Warbirds

The recent Air Race Tasmania had a Trojan class event and given the sight and sound of the type this class probably created the most interest of all the air race activity. There is little doubt that the 1995 event will see more Trojan aircraft competing given the number of the type now flying in Australia. Guido Zuccoli has his T-28D almost ready to fly, the registration VH-ZUC has been reserved for this aircraft.

Broadmeadows College Of Tafe Collection

Situated not far from Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport, the newly opened Broadmeadows College of TAFE has already developed a reputation as a world class learning centre for all spheres of aviation maintenance and technology. The purpose built building is very much like a hangar and indeed on the main workshop or classroom floor are no less than four aircraft that are used as training aids.

During a recent inspection the following aircraft were noted: Fokker F27-200, VH-MMR. This aircraft is complete save for the engines. The name ‘Hans Heysen’ is carried behind the cockpit window. Cessna 411, VH-TDB. Only the rudder was off the machine and the two engines and props were installed. The third aircraft is former Royal Australian Navy Grumman S-2G Tracker 855, serial N12-153567. This aircraft is also complete. It was reported that this aircraft was obtained in part from Nowra and part from West Sale, Victoria, where a number of Trackers have been ferried to in recent times. The last complete aircraft is a Beech A23A Musketeer, VH-CTV. This machine is the most recent arrival having only been obtained from Moorabbin airport in April this year.

While the aircraft will be used as training aids all cut their notch in some part of Australian aviation history and as such it is good to see them preserved. It was also reported that the fuselage of the RAAF Museum Catalina, VH-EXG, will soon be transported to the College where much needed repair work will be carried out as a class exercise.

Boeing Stearmans On The Increase

Over the past ten plus years more than 20 Boeing Stearman biplanes have been imported into Australia. A lot of these aircraft were imported in an unairworthy condition and as a result have taken quite some time to get back to airworthy condition. We are pleased to report that Stearman parts are now as plentiful as Tiger Moth parts in Australia. Of the aircraft here some eleven have now been put into the air including a few that were brought here in airworthy condition.

Of the model A75N1, VH-HCJ is flying in NSW while VH-HYU and JLA are owned by Geoff Davis and Ivor Paech in South Australia as is VH-JUX which is owned by Dave Black at Penola. The Northern Territory has one Stearman to its credit, VH-YDF, owned by Geoff Brown at Katherine. Of the model B75N1 two are on the register, VH-LSJ, registered to the Biplane Experience at Albury and VH-PUD, owned by Ted Rudge of Melbourne and is often seen towing banners around the city and along the coast of Port Phillip Bay. The E75 has four aircraft of this model. VH-HLV is based at Kingaroy. VH-JLW is owned by Allan Ladd of Cecil Plains in Queensland while another Queensland Stearman is VH-USE owned by Gordon Layton. VH-JQY is owned by a pilot from Clare in South Australia.

Several 450hp (336kW) Stearmans are nearing the end of their rebuild and will show what a real airshow Stearman is all about when they take to the sky. For the Stearman type the next few years look to be interesting.

Low Flying Queensland Dakota

Motorists and aviation enthusiasts in Queensland will be excused from thinking that they had seen a ghost when the fuselage of a Douglas Dakota rolls past them on the highway in the near future. At Samford, Queensland, Werner Kroll owns what can best be described as a Douglas C-47 Dakota fuselage mounted on a truck chassis. The aircraft, sorry, mobile home, is currently being overhauled and should be back on the highway soon.

The tale of the roadable Douglas goes back to around 1950 when caravanning was just coming into fashion. A man by the name of Bill Chater obtained one of the two stripped C-47 shells that he found at Archerfield airport. The fuselage hulk had the words Dutch New Guinea painted over the windows, or so Werner was told. There is no other identification on the fuselage. A sheet metal workshop owner, Bill soon had the fuselage shortened and mounted on the lengthened chassis of a K5 International truck powered by a 1939 six cylinder petrol engine. In this form the vehicle was registered for road transport in Queensland from 1950 to 1961. Werner Kroll obtained the vehicle from the family of his friend, Bill Chater, who died recently.

A few months ago Werner went to his local motor vehicle registration office to get the vehicle reregistered. All was going smoothly until he was asked to describe the body of the vehicle. When he produced a photo of the machine the female registration officer did not even raise a smile. All she said was ‘this thing has to go through the registration officer machinery’. Werner, who hails from Germany, is not new to restoring motor vehicles. As well as a Citroen and a Willys Overlander he also owns a tiny Messerschmitt car. The registration for this unique vehicle is the most appropriate ‘ME109’. One wonders what the registration for the former Dakota will be? ‘Dakota’ perhaps or even ‘C-47’.

Fighter Replicas In South Australia

At Burra, a couple of hours drive north of Adelaide, can be found a very convincing replica of a North American P-51D Mustang. A reader recently reported that the machine looks for all the world just like the real thing and carries the stencilled serial data of ‘Australian Government, US Army P51 D, Serial No. AAF -4484732’. It is only when one gets right up close to the craft that it becomes apparent what it is.

Also on the subject of replicas in South Australia, at Kadina, on the Yorke Peninsula, a retired plumber and former RAAF flight rigger, Mr Len Betterman, has built a replica Spitfire. Using some genuine Spitfire parts the machine has a Holden engine to power the propeller. As in the case of the Mustang the Spitfire replica would deceive all but those with a better than average interest in aircraft.

In Brief

• Earlier this year part of a Bristol Beaufort bomber was found by fisherman near Deal Island in Bass Strait waters. The wreckage, apparently a fin and rudder section, is typical of aircraft wreckage that has been netted over the years.
• The Queensland Air Museum has loaned its Cessna 337 to RAAF Amberley where it will be used for non-destructive fire training purposes. In turn the QAM has received on long term loan from the RAAF Museum an incomplete Winjeel airframe.
• It has been reported that another Jet Provost has been imported to Tasmania. This machine recently came from the UK and if its condition is any indication the aircraft will be back in the air very soon.
• The Archerfield Warbird Museum has recently opened. Aircraft in the museum comprise, so far, an Antonov An-2, North American T-28B Trojan, CT-4 Airtrainer, DH-82a Tiger Moth, Auster, Cessna Bird Dog and the only Miles M-28 Messenger flying in Australia today.