Warbirds

The Three Aircraft, Vh-cih, Vhcip and Vh-ciq, Were All Put on the Register on May 22 With the Registered Owner as Michael Aitchison of Magill, South Australia.

It Will Be Recalled That Michael Aitchison and Peter Croser Were the Owners of Seafire/spitfire Bl628 That They Had Been Building Up Over Many Years. They Sold the Aircraft, Which is Now in the Us Flying as N628bl, and Acquired Mustang Vh-fst (See in Brief Below). All of the Newly Registered Machines Are Understood to Be Components of Aircraft That Will Need to Be Built Up Into Flyable Aircraft but, as the Pair Have Shown With Bl628, It Can Be Done.

Vh-cih is a Westland Built Seafire Mk. Xv, C/n Wa4417. This Aircraft Carried Serial Sw800 During Ww2, and Its Remains Were Recovered in the Uk During the Search for Parts for Bl628. Vh-cip is Listed as a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V, C/n 3074.

This Aircraft Made Its First Flight on June 21 1942 and Later Came to Australia to Fly With the Raaf as A58-63. It Was Involved in a Midair Collision and Crashed Near Strauss Airstrip, Nt, in January 1944. The Remains Were Recovered in Recent Years.

The Last Aircraft, Vh-ciq, is a Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V, C/n 5406.

This is Actually Thought to Be a Mk. Vc, Ma353, Which Flew With the Raaf as A58-232. This Machine Went Missing on a Test Flight From Strauss Airstrip in April 1944, and Its Remains Were Also Recovered in Recent Years.

Having Civil Registrations Allocated to the Aircraft Effectively Gives Them an Identity, as Distinct From Having a Heap of Components That Had Once Been a Ww2 Aircraft. It is Unlikely That the Owners Will Rebuild All Three Aircraft, but It May Be That the Long Term Rebuild Projects Will Acquire New Owners Who Will Eventually Put Them Into the Air.

May the Number of Spitfires Increase as the Years Roll by.

Two Trojans Oz Bound

Exciting News From the Us is That Two T-28 Trojans Are Australia Bound. The Aircraft Are Both T-28b Models – One Ex Us Army and the Other Ex Us Navy.

The Us Army Machine is North American T-28b C/n 200-106 Which Started Out With the Us Navy as Bu138122 Before Later Serving With the Us Army. Retired in the 1980s, It Became N28rf With Owner Richard Fernalld of Anchorage, Alaska, and Later Yelm, Washington State, From November 1985 Through to 2003.

In 2003 a Mr Bonner of Montana Was Reported as the Owner, but This Changed to John Roberts of Santa Barbara, California, From February 2004 to 2007. The Trojan Was Struck Off the Us Register on March 19 This Year as Sold to Australia.

The Second Trojan is T-28b C/n 200-106 Which Went to the Us Navy as Bu137743. When Retired in August 1984 It Became N5439x With Courtesy Aircraft of Rockford, Illinois, Before Karl Stoltzfus/rockingham Aviation Inc of Bridgewater, Virginia, Was Registered as the Owner From October 1984 to 1995.

Larry Rose of Radium Springs, New Mexico, Was the Recorded Owner From August 1995 to 2001 Before Courtesy Aircraft Got Involved in the Ownership Again Around 2002. Peter Krauser/na64 Yale Foundation of Palm Springs, Florida, Was Registered as the Owner in June 2002, and Krauser Flew the Aircraft in a Red and White Us Navy Colour Scheme. N5439x Was Struck Off the Us Register on April 2 This Year as Sold to Australia.

There Are Currently 13 N-a Trojans on the Australian Civil Aircraft Register Comprising Three B Models and 10 D Models, With the Two New Aircraft to Take That Total to 15.

Fatal Nanchang Accident

Nanchang Cj-6a Vh-nny Was Destroyed in a Crash and Fire at Moruya,nsw, on May 31. The Pilot, Graeme Camage, Was Killed in the Accident.

