Warbirds

Australian built Mustang, previously VH-FCB is no more. The well travelled CAC built CA-18 Mk.22 Mustang was written off at the Duxford Flying legends Airshow on July 10 2011 following a mid air accident with Douglas AD-4N Skyraider, F-AZDP.

The former WWII RAF base at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, is the site of the annual Flying Legends show where a number of warbird aircraft are flown and shown to the gathered enthusiasts. It was during the show that two Mustangs and the Skyraider did a left to right pass past the spectators. At the end of the low level run the Mustangs pulled and were then followed by the Skyraider. As the Mustang, registered D-FBBD ‘Big Beautiful Doll’, climbed to the left the Skyraider climbed underneath it. The outer section of the Skyraider’s starboard wing struck the underside of the Mustangs fuselage. Photos show a massive cavity caused by the impact. The outer section of the Skyraider’s wing was broken off. The Mustang lurched and dived away. A few seconds later the pilot bailed out and the aircraft dived into the ground. There was no fire. The pilot was under canopy for some six seconds so low was the bail out. The pilot, owner Rob Davies, was uninjured.
Meanwhile the Skyraider, minus the outer wing section, made a circuit and landed in front of a disbelieving crowd. The accident was rather unique in that there were any number of still and video shots taken of the event, from the fly past to the collision and the landing of the ‘bent’ Skyraider.

Mustang VH-FCB has had a chequered history. Starting out with the RAAF as serial A68-192 it became VH-FCB and was well known on the east coast of Australia in the 1960s’. Sold overseas it became PI-C651 in the Philippines and later VR-HIU in Hong Kong. Sold into the UK it was registered as G-HAEC. In more recent times it was sold to Germany and became D-FBBD.
To Australians the aircraft was always VH-FCB. Alas it is no more!

Oldest Beaufort For Moorabbin Air Museum

In a surprise move the Moorabbin Air museum has acquired Beaufort bomber, A9-13. The acquisition was announced at a museum function on July 15 by the Federal Minister for the Arts, local MP and museum patron, The Hon. Simon Crean.

The aircraft, currently in store in Queensland, was obtained with funding assistance under the National Cultural Heritage Account. The museum has not disclosed the purchase price. The aircraft was purchased from owner Mr Ian Whitney.

The National Cultural Heritage Account helps Australian cultural organisations acquire Australian protested objects, as defined by the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986. It purpose is to encourage organisations to buy nationally significant objects that they could not otherwise afford, with the intention that they be preserved and made accessible to the public.
Beaufort A9-13 is the 13th example built in Australia. Built by the Beaufort Division of the Department of Aircraft Production at Fisherman’s Bend, Melbourne. Assembled from imported UK parts but fitted with Australian made Pratt & Whitney 1830 Twin Row wasp engines it made its first flight as RAF serial T9552. It was delivered to the RAAF in January 1942. Initially based in Australia the bomber was transferred to New Guinea in 1944. In May 1945 it suffered a forced landing and was converted to components. In 1974 the remains of A9-13 were recovered and transported to New Zealand. Later it was moved to Australia.

A9-13 is the oldest surviving Beaufort bomber in the world and the oldest Australian built survivor.

At present the Moorabbin Air Museum has a lot of aircraft in its collection to restore so it is anticipated that work to rebuild of A9-13 will not be in the short term.

In Queensland the rebuild of Ralph Cusack’s Beaufort A9-141 to airworthy standard at Caboolture has been underway for some years and still has some time to run before the aircraft takes to the air. Restored Beaufort A9-557 is with the Australian War Memorial.

Casa To Issue Better Warbird Guidelines

In late July CASA advised that it intended to overhaul the formal advice that it provides to owners and operators of limited category and experimental aircraft. Limited category covers the operation of warbirds, as well as historic and replica aircraft. CASA has set up a project to improve guidance for these aircraft in four key areas. They are maintenance requirements, flight over built up areas, the limited category permit index and passenger warning requirements. CASA is of the view that advisory material published on these issues is not adequate and up-to-date. A new advisory circular will also be developed to introduce extra risk assessment protocols for the issue of limited category aircraft permit index numbers. The permit index is a way of assessing the risk to third parties of the operation of limited category aircraft and imposes restrictions to minimise those risks. The fourth change to advisory material will ensure the requirements for warnings to be given to passengers in limited category aircraft conform to the civil aviation regulations.

