Warbirds

Pby-6a Vh-cat Was Due to Depart Portugal on Its Delivery Flight to Australia on November 18, but the Day Before During a Test Flight Its Right Engine Suffered a Broken Conrod, Causing Extensive Internal Damage. It Appears That While the Two Engines on the Catalina Had Considerable Time to Run They Had Been Left Unrun and Unloved in the Open for Over Six Years.

Now One Engine Needs to Be Replaced and as a Measure of Caution the Second Engine Will Also Be Replaced Before the Aircraft is Flown to Australia.

The Catalina is Powered by Pratt & Whitney R1830-92 Radials, Identical to Those Used in the Dc-3 and So Are Relatively Easy to Source in Various Conditions. The Cfml Notes That to Overhaul Existing Engines Would Cost About $60,000 Each and That Already Overhauled Engines Are Available for Around $75,000.

On Top of This the Propellers Have to Be Inspected in an Approved Workshop at a Cost of Around $7000 Each.

One Avenue of Thought in the Cfml is to Buy a Flyable Dc-3 With Good Engines, Strip It of the Engines and Propellers and Then Maybe Find Someone Prepared to Take the Dc-3 Fuselage Off Its Hands.

At Last Report the Cfml Was Talking With Several Groups Regarding This Proposal.

Given the Expense Involved, the Cfml Asks, Can You Help? Two Engines Would Be Very Nice but Smaller Financial Donations Will Also Greatly Assist the Project. Contact the Catalina Flying Memorial via Www. Catalinaflying. Org. Au.

Hmas Sydney Raaf Connection

the Recent Discovery of the Hmas Sydney Off the Wa Coast Solves the Navy’s Biggest Mystery but Also Helps Close a Chapter of Raaf History.

The Sydney Sank in 1941 Following an Engagement With the German Raider Kormoran, Taking With It Not Only 639 Ran Crew Members but the Six Member Raaf Contingent From No. 9 Squadron That Was Onboard to Operate and Maintain the Supermarine Walrus 1 Amphibious Aircraft That the Light Cruiser Carried.

The Aircraft, S/n L2177, Was Used for Reconnaissance, Gunnery Spotting and Search and Rescue Work.

Reports From German Eyewitnesses (the Only Survivors of the November 19 1941 Action) Later Described How, During the Opening Salvos of the Engagement, Gunfire From the Kormoran Hit Hmas Sydney in the Area Between the Ship’s Funnels, Where the Walrus Was Sitting on Its Catapult.

Those Lost Were Flying Officer Raymond Barrey (Pilot), Flight Sergeant Sidney Marley (Fitter), Corporal Arthur Clarke (Fitter), Corporal Roy Foster (Fitter), Leading Aircraftsman Richard Dodds (Fitter) and Leading Aircraftsman Keith Homard (Photographer).

The Walrus Embarked on Hmas Sydney in March 1941.

Albury Dc-2 for Sale

the Future of the Albury Dc-2 is in Doubt With the Decision by the Albury City Council to Dispose of the Aircraft.

The Old Douglas, a Former Raaf Aircraft, Was for Many Years on a Plinth Display Adjacent to the Albury Airport Terminal. It Was Taken Down Some Few Years Ago With a View to Restoring It but After Inspection It Was Found That the Restoration Work Required Was More Extensive Than Expected, and Could Cost $500,000.

At Present the Machine is Being Held in Hangared Storage, but It is Anticipated That the Council Will Ultimately Sell It. Various Plans Have Been Mooted With Regard to the Future of the Aircraft: Restoration for Display Inside the New Airport Terminal; Removing the Nose Section and Mounting It From a Memorial Wall in the New Terminal; or Selling It to the Highest Bidder.

The Latter Now Seems to Be the Most Likely Fate for the Machine. In the 1970s the Aircraft Was Restored by the Albury West Rotary Club Which Then Gave It to the Albury City Council.

The Council is Still Keen to Provide $150,000 for a Static Display or Mural at the Airport Related to the Rescue of the Original Klm Dc-2 Uiver in 1934. The Airport Terminal is Undergoing a $3. 4 Million Upgrade.

While the Raaf Museum Has Expressed No Interest in the Dc-2, the Queensland Air Museum is Keenly Interested in It. No Doubt Other Air Museumsmuseums Will Also Be Interested.

