Warbirds

The aircraft took up the registration N3643F with Heislers Inc. of Willard Ohio in 1963. It had several owners in the Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Illinois areas including some years as a trade school aircraft. The last owner was the Historic Aeroplane Works Inc. at Roanoke, Illinois. The Old Aeroplane Company saw it advertised for sale, snapped it up and had it shipped to Australia. No doubt parts from the aircraft will turn up in various North American T-6 aircraft already flying in Australia.

Fabulous Avalon Display

Avalon airport, south east of Melbourne, Vic. saw the 2011 Biennial Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition Airshow held over 1-6 March.

The event was focused on three major themes; the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the RAAF, the 75th Anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire of which more than 650 were flown by the RAAF. The third element was that of the 100th Anniversary of the first passenger flight in Australia.

The airshow saw a good number of warbird and antique and classic aircraft on show, both in the air and on the ground.

Warbirds included Lockheed Hudson VH-KOY/A16-211 ‘The Tojo Busters’, Spitfire VH-HET/A58-602 Hawker Fury VH-ORN/RAN WE729, ‘115’, CAC Boomerang VH-MHR/A46-122 ‘Suzy-Q’, Alan Arthur’s Curtiss P40N VH-ZOC, GA-Q, RAAF Museum CAC Mustang VH-SVU/’A68-750’.and CAC Wirraway VH-CAC/A20-722.

The large aircraft collection on display were Catalina VH-PBZ/’A24-362’ OX-V, Douglas DC3/C47 VH-AES, VH-TMQ, VH-OVM and VH-EAF/A65-94. Doug Hamilton’s Lockheed 12A VH-HID with a polished all metal finish, Lockheed Constellation VH-EAG, Lockheed Neptune VH-IOY/A89-273 and DH Drover VH-ADN. Catalina VH-PBZ is now sporting a nose gun turret forward of the cockpit.

The jet fighter flight group comprised CAC Sabre, VH-IPN /A94-983, Gloster Meteor VH-MBX/’A77-851 ‘Halestorm’ and DH Vampire VH-VH-ZYZ/RRAF-119.

The RAAF Museum had an unusual display with a transportable maintenance hangar that housed SE5A A2-31 and F/A-18A A21-40. Outside the hangar were Canberra A84-233 and Mirage A3-51. The Canberra has been a long time resident at Avalon. The Mirage had been trucked down the highway to Avalon from Point Cook in the week before the event.

The Antique Aeroplane Association mounted a static display that comprised Winjeel A85-450, DHC-1 Chipmunk VH-ZIZ, Cessna 195 VH-AAL, DH82a Tiger Moth VH-AZF, and Cessna 180 VH-TVA in its former Army marks, Auster AOP9 VH-XKA, Auster VH-WWG, Ryan PT-22 VH-RPT, CT4A VH-MCT, Piper PA22-150 VH-SDQ, and Stearman VH-JQY. Nearby was the Navy Historic flight Bell UH-1C VH-NVV/N9-3104 ‘898’. The most prolific of the classics was the Cessna 170 with three present, VH-BUX, VH-SLY and VH-OSZ.

In a Point Cook based fly past the RAAF Museum had a Harvard, Winjeel and two Tiger Moths in the trainer group. The ever popular Southern Nights formation aerobatic team flew a four ship group comprising VH-XSA, VH-TXN, VH-NAH and VH-XNZ.

The Avalon airshow has traditionally had a representative sampling of various types of historic aircraft and this year enthusiasts were not disappointed with the types present. One very popular aircraft was Gus Larad’s Hawker Fury, VH-ORN. Avalon was the first public showing of the large radial engined fighter as VH-ORN but it is to be recalled that the machine was flying here in 1985 as VH-HFW with then owner Bruce Andrews. It later went to the UK and then South Africa before returning to Australia. Not part of the Avalon show were two aircraft of interest being the fire bomber Convair 580s’. Now powered by Allison turbo prop engines these aircraft were called to duty on the day after the show closed.

Antique Import And Exports

From the UK comes news that a 1936 build De Havilland DH87B Hornet Moth is being ship out to Australia. The aircraft, G-ADUR, c/n 8085, was last owned by William Gerdes of Herstmonceux, Hailsham. The new owner is reported to be John Fisher who flew a DH Tiger Moth from the UK to Australia in 1996. The new import is painted up silver with the nose and cheat lines in a cherry red colour. The aircraft has an interesting history in that it was at one stage registered as N9026Y while owned and flown in the USA. G-ADUR was struck off the UK register on November 4, 2010.

Also from England comes news that Ron Souch has not one but two antique aircraft that have been operated in Australia. Ron has Avro 594 Avian G-EUJG that was last on the Australian register in the mid 1930s’as VH-UJG. Ron also has a Westland Widgeon MkIII, G-EUKS that he has recently moved to the UK. This aircraft was VH-UKS. It came to grief in a forced landing in NSW in 1947.

RAAF AIR PILGRAMAGE

The RAAF’s Air Pilgrimage will be held to celebrate the RAAF’s 90th Anniversary on 31 March 2011. The pilgrimage will be held over the period 28 to 31 March 2011, commencing at Temora and concluding at Point Cook, the birthplace of Australian Military aviation.

The event will comprise a group of sixty ex-Military and historic departing Temora and flying to Point Cook via Tocumwal and Ballarat. These bases were significant training bases during WW II. The selected aircraft to participate in the Air Pilgrimage will be historic aircraft representing aircraft previously in service with the RAAF as well as other types of antique aircraft.

The aircraft will be arriving at Point Cook late morning/early afternoon of 31 March. There will not be a flying display. The aircraft will remain overnight at Point Cook and depart on the morning of Friday 1 April.

HARS NEWS

The 19th of November 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the loss of Flt.Lt. R. Page and 76 Squadron’s Macchi A7-076. In a joint partnership between 76 Squadron RAAF and HARS Macchi A7-052 has been delivered to the HARS Albion Park facility where members of the HARS Macchi A7-025 restoration team have commenced its external restoration. The aircraft will be painted into 76 Squadron livery and will wear the serial number of A7-076 in memory of the lost Macchi. The aircraft was lost off Williamtown. NSW, in November 1990. A presentation ceremony was held on 19 November when the aircraft was presented to the members of 76 Squadron and the RAAF.

In Brief

• New Zealand registered Yak-52 ZK-KGB made a gear up landing at Pauanui on 8 February after a gear lock on a gear leg failed to operate.

• The Queensland Air Museum has advised that it has no plans to keep its newly acquired CAC Wirraway, VH-WIR ‘652’ in the air. In making a statement regarding the future of the aircraft it was said that the museum does not have the funds to keep the aircraft flying but that the machine will be kept in airworthy condition with regular engine runs and keeping the hydraulic systems operational. The aircraft arrived from Adelaide on 13 December.

• The Queensland Air Museum has received news that former USAAC pilot Walter Seidel passed away on 2 February aged 90. Walter was the pilot for the QAM C47 VHCXE, VHCXL, later VH-ANR, when it was assigned to General Douglas McArthur’s GHQ during the darkest days of the war in the Pacific. On a trip to Australia Walter sat in the command seat of the old Douglas 67 years after he last flew it. He later told his family that was the highlight of his trip to Australia.

Contact Dave by email at [email protected]