Warbirds

Navy Historic Flight grounded

Effective from August 7 the Commander Fleet Air Arm placed a pause on any further flying by the Royal Australian Navy Historic Flight until “contemporary governance requirements could be complied with and the resources necessary to do so are in place to assure the activity’s safest achievable conduct into the future”.

This will mean the Flight’s Bell UH-1B Iroquois, VH-NVV/N9‑3104 ‘898’, will not be seen in the air in the foreseeable future.

In the past the RAN Historic Flight has also flown Grumman Tracker VH-NVX/N12-152333. Who will forget the bomb bay doors opening to see the words ‘Fly Navy’ on the inside of the doors? The Historic Flight in the past has also worked on Hawker Sea Fury VH-NVS/VW623, Fairy Firefly VH-NVU/WD826, Westland Scout VH‑NVW/N8-101 and Douglas C-47 VH-NVZ/N2-90, with the view that these aircraft might be brought up to airworthy standard. But it has been the UH-1B that has been the public face of the RAN Historic Flight. Lets hope it can return to the skies shortly.

RAAF puts surplus heritage aircraft up for disposal

The Directorate of Air Force Heritage (DAFH) is disposing of three surplus historic aircraft, two Canberra bombers and a Lockheed Neptune.

The aircraft are Canberra A84‑226 located at RAAF Base Wagga, Canberra A84-203 at RAAF Amberley and Lockheed Neptune A89-272 at RAAF Townsville.

The DAFH is disposing of these aircraft as surplus to the requirements of the heritage fleet. The disposal notice notes that the aircraft have been used as training aids, have been exposed to the elements for some years and have parts missing. It also warns that each aircraft contains hazardous materials which must be mitigated in any retrieval. None are complete.

The disposal note invited expressions of interest from Australian historical organisations to acquire the aircraft “as is where is on a competitive basis”. No financial assistance is available for retrieving the aircraft.

The disposal tender closed on September 21.

Huey for the RNZAF Museum

Bell UH-1H Iroquois NZ3801 arrived for display at the RNZAF Air Force Museum at Wigram in August. Trucked by a NZ Army low-loader from Ohakea, after assembly the machine will be placed on display in the aircraft hall in place of ex-US Army UH-1H 69-15923, which was painted up as ‘NZ3800’.

NZ3801 was the first Huey to be received by the RNZAF, arriving at Whenuapai in June 1966. It saw service in Fiji, Singapore and Timorand was also used in many disaster relief operations including the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-2011. The RNZAF operated 14 Bell UH-1H Iroquois helicopters between 1966 and 2015. The type was retired in May, replaced by the NH90.

A second Iroquois, NZ3808, will remain at Ohakea for potential future display there, while a third, NZ3802, has been given to the National Army Museum at Waiouru, although it will be placed into storage for the time being.

Movements and register news

Hawker Hurricane C-FDNL has now been moved back to Scone for some paint and other work to get it back into the air after having had fabric work carried out at Luskintyre. It looks like a contender for the Temora Warbirds Airshow over November 20-21.

Former French air force Stampe SV-4B VH-TJR was ferried from Luskintyre, NSW to Coldstream, Victoria in mid-August to its new owner, John Russell. The biplane was built in 1949 in France as a Renault-powered SV-4C. It served with the French air force, then carried French civil markings before moving to the USA. Imported into Australia it had the Renault changed for a DH Gipsy Major 10-2 turning it into a SV-4B. It carries a white and blue colour scheme.

The Classic Jet Fighter Museum’s Chance Vought F4U Corsair, c/n 02608, was added to the register as VH-AQU on July 24 to Robert Jarrett of Salisbury East, South Australia. We detailed the history of this aircraft, which has been with the CJFM at Parafield since February, in our June issue column, Fokker D. VIII VH-EIV, c/n 001, was added to the register on August 12 to Andrew Carter of Wavell Heights, Queensland. Andrew is the founder of the Caboolture-based The Australian Vintage Aviation Society (TAVAS).

Ex RAAF and MacRobertson Miller Airlines Douglas C-47A 42-92709 was added to the register as VH‑XUX on July 28 to Ralph Chrystall of Molong, NSW. This aircraft was previously VH-MMF with MacRobertson Miller Airlines, Ansett Airlines of Papua New Guinea and Ansett subsidiary Air Tasmania, after serving with the RAAF as A65-41 (wartime callsign VHCUK) between 1944 and 1948. It was originally built for the US Army Air Force as 42-92709.

