iscover
This Harvard in Japanese Markings Was in Cairns for the Shooting of the Ww2 Film Paradise Road Recently. As There Aren't Many Zeros Flying Anymore This Harvard Was Made Up to Do the Job.
Warbirds
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Classic Aviation Closes
Shock news to the warbird movement was the late May closure of the Bankstown airport based firm of Classic Aviation. Classic Aviation, situated near the control tower on Tower Road, was one of the first in Australia to specialise in warbird rebuilds and maintenance. It carried out work on a number of jet warbirds. At the time of closure the firm had the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, 42-8066, in its hangar awaiting rebuild and was working on de Havilland Vampire, A79-637. It is understood that high costs and increasing competition contributed to the closure. The firm is reported to have ceased trading on Monday April 22. A major rebuild being undertaken by Classic was the restoration to airworthy standard of Vampire, A79-637. The owner of this aircraft was Catholic Priest, Father Jeremy Flynn, who, along with former Qantas Captain, Brian Millis, was lost without trace in the crash of Beech Baron, VH-WMD, off the north end of Flinders Island, Tasmania, on Sunday April 21 (refer June 96 AA). At a May 15 meeting of creditors the decision was made to wind the company up. The firm of Gainsfords Chartered Accountants was handling the liquidation. The closure of Classic Aviation is a blow to the warbird movement. The firm has been active in this field for a number of years and had worked on a number of successful warbird projects. A number of pending rebuilds will be affected by the closure. Several museum projects associated with Classic may also be affected
Corsair Arrives
The weekend of June 22/23 saw the arrival in Melbourne of the much talked about New Zealand Corsair for new owner Graham Hosking. The bent winged warbird arrived on the freighter Union Rotoiti and was quickly transported by low loader to Tyabb airport, on the Mornington Peninsula, south east of Melbourne. The aircraft was swapped with the RNZAF Museum for a Curtiss P-40E that Graham had part restored. The wings and propeller for the Corsair did not come by sea freight. These essential items are due to be flown to Australia in the near future in a Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules. Commenting on the swap, Graham mentioned how the RNZAF received the Corsair following assistance it gave to the American Disney Corporation in the making of a film in New Zealand. In effect the Disney people asked what the RNZAF wanted for its help and the reply was “give us a Corsair that we can put in our Museum”. The long and the short of the deal was that the Disney people gave the RNZAF a Corsair but when it arrived it was found to be an F4U-5. The RNZAF operated a total of 364 F4U-1 and F4U-1D Corsairs but no model -5s. This model has a number of differences, internal and external, to those operated by the RNZAF. As a result the gift Corsair was deemed unsuitable to be restored for the Air Force Museum at Wigram. Graham Hosking further commented that the rebuild of the Corsair could take as long as five years and would cost tens of thousands of dollars. One thing is sure and that is at the end of the rebuild Graham will have a very, very unique aircraft, the likes of which has not been seen in Australia since the late 1940s.
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