iscover
The old and the new. The replica of the Smith brothers' Vickers Vimy flown by Lang Kidby and Peter McMillan between England and Australia last year has created much interest as a modern feat of endurance, and the Vimy will now return to the northern hemisphere to retrace Alcock and Brown's historic trans Atlantic crossing. Pictured left is the original G-EAOU at Enfield, Sydney (date unknown)
Warbirds
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An Damaged In Williamtown Accident
Saturday December 17 saw North American T-28D Trojan VH-XVT suffer damage at Williamtown, NSW. The big warbird was taking off from the RAAF base, near Newcastle, when it suffered a power loss. The Trojan was landed in a paddock with the undercarriage down. The aircraft overran the paddock and went through a fence, the nosewheel then entered a drainage ditch and the aircraft turned over. A photo of the aircraft shows that the nosewheel was broken off and the main wheels turned 90 degrees to their normal axis. The fin suffered damage when it hit the ground. Local reports said that the pilot, Roger Mackay, and his passenger, who was being checked out in the machine, were treated by ambulance paramedics for minor injuries. Trojan VH-XVT was registered in Australia on December 7 1990 to Randal McFarlane. In late 1993 ownership changed to John Weymouth. The aircraft was painted a light grey colour with the letters 38372 on the fin and a great looking set of sharks teeth on the lower cowling. One hopes that the accident damage is not great and that the machine can be put back into the air in the shortest time with the least expense.
Skyrace Tasmania Is All Go
Following the success of the 1994 races the organizers are advising that the 1995 event will be bigger and even better. Entries closed on December 31 for both the around Tasmania navigation race as well as the pylon races. This year there will be nine classes for entrants. Starting with the Unlimiteds there is the Cabin Twin Aerostar followed by the Cabin twin Baron/Shrike/Cessna 310. Next comes the Formula A and then the Radial under 1500hp (1120kW), Radial under 600hp (450kW), Cabin single CT-4 and the Cabin single under 300hp (225kW). In addition there is the around Tasmania navigation race. American air race personality Bob Hoover will return to assist with the races. The 1994 champion of the T-6 race, Mike Falls, will also be back to defend his title. In the Unlimited class Guido Zuccoli will be racing in his Sea Fury. The unique T-28 class will hold a lot of interest for spectators. Don Kendell will be racing his Trojan as will Guido Zuccoli in his new aircraft. Paul Weymouth will be racing but the duel expected between Paul and his father looks like being off as a result of the accident to T-28, VH-XVT (see above). It is understood that John Rayner will not be an entrant in this years race and that Judy Pay was undecided pending sponsorship. As revealed first in this column the Americans will experience the colour and action of T-28 racing in 1995, without doubt as a result of the Australian Skyrace success in 1994. With the experience of the 1994 races under their belt the organizers have advised that ground facilities will be bigger, brighter and better for all air race fans to enjoy and that, if last year was an indication, one should bring a hat as the weather should be ideal. A full colour report will appear in our April issue – Don’t miss it.
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