Warbirds

Also Sold Overseas is Rob Poynton’s Hawker Sea Fury Vh-iss. With Serial 33731 the Big Fighter Was Struck Off the Register on 7 January and is Understood to Be Going to Belgium.

From the Land of the Long White Cloud Comes News That Bac 167 Strikemaster Vh-rba Has Been Sold to the Nz Warbirds Association and is to Be Based at Ardmore and Carry Registration Zk-str (Strikemaster). Vh-rba, Last Owned by Rod Hall at Port Macquarie, Was Struck Off the Register on 18 January as Sold to Nz. With Serial Nz6370 the Aircraft Came From the Rnzaf and is Now Returning to New Zealand. The Aircraft Was Shipped There. It is Hopeful That the Aircraft Will Be Displayed at the Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka at Easter.

New Zealand Landing Events

Arriving at Masterton Airport on 20 January for the Wings Over Wairarapa 2011 Airshow the Trio of an Aero L-39, Dh Vampire and Venom Encountered Less Than Ideal Weather. The Vampire, Zk-rvm, Landed First, Blew a Main Wheel Tire and Diverged Onto the Grass Alongside Runway 06. Close Behind It Was Dh Venom, Zk-vnm. It is Reported That the Aircraft Undershot and in the Touchdown the Main Gear Collapsed. The Aircraft Then Slid to a Halt on the Runway Sans Main Gear. There Were No Injuries. The Venom, Previously J-1799 From Switzerland, Had Recently Been Refurbished and Repainted. Reports From New Zealand Indicate That the Aircraft Will Be Rebuilt.

1929 Westland Widgeon to Uk

Going Back to the Country of Its Manufacture is Westland Widgeon Iii, Vh-uks.

The Now Historic Machine Was Imported Into Australia Direct From the Uk in 1929. It Was Registered Here on 13 May 1929 to the Australian Aero Club (Nsw Section). Sold to J.l.whiteman of Kogarah, Nsw, the High Wing Two Seater Suffered a Forced Landing and Overturn at Sugarloaf Point (South of Forster), Nsw, on 6 October 1947. It Has Been Stored in Damaged Condition Since That Time, More Recently With the Challinor Bros. At Murwillumbah, Nsw.

In February Last Year the Remains of the Aircraft, It Had Been Part Restored in Australia Some Time Back, Were Shipped to the Uk. There It Was Registered as G-euks on 28 September to Ronald Souch of Southhampton. Ron is a Well Known Aircraft Restorer and the Wooded Construction Widgeon Should Not Present a Major Problem in Being Rebuilt. The Widgeon is Powered by a Cirrus Iii 95 Hp Four Cylinder Upright Engine. When Airworthy the Aircraft Will Be the Only Widgeon in the Uk.

Flying Boat Charter to Rathmines Catalina Festival

An Exciting Event in the Area of Historic Flying Boats is to Take Place in October This Year. A Group is Putting Together a Charter in a Rare Grumman Mallard Flying Boat. The Aircraft Will Be Flown From Darwin, Nt, to Rathmines, Nsw, to Be Part of the 2011 Catalina Festival That Takes Place on Lake Macquarie on 22 October.. Rathmines is the Site of the Wwii Raaf Flying Boat Base and is the Site That the Catalina Flying Memorial Holds a Public Gathering to Promote Flying Boats and Float Planes. It is Also the Location That the Cfm Hopes to Build a Memorial Museum to Keep Alive the Life and Times of the Wwii Flying Boats That Operated From Rathmines.

The Charter Flight in a Paspaley Group Grumman Mallard is Being Planned by Raaf Pilot, Richard Brougham. The Basic Plan is to Fly a Mallard From Darwin on October 17 With Stops at Groote Island, Karumba, Undara, Hamilton Island, Hardy Reef and Fraser Island. It Will Time Its Arrival at Rathmines to Coincide With the Start of the Festival. A Second Charter Will Depart After the Festival and Will Cover the Same Route in Reverse. There is Space for 8 Passengers to Fly in Each Direction.

