Warbirds

At Albury is Focke Wulf Fw190 A8, VH-WLF. This aircraft has been test flown and it is reported that it will be displayed at the Tyabb Air Show in March.

From the USA comes both a Supermarine Spitfire, N415MH, and a Spanish built CASA Buchon, a licence built Messerschmitt 109. Both aircraft have come from the Connie Edwards aircraft sale in Texas. These aircraft will be restored to airworthy condition here in Australia.

It is probable that several of these fighter aircraft will be seen flying at events on the east coast in the next few months. There has never been a Focke Wulf Fw190 here in Australia before and the last Hurricane and only example was seen here in 1946. It was scrapped.

For aviation enthusiasts this year promises to be very interesting.

ADF Gifted aircraft

The RAAF has announced the recipients of three retired Air Force heritage aircraft being gifted to Australian historical organisations. The three aircraft have been on display at various RAAF Bases across Australia for decades but will now be restored by the successful organisations and placed on public display within their museums.

The three aircraft are a Lockheed Neptune and two Canberra bombers.

The Lockheed SP-2H Neptune, A89-272, served with 10 Squadron in the 1960s and more recently has been on display at the entrance to RAAF Base Townsville in north Queensland. This aircraft has been gifted to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) for restoration and eventual display at its new Parkes, NSW, facility.

As a side issue the Queensland Air Museum has acquired the Beck Museum Lockheed Neptune, A89-277. The museum sent a crew to Mareeba in late January to commence the dismantling and move to Caloundra, the home of the QAM.

Canberra A84-203 was built in Australia in 1953 at the Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) at Fishermans bend in Melbourne. It served with No 2 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley. It has been on display at the RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre near Ipswich in south east Queensland. This bomber has been gifted to the Evans Head Air Museum, at Evans Head aerodrome in NSW to join its collection of aircraft that includes an F-111. Evans Head aerodrome was the site for the Great Eastern Fly-in over the weekend of January 9/10. Some 8,000 enthusiasts flocked to the event to enjoy warbirds, aerobatics and antique aircraft on display in the air and on the ground. Evans Head was a WW11 RAAF Base.

The second Canberra, A84-226, was built at the GAF in 1955. It served with No 2 Squadron. The bomber made a goodwill visit to the USA in 1956. In recent times it has been on display at RAAF Wagga. It has been gifted to the Australian National Aviation Museum (the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group) located at Moorabbin airport. It will enhance the museum’s collection of Australian built aircraft.

Douglas news

Long time non-flying resident in the Cairns airport, ‘Corrosion corner’ DC-3, VH-SPY, was removed from the airport on Thursday January 28. It was reported as being trucked to Edmonton, a suburb of Cairns, and then to Innisfail.

Bankstown based C-47/DC-3 VH-CWS left the airport on a truck in February. It is reported that it is bound for a military museum in Korea. The aircraft was last registered to JNP Enterprises of Broome, WA. CEO Peter Christoudias advised that he had offered the aircraft free to many organisations in Australia but that no one wanted to dismantle and freight it. He was paying some $2-3K per month in parking fees at Bankstown – six years. He further commented ‘I tried to save her from being scrapped. I suppose in a way we succeeded, however (she) will no longer (be) in Australia’. The aircraft was sold to the Korean museum through a broker in the USA.

Another Bankstown based DC-3 is VH-XUX. This aircraft is destined to fly to Guilin, China to be included in the Flying Tigers Museum. The aircraft, named ‘Buzz Buggy’ made its first post rebuild flight on November 24. With a rising oil temperature the aircraft returned to Bankstown. Upon examination it was determined that the engine had major problems and would need to be replaced.

The planned flight to China will take some seven days. It is intended to make a documentary of the flight as it makes the Hump Flight Re-enactment. The Hump was the name given to the wartime flight track across the vast and high mountain chain between Burma, India and China.

As a result of the item on the planned Hump flight in the January issue of Warbirds the last remaining RAAF crew member to have flown the Hump made contact with this column. There were apparently only eight RAAF crew members that flew the Hump and of these only four were pilots. Flt.Lt. Stuart Arnold now aged 92 made 58 crossings of the Hump in C-47 aircraft. He commented on the number of lost aircraft and the loss of lives. Indeed in January 1944 the accident rate for the airlift was 1.97 per 1,000 flying hours. Every 200 trips over the Hump cost one aircraft. For every 100 tons of supplies flown into China three Americans died.

The departure of VH-XUX now depends on the obtaining fitting and successful operation of a replacement engine.
On the subject of airliners the word is out that HARS is close to importing a Convair series airliner from South Africa. HARS was recently investigating the exact shade of red colour paint, probably to put the machine into an Ansett colour scheme. A total of fourteen Convair 240/340/440s were operated in Australia by Ansett Airways and TAA between 1948 and 1973.

Tiger moth accidents

DH82a Tiger Moth, VH-UZB, marked as A17-272, was involved in a fatal accident on December 28 2015 at Norwell, near Pimpama on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The joy flight aircraft had just taken off when it came down a short distance from the runway. The aircraft is reported to have overturned. The passenger suffered fatal injuries and the pilot, Ryan Campbell, suffered fractures of both legs and other injuries. Mr Campbell is known to be the pilot of a Cirrus 22 that made an around the world flight when he was aged 19.

In late January the ATSB released its long awaited report on the in-flight break up of DH82a Tiger Moth, VH-TSG, near South Stradbroke Island, Queensland on December 16 2013.

