, Mustangs and Guido Zuccoli’s Sea Fury.

One surprise was the return visit and flying display of former Royal Australian Air Force Canberra, N229CA, from America where it appears at airshows still in RAAF colours. All in all, a good show. (Refer p. 25 Nov 91 AA)

Lockheed Lodestar Here Shortly

At Classic Aviation of Bankstown, NSW a new arrival in the form of a C-60A Lodestar is expected. The aircraft was due to leave the US in the middle of November for the long flight across the Pacific.

The Lockheed, N56LH, c/n 2388, was scheduled to be flown out by a crew comprising Bruce Simpson, Trevor Merton and Jack Curtiss. As the big transport does not have an autopilot, it will have to be hand flown all the way across the Pacific. Delivery departure was expected long before now but persisting problems with getting US maintenance shops to do jobs required has meant delays in the delivery schedule.

The aircraft has new engines and prior to departure these had to be run in and checked for consumption figures. California to Hawaii is the longest leg in the trans Pacific ferry. With only 3,000 hours total time the Lockheed is considered to be a young machine. A syndicate owns the aircraft but shares are still available for anyone wanting to be involved with this very interesting Lockheed.

Replica World War One Aircraft

A warbird of an earlier era is still alive in the form of replica SE. SA, VH-CVC, that on 3 July was sold to Erik Sundstrup of Sidmouth, near Devonport, Tasmania. The ?/8th scale replica of the famous WWI fighter is powered

by a 100hp Continental 0-200 engine and was originally built by Clive Canning of Melbourne in 1984. Clive has since built another homebuilt, his third, and the SE. SA was put up for sale. The new owner, Erik Sundstrup, took some six hours to fly the aircraft from Tyabb airfield across the waters of Bass Strait to Devonport with a stop at Flinders Island. While on the subject of replica WWI aircraft, another Sopwith Pup is soon to take to the skies. The Pup is the second of the two

built by Transavia back in the mid 1970s. The first Transavia Pup became VH-PSP and took to the air in November 1978. Owner Neil Cottee had hoped to establish a flying museum at Bowral NSW, but this did not eventuate and the Pup was sold to John Pettit. In recent times John sold the Pup to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook Vic, where it is now based and is flown on Museum

open days and at southern airshows. The second Pup was never completed. It was sold and in

recent times has been built up at Riddell Vic, by Ron Jackson who operates the maintenance firm, Camair, at the aerodrome.

T his Pup will also be powered by a derated Armstrong Siddeley Genet radial engine. Last reports indicate that the little biplane is

in the process of having the fabric covering applied so it might not be very long before two Sopwith Pups will do battle with the

RAAF Museum Fokker Triplane. Ridell has become an interesting aerodrome in recent times with an almost constant flow of classic two place aircraft being imported from America and reassembled there before being put onto the civil aircraft register.

You Too Can Be a Top Gun

At Fullerton airport in the outer reaches of Los Angeles, California, you can be a fighter pilot for a day and even take home a

video to prove it! Air Combat USA Inc has had great success with their air combat flight operation and regardless of whether you have no experience or a fat log book you can now fly one of their four high

performance Siai Marchetti SF260 aircraft on simulated air combat missions. Each flight commences with an in-depth briefing.

You are then kitted out with flight suit and parachute and then it is into the air to pit your skill and wits against another opponent

who will be trying to ‘shoot’ you down with as much enthusiasm as you have to get him. The SF260 is fully aerobatic and is used by a number of air forces around the world as both a basic and advanced trainer. Air

Combat Inc has a check pilot accompany you for the flight to show you real air combat manoeuvres as taught to US fighter

pilots. The aircraft are fitted with gunsight video cameras and you can record all the action for later replay. If you are successful, the other aircraft will show it has been shot down when it emits smoke and rolls into a vertical dive. For all those budding Top Guns who want to be part of the action you can contact Air Combat USAInc at 230 Dale Pl, Fullerton, CA, USA or Ph (714) 522 7590. Cost is from $595 per hour flight time including pre and post flight briefing. Go for it!

Super Connie for Australia

As tipped in our October issue (p. 10) it was officially announced in November that the embryonic National Air and Space Museum of Australia (NASMA) had been gifted a Lockheed Super Constellation by the United States Air Force.

The large transport aircraft is the same type that Australia’s national carrier, Qantas, used with great success on its trans Pacific service almost forty years ago. Considered by many to be the most graceful airliner ever built the actual aircraft donated is a USA F Lockheed C- 121C-LO Super Constellation, serial number 54- 157.

The machine is the military version of the civil L. 104 9F and was only used for passenger transport, unlike a number of its brethren that were extensively modified for on ECM or AE W work.

Of the 856 Constellation series aircraft built only a small number have survived to the present day. A very few of these are still airworthy.

The NASMA Super Connie is at present at the Davis Monthan storage facility in Arizona and will be ferried to Australia during 1992. It is expected that the aircraft will continue operating as a flying museum.

In Brief

• Hawker Sea Fury FB. Mk 19, previously registered as VH-H FX in Australia to Bruce Andrews , took up English registration G-BT TA on 25July with owner Ray Hanna at Duxford (see p. 75 August 91 AA). The ‘Fury has now circumnavigated the globe with its travels from the UK to Iraq to the USA and then on to Australia before going back to the UK.

• The Moorabbin Air Museum has sold its Gloster Meteor Mk. F8, A 77-86 7, to Bob Jarrett of Adelaide, SA. T he Meteor was a duplicate in the Museum’s collection and it was not possible to house it. It will join Bob’s growing collection of aircraft.

• Following the mention in the August warbirds that the then Flt Lt Peter Isaacson had flown a Lancaster on War Loan flights around Australia during the war it has been pointed out that the actual aircraft he flew was Lancaster ‘Q’ for Queenie, serial number ED 93 0, not Lancaster ‘G’ for George which is now on display in the AWM at Canberra.