The Flight Will Take Place Over an 11 Day Period, in Each Direction. The Cost of a Seat Ticket Will Include Accommodation, Meals, Enroute Tours and Activities, Transfers and Domestic Flights Between Sydney and Darwin. Those Interested Should Check [email protected] for Further Details.

The Aircraft and the Members of This Exclusive Charter Will Certainly Be One of the Main Highlights of the Festival. These Flights Will Most Likely Be the Last Flying Boat Charters is Australia.

Register Jottings

The Register of New Zealand and Australia Have a Few Interesting Changes This Month. In New Zealand Aero L-39 Zk-wlm, Serial 332701, Changed Ownership on 17 January to Mccready Investments of Auckland

In Australia the New Duigan Biplane Replica Was Registered as Vh-dgn on 10 December With Serial 1910 (Appropriate!) to Terry Egan of Geelong, Vic. (See Elsewhere in This Column Re the Duigan). Also in the Replica Mood Bristol Military Boxkite Vh-xkt Was Registered on 21 December to the Raaf Museum at Point Cook. The Machine Has Serial Pck 133. To Be Powered by a Locally Built Rotec Radial Engine the Machine is Well Reported as Complete and Has Carried Out Engine Runs. Aero Vodochody L-39 Vh-tnw, Serial 792329, Was Added to the Register on 8 December to Windsor’s Edge P/l of Pokolbin, Nsw. Two Classics Have Been Added to the Register. Dhc-1 Mk.22 Chipmunk Vh-qoz Was Added on 12 January to Gregory Blades of Mittagong, Nsw, While Boeing A75n1 Stearman Vh-urc With Serial 75-1834 Was Added on 19 January to Rodney Edwards of Perth, Wa.
Boeing A75n1 Stearman Vh-rps Had a Change of Marking to Vh-eey on 2 December. The Owner is Benjamin Merkenhof of Mayfield, Nsw. Morane Saulnier F1-156d Vh-fis Became Vh-hun on 8 December. The Owner is Judy Pay of Tyabb, Vic.

To Close Off, a Change of Ownership Took Place on 12 January With Waco Egc-8 Vh-egc Now in the Hands of Nigel Arnot of Upper Brookefield, Qld. The Big Cabin Biplane Has Not Flown for a Number of Years and is Understood to Be Located at Caboolture, Queensland.

Cessna 140 Vh-tmv, C/n 14852, Ex N3583v, Was Added to the Register on 27/1/11 With Owner Michael Sheppard of Moorooka, Qld. Cessna Vh-yby, C/n 11437, Changed Ownership on 24/1/11 to Acme Aviation P/l of Gundiah, Qld.

A New Arrival is Antonov an-2 ‘colt’, Lz-919. It Has Been Seen at Emkaytee (South of Darwin), Nt. The Very Big Single Engine Biplane Was Last Registered in Bulgaria. One Colt is Already in Queensland.

Duigan Replica Makes First Flight

The New Duigan Replica Made Its First Flight on 12 December but It Did Not Go Quite as Scheduled. The Biplane, Which Was Registered as Vh-dgn on 10 December, Made a Very Short Hop at Ballarat Airport, Vic. At the Hands of Noted Victorian Pilot, Ben Buckley. Unfortunately Things Did Not Go Quite as Expected and the Replica Drifted Off the Take-off Path and Into a Large Pile of Chicken Manure That Happened to Be Alongside the Take-off Path.

The Replica is Reported to Have Suffered Minor Damage. The Pilot Was Unhurt. The Short Flight Was Filmed by a Film Crew With Noted Uk Tv Historian, Tony Robinson, of Time Team Fame. He Was in Australia Filming a Local Episode for the History Channel and Heard of the Replica and Its Planned Flight.

