Warbirds

Tony led a life that Boys Own magazine would write about. Before World War 2 he went to England to study at Cambridge. On the outbreak of war he joined the RAF and became a Spitfire pilot, flying with Douglas Bader and Johnnie Johnson, and ended up with 12.5 combat victories. Shot down over occupied France, he escaped and made his way back to England. He was the first British pilot to shoot down a German jet – a Me262 – and in doing so became the first pilot to shoot down a jet in combat. In the latter stages of the war he commanded a squadron flying Gloster Meteor jet fighters. He was the first Australian pilot to fly a jet in combat.

One story about Tony Gaze is worth retelling. In the final stages of WW2 before the German surrender, Tony flew his Meteor III jet fighter to land on a stretch of a German autobahn where it was known Me 262s were parked. He landed and met German pilots. There the pilots of the two sides looked over each others aircraft before he departed for his home base, declining an invitation to attend a party that night.

Post-war, Tony got himself involved in another high-speed activity, motor racing. During the 1950s and 60s his was a household name from his motor racing activities. He even managed to find time to get involved in gliding and competed in the 1960 World Gliding Championships in Germany.

After living in England for a number of years he moved back to Australia in 1977.
His life story is captured in the recent book ****Almost Unknown**** by Stewart Wilson. The book is published by Chevron Publishing Group.

Tony Gaze may be gone but one can only say he packed into life much much more than the average person. Above all he will be remembered by close friends and contacts the way he would like to be thought of – that he was a gentleman.

Drover finds new home

August 3 saw DHA-3 Mk.2 Drover VH-AZS find a new home at the Australian National Aviation Museum, a.k.a. the Moorabbin Air Museum.

The aircraft started out as VH-DRF, seeing service with the Northern Territory Medical Service and later the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

It became VH-AZS in July 1955. One of its later owners was Trans-Australia Airlines.

The Australian-built tri-motor aircraft was bought by Joe Drage on May 21,1976.

Joe then displayed it at his original museum, Drage Historical Aircraft Museum at Wodonga in Victoria.

In 1984 the collection was bought by the City of Wangaratta and on January 27 1985 most of the aircraft were flown to the then new Wangaratta airport to become part of the Air World museum.

There it was on display until Air World ceased operating in 2002 after it was found the museum was a financial liability for the City of Wangaratta.

The Drover, powered by three DH Gipsy Major 10 Mk.2 engines, was later sold at auction circa 2006. The machine is understood to have been bought by John Clark of Melbourne and registered to Briar Hill Pty Ltd of Malvern, Vic. The aircraft was trucked to Nelson, SA, near Mt Gambier, to Harvey McBain’s Nelson Aeroplane Company for a long-term restoration including a wing spar replacement.

The rebuild was not completed. The aircraft, built in 1955, is now with the museum on a long-term loan, but is currently in the museum’s storage yard at Moorabbin airport.

Australian Warbirds looks for new CEO

Australian Warbirds Association Ltd (AWAL) is looking for a new CEO following the resignation of Steve Crocker. In correspondence Steve advised he was heading to the UK, a move he had been planning for a year or two. He advised that the AWAL is now running well with association getting all the approvals it needs to do the job of self-administration (for warbirds in Australia).

A past president of AWAL, Steve is a commercial pilot flying single and multi-engine aircraft, both piston and jet. He has a long interest in flying warbirds.

Steve was also the CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA). He has also resigned from AOPA and as a result that organisation too placed an advertisement in The Australian newspaper, aviation section, on August 2, seeking a new CEO.

Register news

Who was it that said that you cannot keep a good DHC-2 Beaver down? From New Zealand we learn that a well-travelled Beaver has turned up on the register. The aircraft, c/n 1477, was registered as ZK-AMA to Auckland Seaplanes on July 9. The floatplane was previously -registered as C-GBVR and flew out of Vancouver, BC. The aircraft, built in 1974, is reported as having gone to the Republic of Ghana Air Force as G-209. Later it went to the US as N37770. It then turned up in Australia. The registration of VH-IMN was not taken up and it became VH-HAQ and flew around the Barrier Reef for a number of years before going back to Canada in 1989. Now it is back to the southern hemisphere and on floats with new-start company Auckland Seaplanes. May she fly for many years to come.

Also in Auckland is Grumman G-44A Widgeon ZK-ANM, taking a new owner, W. Delholm on June 11. This waterbird was built back in 1947. It has had a number of owners and registrations including N86640, VH-AZO, ZK-AVM, VH-WET, PT-WET and then ZK-AVM again.

In Australia a DH82A Tiger Moth VH-LXY c/n 83110 was added to the register on June 17. The owner is John Gallagher of Loftus, NSW. This machine, built in 1940, has carried a number of registration marks over the years. It started as R5251 with the RAF. Later it became G-ANXI, VH-BIC then VH-WPL. Now it is VH-LXY.