Meanwhile, Following a Recent Visit by an Albury City Councillor to Holland, There is a Possibility of One of the Only Two Flying Dc-2s in the World Coming to Australia to Be Displayed for the 75th Anniversary of Uiver Making Its Famous Night Time Forced Landing on the Albury Race Track Adjacent to the Present Airport.

The Dutch Dc-2 is Also Painted to Represent Uiver.

It Has Been Flown to Various Airshows Around Europe in the Last Few Years and Has Proven to Be Reliable.

If the Dc-2 Came Here in 2009 It Would Be Its Second Australian Visit, After Coming Out in 1984 on the 50th Anniversary of the London- Melbourne Centenary Air Race, in Which Uiver Placed Second.

Register Jottings

Yak-18t, S/n 7201714, Took Up Australian Registration Vh-xyx on February 21 With Christine Mcdonald of Leongatha, Victoria.

Also at Leongatha is Nord 3202 S/n 06308, Vh-jmv.

This 1957 Era Former Air Force Trainer Was Registered to Kaldumb P/l of Leongatha on March 3. Another Nord 3202 Was Registered as Vh-iwd With Serial 93 to Gordon Johanson of Baldivis, Wa, on March 5.

The French Built Nord 3202 is a Two-seat Tandem Aerobatic and Military Trainer.

It Has a Tailwheel and a Very Distinctive Knee Action Fixed Undercarriage.

Awm Has New Displays

the Korean and Vietnam Wars Have Been Commemorated in a New Display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The New Exhibition Involves Australia’s Military Involvement Post-1945. On Display is Gloster Meteor F. 8 A77-368, Ex 77 Squadron.

The Meteor Has an Interesting Twist in That It Carries the Name Rosemary on the Forward Fuselage. Awm Curators Believe That It is the Name of the Wife or Sweetheart of One of the 104 Pilots Who Flew the Jet While in Korea, and Have Launched a Campaign to Try and Find Out Who She Was.

The Vietnam War Has Not Been Forgotten and Included in the Exhibition is Bell Uh‑1b Iroquois A2-1019 of 9 Squadron. The Iroquois is Featured in a Full Size Audio and Visual Diorama of the Helicopter Dropping Off Troops Ready to Engage the Enemy.

A2-1019 Was Lucky to Survive the War, When After an April 1967 Engine Failure It Was Initially Written Off, but It Was Subsequently Repaired.

Delivered to the Raaf in October 1964 It Was Transferred to the Awm in May 1990.

Memorial to 1931 Airline Disaster

a Memorial to the 1931 Crash of the Avro Airliner Southern Cloud Was Unveiled at Tumbarumba, Nsw, on March 15.

The Southern Cloud Went Down in the Toolong Range After Encountering Unforecast Bad Weather While on a Scheduled Flight From Sydney to Melbourne on March 15 1931, but the Wreck Was Not Found Until October 1958.

The Eight Passengers and Crew Died in the Crash.

The Tooma Road Lookout Overlooks the Maragle Valley and the Crash Site.

In Brief

• Ian and Ellen Silvester’s Former South African Air Force T-6 Harvard, Vh-lnt, is Back in the Air. The Aircraft is Now in a Silver Colour Scheme, Unlike the Other Ex Saaf T-6s in Australia. It Still Carries the Saaf Serial 7640 in Large Letters on the Side of the Fuselage.

• an Aviation-only Swap Meet Was Held at Bendigo Airport on March 15 & 16. Although Smaller Than Anticipated, the Organiser, the Bendigo Aero Club, Plans to Hold the Event Again Next Year. Several Buyers Are Understood to Have Obtained Parts for Mustang, Wirraway and Winjeel Aircraft.

Bendigo Holds a Vintage Car Swap Meet, the Largest Event of Its Kind in Australia. The Aviation Swap Meet Was Thought to Be the First of Its Kind in Australia.

• the South Australian Aviation Museum Has Obtained the Former Csiro Testbed Fokker F27 Friendship 100, Vh-cat.

Now Comes the Big Task, Moving It to the Museum’s Port Adelaide Site. O Contact Dave at Flyer02@ Optusnet. Com. Au