Warbirds

The Boneyard Wrangler is the Only Raaf F111 to Be Obtained From the American Military Reclamation Facility at Davis-monthan in Arizona. Other F111s Obtained by the Raaf Came From Serving Usaf Squadrons in Another Us State.

Historic Djinn Helicopter to Qam

One of the First Civil Helicopters to Take to the Skies in Australia, Sud Aviation So-1221 Djinn, Vh-inp, Has Been Obtained by the Ever Expanding Collection of the Queensland Air Museum. The Aircraft Arrived at the Qam Facility at Caloundra on May 14.

The Two Seat Djinn Represents an Interesting Niche in Australian Aviation History. It Was One of the First Civil Helicopters Here and Secondly It Was Powered by a Unique Cold-rotor Propulsion System. The Type First Took to the Air in January 1953. Built by Sud Aviation the Craft Was Powered by a Sud Turbomeca Palouste Iv Turbine Air Compressor. The Machine Gains Its Lift From the Rotor Blades Being Propelled by Compressed Air Being Ejected Through the Tips of the Rotor Blades. In So Doing It Did Not Require a Tail Rotor. In All 150 of the Type Were Built.

It Has a Gross Weight of 880 Kg. Only One Came to Australia.

The Machine Arrived in Australia in 1957 With French Registration F-whol. After Assembly It Was Test Flown on October 14 1957 at Essendon. It Was Registered as Vh-inp on November 1 1957 to Australian National Airways Pty Ltd. It Was Initially Used on Mineral Exploration Work in the Rugged South-eastern Area of Tasmania. By the Next Year the Djinn Was Being Flown in Queensland. While Engaged in Spraying a Potato Crop Near Gatton on May 21 the Aircraft Was Hovering Close to the Ground When It Dropped Suddenly, Impacted the Ground Overturned. The Pilot Was Uninjured. The Djinn Was Removed From the Civil Aircraft Register on September 30 1958. For the Next Forty or Fifty Years the Badly Damaged Djinn Resided at Coolangatta and Later Forbes, Nsw. It Was Obtained by the Qam in May and Transported to the Museum. A Unique Machine.

(Footnote: While This Writer Was Flying Floatplanes in Tasmania Talk About Helicopters Swung to the Strange Djinn Helicopter That Was Being Used for Survey Work South of Strahan Back in 1957. It Transpired That on One Flight the Aircraft Was Hovering but Started to Sink. The Passenger Then Jumped Out, Fortunately Into the Waters of an Inlet That the Machine Was Over, Adjacent to the Survey Camp. The Passenger and the Djinn Both Survived! History.

Temora Aviation Museum News

The Narrator of the Tam Dvd ‘temora Aviation Museum Warbirds’ Dvd, Charles ‘bud’ Tingwell Passed Away on Friday May 15 at Age 86. Bud Was Well Know to the Museum as Both a Movie and Television Star but Also as a Ww11 Spitfire and Mosquito Photo Reconnaissance Pilot. The Museum Paid Its Respect to Bud as a Talented Pilot, an Outstanding Actor and a True Australian.

On Another Tack the Tam Sabre Has Had Its Avon Sabre Engine Installed Which Has Been a Huge Milestone in the Restoration Process. This Now Means That the Tam Engineers Can Perform Final Engine Test Runs in Preparation for Returning the Aircraft to Flight.

Interesting Us News

The Oldest Boeing Airliner is to Take to the Air Again. The Aircraft, in Fact a Single Engine Biplane Boeing 40c, Has Taken a Workforce of Some 60 Volunteers Over 8000 Hours and 8 Years to Restore the Aircraft. The Machine Was Obtained as a Crashed Wreck and Has Left the Spokane Rebuild Shop Looking Like a New Aircraft.

With Registration Nc5339 and C/n 1043 the 40c Has a Wing Span of 44 Feet, a Gross Weight of 5,495 Ib and Were Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Radial of 420 Hp. The Pilot Flew the Machine From the Open Cockpit Behind the Passenger Cabin. Two Boeing 40 Series Aircraft Came to Australia but Did Not Survive Past Ww11.

A Douglas Ad-4n Skyraider Has Been Seized by the Us Department of Homeland Security. It Appears That the Aircraft Was Imported From France in September 2008 and Has Been Flying Since Then. Owner Claude Hendrickson of Birmingham, Alabama, Has Registered the Aircraft, N122ch, With the Faa but the Dept. Of Homeland Security Alleges That the Required Forms Were Improperly Filed.

The Seizing of the Skyraider Comes Close on the Heels the Usaf Claiming Ownership of an F-82 Twin Mustang That the Commemorative Air Force Had Held Since 1966. The F82, One of Five of the Type Remaining in the World, Was Won Back by the Usaf Following a Court Battle. The Usaf Claims That the Twin Mustang is Still Government Property. The Reason Behind the Recovery Action is Unclear as the Usasf Museum at Dayton, Ohio, Has Another of the Type on Display.

For American Warbird Enthusiasts the Seizure of Historic and Unique Warbirds Does Not Auger Well. Bureaucracy Sometimes Works in Mysterious Ways.

Nomad to Arnold Air Museum

From Arnold, Victoria, Comes News That Richard Winterburn Has Managed to Obtain Dismantled Gaf N-22b Nomad, Vh-wrt. Previously Operated as a Skydiving Jump Ship by Sydney Skydiving Centre at Picton, Nsw, the Aircraft Was Purchased in a Dismantled Condition. It Lacks Both Engines. With C/n 56 the Nomad is Another Example of This Locally Built Aircraft Type That is Almost Extinct in Australian Skies. In 1998 the Machine Was Noted in Need of Some Tlc at Corowa Airport, Nsw. It Was Later Moved to the Picton Airstrip. Richard Plans to Initially Display the Aircraft and Then to Work on It to Improve Its Appearance.

In Brief

● the Last Weekend of May Saw the Wing of Cac Mustang, Vh-bob, Being Removed From the Fuselage. It is Understood That This is the First Time the Two Components Have Been Separated Since the Fighter Left the Cac Factory at Fisherman’s Bend More Than 60 Years Ago. Vh-bob is Being Worked on at Point Cook Following an Undercarriage Mishap and It Was Felt That a Thorough Inspection Was Good House Keeping.

● Dc-3 Vh-tmq of Essendon Based Air Nostalgia Was Sold at Auction in Mid May. It is Reported That the Aircraft Was Sold for $180k. The Asking Price Was $190k. The New Owner is Reported as Being Alistair Lamb of Essendon Based Australian Jet Fame.

● May 1-3 Saw the South Australian Aviation Museum Host a Forum of Aviation Museums From Around Australia. The Objective Was to Create a Network of Non-profit Voluntary Aviation Museums That Can Assist Each Other in Common Aims to Preserve and Display Our Aviation Heritage.

Contact Dave by Email at: [email protected]