Warbirds

Originally was ordered by the Netherlands East Indies Air Force as an advanced trainer and light attack aircraft, with the rapid advance of the Japanese 14 were diverted to Australia in March 1942. A few were captured and used by the Japanese. In Australia the aircraft were used by the 49th Pursuit Group.

The remains Magnetic Island wreckage reported on Peter Dunn’s www.ozatwar website to be that of Falcon, serial 3771, which had an engine failure and ditched on December 5 1943. Pilot Captain Richard Sansing survived the crash. he same aircraft had an earlier engine failure and force-landed on a Townsville beach on January 29 1943.

The second wreck is that of a Dornier DO-24 three-engined flying boat, serial X-36, one of six that fled Java during WWII in the face of the rapid Japanese advance.

It was lost and low on fuel when it made a landing on mud flats near Anna Plains, 150km south of Broome. The crew, concerned about being detected by the Japanese, left the aircraft but next day they came back and set it alight.

Crew and passengers were later found and indeed several of the crew flew other aircraft for the rest of the war. The wreckage was discovered recently by Broome resident Dion Marinis.

The other five Dornier DO-24s had been moored in Broome Harbour, along with 10 other flying boats, when the Japanese attacked them on March 3 1942. All were destroyed with great loss of life. The remains of some of these aircraft can be seen at low tide, also submerged into the sand.

Mustang Moves

One sold to fly and another back flying — that’s the Mustang news of the month. Mustang A68-199 has been sold by Graham Hosking of Tyabb, Vic to Peter Gill of Somerville, Vic.

The CAC-built fighter has had an interesting life. With the RAAF from 1951 until 1958 it then took up the civil registration VH-BOZ with Illawarra Flying School, Bankstown, where it was used as a target tug on contract to the Australian Army.

Damaged in an aborted take-off accident at Bankstown on June 6 1979 it was repaired before being bought by Doug Arnold from the UK. It acquired British registration G-MUST but permission to export had not been obtained and the aircraft was impounded. After years in storage and being transported around the country it came into the hands of Graham Hosking in 1998.

Meanwhile, the Caboolture, Qld based Mustang, VH-MFT, went back into the air on July 27. It had been out of action for some months, reportedly as its engine had run out of hours. A replacement was obtained from America.

HINKLER AVRO BABY MOVE
At the Queensland Museum, Brisbane for many years, the original Hinkler Avro 534 Baby is on the move. The small biplane has gone to the Hinkler Hall of Fame, Bundaberg. The Avro baby, marked G-EACQ, is to be loaned for five years, replacing a replica at the museum.

Famed aviator Bert Hinkler flew the aircraft from London to Turin in 1920. Its relocation coincides with the release of a new book on the life of Hinkler entitled Bert Hinkler, The most daring man in the world, by Grantlee Kieza.

Robert Little: Forgotten Australian Ww1 Ace.

Unknown by most Australians Robert Little was our accredited top scoring World War 1 fighter ace with 47 kills to his credit. Now a new book is to be released in September that will detail the life and times of Little and his extraordinary combat record.

Over three years of air combat Robert A. (Alec) Little was credited with 47 known victories. He was killed in action in 1918. He was only 22.

But his aircraft, Sopwith Pup N5182, survived. Found in France in 1959 it was taken back to the UK and rebuilt to airworthy condition. Today it’s on display at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon.

Author Mike Rosel has written a book on the life of Alec Little — Unknown warrior: the search for Australia’s greatest ace, due for release on September 18.

New Zealand Warbird News

Former Australian Avro Anson Mk.1, now carrying the New Zealand registration ZK-RRA, has taken to the sky again after a 10-year restoration, the first flight taking place place on July 18 at Nelson.

Owner and restorer Bill Reid was on board the 45-minute flight with pilot and Cathay Pacific captain Dave Phillips.

Bill obtained the aircraft from the defunct Airworld Air Museum collection. An Avro 652A Anson Mk1, it was built during WWII. and initially carried the serial MH120 while with the RAAF.

It now has the appearance of a No 206 Squadron Coastal Command patrol bomber and carries the marks of Anson K6183, VX-B — and even has the rear gun turret. It’s planned to have the Anson flying at the Warbirds over Wanaka airshow in 2013.

New Zealand and September 29 is the date many warbird enthusiasts have marked on their calendars — it’s the projected date for the rebuild of Jerry Yagen’s DH98 Mk.26 Mosquito to take to the air following an eight-year rebuild.