You win one, you lose one. Piper PA18-135 Super Cub VH-CAK c/n 18-4025 was struck off the register on July 26 as having been exported to New Zealand.

Dubbo Neptune on the move

Ex-RAAF Lockheed Neptune, A89-279, has been moved. The former maritime patrol bomber has been at the Dubbo Military Museum in NSW, but with the demise of that operation owner Barry Ryan put the aircraft up for sale, asking $50,000.

The aircraft was bought by Phil Horton of Sydney for an unknown sum, and who has had the aircraft dismantled and trucked to a new location on a farm near Mudgee. There the new owner said he would re-assemble the big aircraft and then build a shed around it to protect it from the elements. As yet there are no indications what he intends to do with the aircraft.

Replica 1913 Robbins and Porter Monoplane at Albury

A replica of the first aircraft to be built at Albury, NSW, has been constructed by a group of local enthusiasts.

The original aircraft, looking not unlike a Bleriot monoplane, was constructed at Albury in 1912/1913 by Azor Robbins and Alexander Porter. It made its first flight from a paddock at Bungowannah Park, to the west of Albury, on July 27 1913. The pilot was an 18 year-old Vivian Porter.

The replica was constructed by a group of local enthusiasts lead by Michael Browne. A replica, non-operational engine was made at Albury. The original engine was a four-cylinder horizontally-opposed engine giving out some 29.6kW (40hp). The original aircraft was lost for all time when it was destroyed by fire when the garage it was stored in at Albury was burnt down. The engine was recovered and still exists. Now the property of Museum Victoria, it is understood to be on display at the Melbourne Scienceworks Museum at Newport.

Construction was timed to allow the completed replica to be installed in the Albury Library Museum on July 27, the same date 100 years ago that the original aircraft made its first flight. It is hanging from the ceiling. It will remain there for at least five years.

Liberty engine with a history

The historic Liberty aircraft engine on display at the Tennant Creek airport terminal has gone, but it will be back!. The V-12 296 kW (400hp) engine came from the RAAF DH-9A aircraft, A1-1, that crashed on April 21 1929 near Tennant Creek NT, following engine failure. The aircraft, flown by Flt. Lt. Charles Eaton, was engaged in a search for the Westland Widgeon monoplane Kookaburra G-AUKA that had gone missing while searching for the Kingsford-Smith Fokker

Southern Cross that was later located in north Western Australia.

The engine from the DH-9A was later recovered. In more recent years it had been on display in the terminal at Tennant Creek. During recent renovations to the terminal interior, the display case containing the Liberty was damaged and the engine was taken off display. Local historian, Pamela Hodges, advies the engine will be returned to the terminal later this year.

Another Liberty aircraft engine, from one of the other 1929 search RAAF DH-9A aircraft, is on display at the Darwin Aviation Museum.
In brief

● The Royal Newcastle Aero Club (RNAC) celebrated its 85th anniversary on 3/4 August with a flypast of more than 20 aircraft. The club was formed in 1928 by two World War 1 aviators Captain H.S. Preston and Captain L.H. Irwin. The club established an aerodrome at Broadmeadow and in 1935 brought the first DH82a Tiger Moth to Australia from England. In 1962 the club moved to its present site in Maitland. The RNAC has trained many pilots and is now the largest aero club in Australia. It has been the organiser and host to many Tiger Moth Air races. The next Tiger race is on Anzac Day 2014.

● The Catalina Memorial at Bowen was to hold a memorial service on August 17 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the loss of RAAF Catalina A24-24 off the coast of Bowen, Queensland on August 18 1943. Of the 16 persons on board only two survived. The day was to focus on a memorial service but there was also to be a fly-in.

● In the USA Starman Auctions was to conduct an auction on August 17 for the estate of the late Merle H. Maine. Included in the auction were two ex-Australia aircraft. N11924 was a DH115 Mk.35 Vampire Primary Trainer. Built in 1958 and with c/n 4140, it was said to have been flying but the log books could not be found. This ex-RAAF aircraft was previously A79-618.

The second Australian connection was a De Havilland DH-112 FAW Mk.53 Sea Venom, N7022H. This aircraft, built in 1956, was in a previous life WZ944, c/n 12787, ‘873’ with the Royal Australian Navy.

Another ex-RAAF aircraft, but nothing to do with the Merle Maine auction, was N11925, ex A79-624. This DH-115 T.35 Vampire was struck off the US register on August 5. The interest in this aircraft is that it was modified to be an eight-seat single-engine jet transport called the ‘Mystery Jet’! It was sighted near Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1990s, but nothing has been heard of it since.

Contact Dave by email at [email protected]