The aircraft has not flown since the late 1970s, having seen periods of storage at Essendon, Camden and Bankstown, where work has been underway to return VH-XUX to airworthiness.

RAAF Museum news

The RAAF Museum will no longer hold air pageants, a decision influenced by manpower and resource constraints and local considerations (and made some time before the tragic Shoreham Airshow accident in the UK).

In place of air pageants the museum will hold four to six occasional ‘interactive’ events per year, the first of which will be held on October 4. These interactive events will be larger than the periodic interactive events the museum has held in the past.

The first event will see Alan Arthur’s Curtiss P-40N VH- ZOC, the Judy Pay/Dick Hourigan CAC Mustang VH-JUC, and a RAAF PC-9 from the Central Flying School at Sale flying on the day.

The new arrangement is a trial at this stage, advises museum director David Gardner, but if it goes according to plan they will continue.

In other RAAF Museum news the purchase of New Zealand-built SE5Areplica ZK-SEO is being considered. David Gardner advises that “it is under consideration but the wheels of decision-making grind slowly”.

The RAAF Museum has, however, purchased TVAL RE‑8 ZK-RES. The aircraft is to be maintained in flying condition and to this end has had the registration VH-OTF allocated for it. OTF is short for ‘Over The Front’.

Meanwhile Retro Track & Air (UK) Ltd has been chosen to rebuild the Merlin engine of the RAAF Museum’s Mustang, A68-170/VH-SVU. As reported in our August issue the Mustang has been out of the air for some time following the discovery of metal in an oil filter.

Retro is based at Dursley, Gloucestershire and has the contract for the repair and overhaul of the Rolls-Royce engines for the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Overhaul of the engine will take an expected six to eight months.

P-40 US bound

Curtiss P-40N VH-MIK was noted in mid-August to be sharing the Hazair hangar in Albury with recently imported Fw 190A-8 VH‑WLF.

The P-40N was taken off the CASA register on August 19 and was being prepared for shipment to a new owner in the USA. The aircraft had been at Wangaratta for the last year being converted to a dual control machine. Steve Death of Hazair flew the aircraft from Mareeba to Wangaratta a year ago.

In the same hangar the Focke Wulf, now registered as VH-needed some work to be carried out before it is reassembled and prepared for flight.

The Fw 190 was added to the register on July 23 to Raptor Aviation of Brighton, Victoria.

Return of the Catalina

That is the title of a new documentary that covers the obtaining and flight of Catalina VH-EAX from Spain to Longreach, Queensland for the Qantas Founders Museum.

The film – available as a DVD or digital download – was released in late August and covers the enthralling story of a band of retired pilots and engineers as they restore and fly a 70-year-old Catalina flying boat halfway across the world from Spain to Longreach. On their two-year struggle they faced catastrophic engine failures and blistering heat as they struggled to get the aircraft back in the skies.

The remaining pilot from the famous Double Sunrise Flights, Rex Senior, was present when the crew finally touched down in Longreach. (It is unfortunate to record that Mr Senior passed away on January 5 this year. ) To find out more about the film visit returnofthecatalina. com.

Moorabbin Museum lands a 737

The Australian National Aviation Museum has acquired a Boeing 737 – well at least a good chunk of one.

The ex Air Philippines 737‑200RP-C8006 had been acquired by Skills Victoria for the former Kangan Batman TAFE (now the Kangan Institute) in 2008 for use as a training aid. The old airliner had been in storage at the BAE Systems hangar at Tullamarine airport, and was broken up in August.

But thankfully the museum was able to obtain the aircraft’s two Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines plus its cockpit and forward fuselage.

The intent is to maintain the cabin with its seats and mount the unit on a custom-built stand. The cockpit lighting and instrumentation will be refitted and shown to museum visitors who in this new age are not allowed access to an airliner cockpit.

The cockpit section was moved by a Membrey’s Transport low-loader from Tullamarine and across the Westgate Bridge on August 24 – quite a sight for motorists.

In brief

»» The Qantas Founders Museum at Longreach won a Silver Award in the Interpretation and Promotion category of the 2015 National Trust Queensland Heritage Awards. The award recognised the work completed in the National Heritage-listed (original) Qantas hangar as part of the “Bring the Qantas Hangar to Life” project which was funded by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.