Graeme and Business Partner Brian Candler Were the First Importers of the Nanchang Type 18 Years Ago Through Their Company Lampa Holdings in Canberra. The Firm Not Only Imported the Cj-6a but Continued to Support the Type Here in Australia as Well as Selling Aircraft in New Zealand and South Africa. Lampa Will Continue to Import and Support the Cj-6a.

A Pilot for More Than 20 Years, Graeme Was Well Liked in the Aviation Industry. He Had a Personality That Got on Well With the People He Met and That Was Probably the Key to His Managing to Gain the Confidence of the Chinese in Order to Obtain and Export the First Nanchangs From China.

Graeme Will Be Sadly Missed.

Dc-2 for Sale

as Reported in Our May Edition, the Long Running Saga of the Fate of the Albury Douglas Dc-2 is Drawing to a Close, With the Albury City Council Putting the Aircraft Up for Sale.

In Electing to Sell the Aircraft, the Albury Council Has Stipulated That the Machine is Not to Be Scrapped, but Restored and Put on Permanent Display as a Tribute to the Pioneers of Air Travel.

Expressions of Interest Close on July 29.

New Aircraft for Pip Borrman

May 11 Saw Pip Borrman’s New Aerobatic Mount Take to the Sky at Shepparton in Victoria.

The New Aircraft, a Samson, is a Replica of an Original Curtis Pitts Design First Flown in 1948. Powered by a 450hp (335kw) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Radial Engine, the Bright Red Aircraft Will Be Pip’s New Display Aircraft to Be Flown at Airshows and Events Around the Country.

The Biplane Samson Was Designed and Built From Pictures and Hand Sketched Drawings by Barry Manktelow of B & R Aviation in Toowoomba. Barry Was Inspired to Build the Samson After Seeing Photos of Steve Wolf ’s First Samson Replica in 1985, and Consequently He Travelled to the Us to Meet Steve and Gratefully Acknowledges Steve’s Assistance in Providing Basic Dimensions and Insight From His Samson Project.

Barry Commenced Construction in 1995 and Had a Nearly Completed the Fuselage and Tail When Other Priorities Took Precedence and the Project Was Put on Hold. A Chance Meeting With Pip Borrman in 2001 Saw a Deal Struck Which Would Allow the Completion of the Aircraft by Barry and Pip, and in 2006 the Aircraft Was Transported to Shepparton for Covering and Final Fit Out.

The First Test Flight Was Conducted by Accomplished Ag Pilot Andy Ski Who Has Many Hours Logged Behind R-985 Engines, and After the Test Program is Completed, Pip Will Be Up and Away in His New Display Mount, With Continued Support by Air Bp and Castrol Aviator.

In Brief

• Raaf Museum Heritage Flight N-a at-6d Harvard, Vh-sfy, Was Struck Off the Civil Register on June 16 as Being Beyond Economical Repair. The Former Rnzaf Aircraft, Nz1060, Was Damaged in an Endorsement Training Ground Loop Accident at West Sale, Victoria, on December 2 2004. It is Likely That the Damaged Aircraft Will Be Sold Off as Surplus at Some Stage in the Future.

• the Former Wangaratta Based Curtiss P-40n Kittyhawk, Vh-kti, C/n 42-105915, Which Was Exported to France Earlier This Year, Has Become F-azku With the Amicale Jean-baptiste Salis Historic Aircraft Collection at Cerny-la Ferté Alais Airfield, 50km South of Paris. It Was Removed From the Australian Register on February 6.

• N-a P-51d Mustang, Vh-fst, Was Flown From Point Cook to Parafield on June 8 by Peter Croser. The Aircraft Was Damaged When the Port Undercarriage Leg Collapsed on Landing at Point Cook, Victoria, on September 17 2006. O Contact Dave at Flyer02@optusnet. Com. Au