More Iroquois Helicopters To Be Preserved

Six more Iroquois helicopters are to be made available for sale to historical organisations. In announcing the move the Minister for Defence Material Jason Clare said that “The helicopters will be available to organisations in Australia that have strong historic connections with the aircraft and can maintain the aircraft as static displays”.

The Bell Iroquois, better known as the Huey has been in service with the Australian Defence Forces (ADF) for nearly half a century.

As the helicopters were procured from the United States, the sale is conditional upon approval from the United States Government. The helicopters will be demilitarised and prepared for display. The cost of this work will be the responsibility of the recipients Minister Clare advised. Costs are estimated to be up to $100,000 per aircraft. Details of the sale and tender process will be made in the coming months.

Eleven Iroquois helicopters have already been allocated to defence bases around Australia and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra for static display. Those bases are RAAF Townsville, Point Cook, Victoria. Darwin. Holsworthy. Oakey. Enoggera and Bandiana.

Another five Iroquois helicopters will be kept by the ADF as training aids and another two have been offered for sale to national returned service organisations.

The last Huey in US Army service was retired at Fort Rucker, Alabama, on May 17, 2011.

Register Intel

Cessna 140 VH-DFQ, previously N89362, took up ownership on the CASA register on June 28 to Nigel Arnot in Queensland. A welcome import. In an interesting move BAE Systems of Tamworth have bought up former RAAF CT4A Airtrainers VH-DAP and VH-ZCT. These aircraft, previously A19-047 and A19-058 with the RAAF, are understood to be used to supplement the fleet of CT4B Airtrainers that BAE operate on pilot flight training at Tamworth. The aircraft changed ownership to BAE on July 25 and 26.

Aero L-39C Albatross, VH-VRO, 834424, changed ownership on July 25 to Malcolm Rolfe-Smith of Brookefield. Malcolm’s father, Kim, is already a well known warbird owner.

In New Zealand Aero L-39C, ZK-CCP, 332639, also changed owners, on May 28, to the ADT Trust of Queenstown. A newcomer to New Zealand is French built Stampe SV-4A, ZK-BBV, c/n 199. It was added to the NZ register on July 22 to L. Fellman of Auckland. It is ex F-BBVM. Percival Provost T Mk.1 ZK-SGN has had a registration change to ZK-PPP. ‘An easier call sign’ says the owner, R.Young of Feilding. The change took place on June 6. The former RAF aircraft is ex G-BKHP and VH-OIL. The former RAF trainer also had a change of paint scheme at the same time.
Not one but two new Spitfires have turned up on the CASA register. They are VH-IXF a Spitfire Mk.IX, CBAF IX5589, on the register on July 28 to Pay’s Air Service, Scone. The second is VH-ZPS a Spitfire Mk.VIII, 446635, on the register July 5 to Alec Wilson of Yunta, South Australia. Alec previously had VH-ZPY on a Spitfire said to be ex MD338. It is understood that at least one of the two is at the Isle of Wight for a rebuild. A newly released Spitfire Survivors book records that Alec has parts from some six Spitfires. They are Mk.V BS219, MA353. Mk VIII JG432, JG484, MD338 (VH-ZPY) and MT682. Most will be just major components not complete aircraft ready to be restored.

In Brief

●The next RAAF Museum Air Pageant at Point Cook will be held on Sunday February 26 2012. An event not to be missed with lots of RAAF historical aircraft on display, in the air and on the ground.

The RAAF Museum is soon to receive two new exhibits. These are the forward fuselage of retired RAAF Boeing 707, A20-627 previously VH-EAG, and the recently recovered remains of Spitfire MJ798.that when found in late 2010 still contained the remains of the RAAF pilot Flight Lieutenant Henry ‘Lacy’ Smith. Flt. Lt. Smith was shot down over Normandy, France, on June 11 1944.

● A replica Wright B Flyer crashed during a test flight on July 30. The two pilots aboard were fatally injured. The aircraft, N453WB, known as ‘Silver Bird’, came down 3 miles from the Springfield airport in Ohio. The replica, built in 2010, was powered by a Lycoming HIO-360 engine.

The original Wright B Flyer crashed on September 17 1908 after a propeller broke up sending the aircraft out of control. The passenger, US Army Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, die in the accident. He was the first person to die in a Wright Flyer aircraft.

● Erratum. In the August issue of AA mention was made of New Zealand Spitfire ZK-WDQ having an accident at Masterton on June 15. In fact the aircraft nosed over onto the propeller while taxying at Ardmore airport, near Auckland, on June 12.

Contact Dave by email at [email protected]