Serial KA114, it was made by De Havilland Canada at its Downsview factory in Toronto, Ontario. Delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1945, too late for wartime service, it was sold off in 1948.

It ended up on a farm until 1978 when the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation obtained it. But by now it was effectively derelict.

Obtained by Jerry Yagen for his Fighter Factory museum inVirginia ,the aircraft was sent to New Zealand where Glyn Powell made new fuselage halves in his Auckland workshop.

The halves were given to Avspecs at their Ardmore, South Auckland aerodrome. New wooden wings were built at at the same time the fuselage came together. A new aircraft was on the way. Original and replacement parts were obtained from the derelict hulk and elsewhere.

Now the announcement has been made of a first flight date – with an audience. Many are already booking accommodation and transport to be at Ardmore aerodrome on September 29.

Register Notes

Kermit Weeks, who owns Fantasy of Flight Air Museum at Polk City, Florida, has reportedly bought the former Murray Griffiths CAC Wirraway, VH-BFO/A20-704, painted as A20-436.

Kermit already owns Wirraway A20-649, bought in Australia and exported to the US in 1988. It was damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and is still in storage pending repair work.

Waco import — Guy Bourke, well-known in warbird circles, is importing a Waco AGC-8 cabin biplane. The aircraft, N66206, c/n 5073, is a 1939 machine restored in 2000 to mint condition. With a chocolate and black colour scheme it took out the 2012 EAA Airventure Vintage Runner-Up award for Bronze Age (1937-1941).

Another Trojan on the register — North American T-28B Trojan, N6255 became VH-RNT on July 19 with the owner listed as Smarts Machinery of Renmark, SA. A 1954 build aircraft it has a c/n of 200-411 and a previous identity of US Navy BuNo.138340. It was last owned by Viper Aviation of Montecito, California.

Vale Dick Nell

Well-known Stampe aerobatics pilot Richard ‘Dick’ Nell died on July 16, aged 82.

Dick will forever be remembered as a bloke who loved flying and regularly attended flying events on the east coast. A mechanical engineer by trade he operated an engineering workshop in his home town of Goulburn, NSW.

Not into serious competition aerobatics, he nevertheless enjoyed demonstrating aeros, complete with a smoke trail, in his Tiger Moth and later in his Stampe, VH-BVU. Dick perfected the fine art of always holding his display in front of the spectator audience.

He learned to fly in 1955. Never a career pilot, over the years he became a commercial pilot and instructor, describing himself as having done charter, instructing, air show display work and cropdusting — always for fun and never for a living.

Smiling and friendly, he liked to share his experiences so much so that he self- published three books. The first two were about his second love with things mechanical, motorcycles. Solo by Motorcycle, London to Bombay (2005) was followed by Motorcycle Fever (2008).

His third book, Flying on the Edge (2010) covered his flying history and reads like a rollicking adventure.

In Brief

● Grumman G73 Mallard, N611DS, arrived at Coolangatta Airport on July 30 at the end of a Trans-Pacific ferry flight. (See article in August AA). It was later flown to Archerfield. On arrival at Coolangatta Airport the aircraft was greeted with airport fire tankers giving it a ‘Bird Bath’ from water cannons aimed high in the air.

● For some years CAC CA-27 Mk.32 Sabre, A94-959, has been mounted on a plinth, at Beetles Park, Raymond Terrace, NSW — and on the decline due to exposure to the elements.

Now owner Port Stephens Council has struck an agreement with the Fighter World Museum at nearby Williamtown, which will restore the aircraft so it can withstand the elements and it will then be displayed for all to see at the front of the museum.

● What else did Curtiss produce apart from aircraft? From 1946 to 1949, with wartime contracts terminated, the firm produced Curtiss Wright Airstream caravans. The vans used aircraft construction techniques and extensive use of sheet aluminium. Today, with their polished aluminium finish, they’re collector items.

● Have a laugh: The EAA 2012 Airventure celebrated the 75th anniversary of the birth of the Piper J-3 Cub by having a mass fly-in of the type. About 100 yellow Cubs duly flew in to the Oshkosh gathering.

So, you park you Cub in a sea of yellow Cubs and go away. Then you want to return to your aircraft. Is it that yellow Cub? Or that one? Or that one?

Contact Dave by email at [email protected]