Warbirds

The Spit Had Been Owned by the Subritzky Family and Was Sold With Its Restoration to Airworthy Standard Almost Complete.

Built at Castle Bromwich in April 1945, the Machine Went to the Raf Which Last Flew It on 1957 as Part of a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

It Was Then Transferred to the Usa Where It Was Displayed at the Us Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio, Between 1961 and 1995. It Was Then Sold to a Collector and Allocated the Us Registration of N75460.

After Several Other Owners the Machine Ended Up in Nz Where the Subritzky Family Business, Classic Aircraft, Set About Restoring It at Dairy Flat, Auckland.

It is Reported That Including Commission the Final Price for the Aircraft Was Just Under Nz$3. 2m (a$2. 7m).

Catalina News

From the Catalina Flying Memorial Foundation Comes News That Two Overhauled P&w R-1830-92 Engines Have Been Obtained From a Facility in Texas, at a Cost of Over $100,000.

The Engines Have Been Shipped to Seia, Portugal, Where They Will Be Installed in the Catalina, Which Until Recently Was Registered Vh-cat. Vh-cat Was Removed From the Australian Civil Register on September 4 With the Note ‘to Be Placed Temporarily on the Us Register’.

No Doubt This is to Assist With the Ferry Flight and All Its Requirements.

The Intention is to Install the New Engines, Get the Aircraft Up to Ferry Standard, and Fly the Big Cat Out of Seia by the End of October. The Ferry Flight is Expected to Take More Than 100 Hours Flying Time.

Wwi German Aero Engine for Sale

the Australian War Memorial Has Declared as Surplus to Its Requirements a Restored German Ww1 Aero Engine, a Benz and Cie Model Bz4.

The Engine for Sale is One of Two That the Awm Received After Ww1, Obtained as Examples of German Technology for Possible Display Purposes.

In 1984, the Engine That is Offered for Sale Was Restored by the De Havilland Company in Sydney. The Engine Has Been in Warehouse Storage for Almost 90 Years.

The Engine Type is Claimed to Have Been Fitted to Zeppelin Airships, but Was Also Used as the Powerplant in the 1915- 1917 German Aviatik Biplane Fighter. A Six Cylinder in-line Water Cooled Engine, It Put Out 230hp (170kw) at 1400rpm.

Interestingly Enough, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney Has an Incomplete Example of the Same Engine.

The Tender for the Engine Closes on October 14. It is Offered on an ‘as is, Where is’ Basis.

The Tender Documents Note That the Engine is Subject to the Protection of the Moveable Cultural Heritage Act 1986.

Permits and Other Consents Will Be Required Should the Successful Tenderer Wish to Export the Engine From Australia.

F27 for Queensland Air Museum

the Queensland Air Museum is Set to Take Delivery of Its Biggest Aircraft Yet After It Acquired Fokker F27 Mk. 400, the Former Vh-fnq, From Sigma Aerospace.

The 1966 Build Airliner Has Been Stored at Tamworth, Nsw, Since 2001 Following the Ansett Collapse, and is One of Just Four F27s Now Left in Australia.

The Big Move Was Due to Commence in Early October, With the Fokker to Be Dismantled and Trucked to the Qam Base at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. Engines and Propellers Are Required for the Machine to Bring It to Display Standard.

Delivered Ex-factory to Ansett-ana, Vh-fnq Seated 40 Passengers. It Arrived at Essendon on December 24 1966 Under the Command of Captains C Henry and Ian Brown.

During Its Time in Service Vh-fnq Served in All States of Australia and With Safe Air New Zealand in 1989.

In 1990 It Took Up New Zealand Registration Zk-rta With Ansett New Zealand Air Freight Limited. Brought Back to Australia in 1996, It Became Vh-wan With Independent Air Freighters. Flown to Tamworth in Late 2001, the Aircraft Was One of Many Assets Put Up for Sale Following the Collapse of Ansett.

New Hars Lockheed Constellation

Yet Another Project in the Hars Pipeline is a Lockheed Ec-121h Warning Star That the Organisation Obtained in Arizona Last Year. The Warning Star is a Precursor to the Modern Awacs Aircraft and Had a Large Radome Mounted on the Top of the Fuselage for Early Distant Aircraft Warning.

The New Hars Machine Has an Interesting History.

With C/n 1049a-4350 It Became N51006 but Went to the Usaf in March 1955 as Serial 53-0535 as an Rc-121d.

Later It Became an Ec-121h Warning Star. During the Vietnam War the Warning Stars Spent Many Hours in the Air Monitoring Aircraft Movements in South East Asia. Retired to the Davis Monthan Afb in December 1969, It Later Joined the Collection in the Nearby Pima Air & Space Museum Where It Was on Display Between 1973 and 1981. It Was Then Moved to the Allied Aircraft Scrap Yard Where It Became a Source of Spare Parts for Various Connie Restoration Projects for Many Years.

In 2007 Hars Acquired the Machine, Now Devoid of Its Outer Wings and Many Components, and Moved It Back to the Pima Museum to Work on in June 2008. It is Understood That the Machine Will Be Brought to Australia but Not to Fly.

It is Interesting to Note That the Aircraft Again Has the Us Registration N51006. The Us Register Records That the Aircraft is an Ec-121 With Serial ‘55-535’ and Has a Note of ‘sale Reported’ for the Owner.

Register Notes

Following the December Death of Warbird Legend, Col Pay, His Aircraft Were Transferred Into His Wife Dianne’s Name on July 18. Included in the Eight Aircraft Move Were Chipmunk Vh-amv, Cessna a-37b Vh-cpd, Harvard Vh-haj and Kittyhawk Vh-kty. Cac Mustang Vh-aub Has Been Under the Name of Col’s Son Ross Pay Since 2005.

The Former Nigel Arnot Yak-9um, Vh-yxi, Which Was Removed From the Register on April 11, is Now Flying in Germany With the Registration D-fafa. It is Registered to Templehof Aviators of Berlin.

Nanchang Cj-6a Vh-nnk Had a Registration Change to Vh-fcy on September 29. The Aircraft is Still With Jandakot’s Fighter Combat International.

In Brief

• Following the Note in the September Aa Regarding the Discovery of the Wreckage of Ww2 Hudson Bomber A16-20, the Raaf Announced Plans to Send a Team of Nine Personnel to the Crash Site in Late September to Try and Find the Four Crew Members. The Wreck is Situated on an Isolated Mountain Ridge Inland From Gasmata, New Britain, With the Cockpit Section Upside Down in Mud. The Aircraft Was Shot Down by Japanese Fighters on February 11 1942.

• Former South African Air Force (Saaf) Sabre 383 Has Been Noted at Perth’s Jandakot Airport. The Aircraft is a Canadair Cl-13b Mk. 6 Sabre, Previously Rcaf Serial 23702 With C/n 1472. The Aircraft Was Last Noted at Ardmore, Auckland, in 2007. Prior to That Time It Was With the Kempton Park Technical College at Lanseria, South Africa in 2000. # 383 Was the Last of 34 Canadair Sabres That the Saaf Operated Between 1956-1980.

• Comper Cla-7 Swift Vh‑acg is Back in the Air Again. Owned by Sydneysider Rob Fox, the Unique Single-seat Pre-war Racer Had Not Flown for a Very Long Time. Previously Owned by Doug Muir in Wa, the Aircraft Was Advertised as Being for Sale for Some Time Before Rob Fox Acquired the Machine in February 2006. Powered by a Gipsy Major Engine, the Aircraft Took to the Air at Camden Airport, Nsw, on September 19.

After Rigging Adjustments the Comper Was Flown to Bankstown Airport. N Contact Dave at