The Original Duigan Aircraft Took to the Air in 1910 and While It Had Been Hoped That the Replica Would Take to the Air in 2010 Such Was Not the Case. The Replica Aircraft Has Been on Public Display at Ballarat Airport. It is Not Known When the Replica Will Be Formally Flown Again. The Craft is Scheduled to Be on Display at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon in March. When All Display Work is Finished the Replica Will Join the Collection of the Australian National Aviation Museum. The Anam Operates the Moorabbin Air Museum at Melbourne’s Moorabbin Airport.

The Original Duigan Biplane That Took to the Sky in 1910 Was the First Locally Built, and Designed, Aircraft to Make Sustained Controlled Flight in Australia. That Machine in Now With the Museum of Victoria as is a Duigan Replica That Was Built Some Years Ago in Victoria by Ron Lewis. Thea Unflown Aircraft Was Donated to Museum of Victoria in 2001.

Cessna/faa Directive Effects O-2 & 336/337 Series Aircraft

Owners of Cessna 336/337 Series Aircraft Have Been Advised That the 336/337 Series Aircraft Are Included in the Raft of Cessna Aircraft Effected by the Requirement to Carry Out What is Called a Sids Inspection. The Title Sids Meaning Supplemental Inspection Document. In Short Cessna Has Advised the Owners of a Number of Its Twin Engine Aircraft That They Are Need to Carry Out Part Dismantling of Their Aircraft to Properly Inspect Wings and Wing Attachment Points. The Inspections Are Looking for Cracks and Corrosion Not Normally Seen During Routine Maintenance. To Properly Inspect the Subject Fittings and Areas Means Removal of Wings to Carry Out the Inspections. While the Inspections Will Not Be Insignificant in Terms of Cost and Down Time They Will Give Some Confidence in Extending the Safe Life of the Subject Aircraft.

Here in Australia We Have Three Cessna M337 Aircraft, Better Known as Cessna 0-2 Aircraft. These Were Used to Great Effect in the Vietnam War as Fac Aircraft. In a Double Barrelled Problem Some O-2 Aircraft and Possibility Some 336/337 Aircraft May Have Been Fitted With Wing Extension Kits and Extra Fuel Tanks to a Supplemental Type Certificate Issued by the Firm of Aviation Enterprises (Ae). Two Accidents Have Occurred to C337 Series Aircraft Fitted With an Ae Stc and the Faa and Casa Have Issued Airworthiness Directives to Inspect the Aircraft for Possible Problems.

As a Result of the Above the Temora Aviation Museum Has Opted to Ground Its Cessna O-2, Vh-oii, Until More Information is Available and the Inspections Are Carried Out. This is the Reason That Vh-oii Was Not Flying at the January Aircraft Showcase – Vietnam.

In Brief

• the Forward Hull of a Wwii Dornier Do-24 Tri-motor Flying Boat is to Be a New Exhibit at the Lake Boga Catalina Memorial Exhibit. The Dornier Hull Has for the Last Few Years Been Land Bound at the Rear of the Echuca Rsl. The Identity of the Aircraft is Unknown as Yet. It is Reported That the Nose Section of the Dornier Will Be Backed Up Against a Wall and the Wings, Engines and Tailplane Will Then Be Painted on the Wall to Show What the Machine Looked Like. The Dornier Was Broken Up at Lake Boga, a Former Raaf Flying Boat Base, After Wwii and the Hull Became a House Boat on the River Murray. Nothing Remains of the Rest of the Aircraft.

• Following the Item in the January/february Aa Regarding the Recovery of the Remains of Wwii Spitfire Pilot, Flight Lieutenant Henry ‘lacy’ Smith, the Defence Department Has Said That Flight Lieutenant Smith’s Remains Will Be Interred in France, With Full Military Honours. The Ceremony Will Occur in 2011, at a Date to Be Set, in a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in France.

• the Ansett Transport Museum at Hamilton, Vic. Has Gained Several New Exhibits. A Recent Acquisition is a Studebaker Car That R.m.ansett Started His Transport Empire With at Hamilton in 1931. On the Aviation Side a Former Bae 146 Turbofan Engine Has Been Donated to the Museum.

Contact Dave via Email at [email protected]