The joy flight aircraft had commenced aerobatics when the left wings failed and the aircraft fell into the water with fatal results.

The ATSB found that the under-belly tie rods that assist in transferring flight loads through the fuselage had fractured. The detailed report found that the after- market tie rods had cut thread against rolled threads. It was in the threaded area that a fatigue crack developed. The tie rods in-service life was significantly less than the published retirement life for DH-82a tie rods of 2,000 flight hours. All tie rods made by the subject after-market parts manufacturer have been withdrawn from service.

In its report the ATSB also cautioned commercial vintage aircraft operators about the risks associated with aircraft age and the importance of understanding the originally intended use of the aircraft design before commencing their operations.

What the ASTSB was alluding to was that when originally designed and built the Tiger Moth was designed as a basic trainer with occasional aerobatic use. This was certainly the case with pre-war civil and military aircraft. In more recent years the operation of Tiger Moths on commercial joy flight operations typically involved aerobatic manoeuvres in each flight. While there has never been a stated limit on the amount of aerobatic time that a Tiger Moth is allowed to do the ATSB was saying that commercial operators should consider that aerobatics impose a strain on the structure of the aircraft and that this can effect the life of the airframe. A number of aerobatic aircraft types have aerobatic time limits imposed on them and require aerobatic manoeuvres to be recorded in order to not exceed those limits.

People

The annual Australia Day Awards brought two aviation related people onto the stage. Mr Richard Peter Champion de Crespigny of Northridge, NSW, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘Significant service to the aviation industry’. Captain De Crespigny was the pilot of a Qantas Airbus 380 that suffered a major engine breakup and resultant airframe damage soon after take-off from Singapore in November 2010.

He later wrote a book detailing the event and how he and his crew staved off a disaster and managed to land the aircraft.

Also in the awards was Mr Clifford Farrington Robinson of Everton park, Queensland. Cliff, as he is better known as, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for ‘Service to aviation history, and to the community’.

Cliff is a past president of the Queensland Air Museum and under his guidance the museum has expanded to become one of the major air museums in Australia.

Peter Clements is now not the only Corsair rated pilot in Australia. In late January Mustang pilot, Judy pay, was checked out in the Corsair at Point Cook. Retired airline captain, Tyabb flight instructor and Sopwith Snipe replica builder, Nick Caldwell, was also checked out in the big fighter.

Register update

From New Zealand we learn that Beagle A.109 VH-UEP c/n B-525. has taken up NZ registration ZK-COA on December 23. It is registered to Maximum Ventures Ltd of Wanaka. Yak 52 ZK-YIK was registered to Mr P Scandrett of Pauanui on January 26. This aircraft has c/n 9111311. It was previously G-YAKV. Another new registration of interest is ZK-YLO a Piper J3C-65 with c/n 19046. It was registered on January 26 to Ardmore Aviation Services Ltd of NT Hong Kong. It was previously N923BC. Another new aircraft on the register is Piper PA18-150, ZK-CVC. It went on the register to Mr Richmond Simon of Seddon on February 3. It is listed as being ex S5-DAM.

In the cancellations department we find DC-3 ZK-JGB, c/n 4363, was taken of the register on December 14 as exported. It now carries a US registration.

In Australia Champion 7FC, VH-UEJ, c/n 7FC-281, was taken off the register effective January 27. One hopes it will return.

A low act

An Auster J1N based at Coldstream airport, near Melbourne, had its propeller stolen in late January. It is unfortunate to record that theft of aircraft components continues to happen not only in Australia but around the world. What happens to those items? Do they get transplanted into other aircraft or do they become ‘Man Cave decoration’ Who knows?

In brief

• An Auster has arrived from Canada. The aircraft, previously C-FLOE, is a model AOP.111 is now at Camden, NSW. With c/n TAY297V it came from Saskatchewan. It is painted yellow with a RCAF roundel. The machine is reported as not having flown for time and will need to have the fabric replaced on one wing. There is some disagreement as to whether it is an Mk 6 or an AOP.111.

• On the subject of Auster aircraft aviator Dick Smith has mounted searches to try and locate the wreckage of Auster J-5F Aiglet Trainer, VH-AFK that crashed in poor weather in the Blue Mountains, NSW, on October 16 1954. The pilot was Max Hazleton who later started Hazelton Airlines. It was six days later that Mr Hazelton walked out of the mountains. The wreck has never been found.

Mr Smith wants to put a marker on the site as and when it is found. Over the past 62 years there have been a number of searches for the remains of the aircraft but to date none have been successful.

• The Old Aviators Flying Museum at Maryborough, Vic. has closed. The museum was opened by England to Australia Tiger Moth flyer, John Fisher, and featured De Havilland aircraft. John Fisher was killed along with his passenger, in the crash of DH82a Tiger Moth, VH-GVA, on January 27 2012.

Faced with increasing financial pressures the museum closed on Saturday November 14 2015.

• Aviation enthusiasts rejoice. With the opening of a Parkes Wing of HARS there are now not three (see January AA) but four air museums to visit in central NSW. Southern most is the RAAF Base Wagga, located at the front gate. Next north is the Temora Air Museum. The TAM needs no introduction save to say that its regular air events continue to hold spectator appeal. Further north is the HARS Parkes Wing at the Parkes aerodrome. Next north is the Narromine Air Museum located at the aerodrome. Narromine was an RAAF Base during WW11 and the museum has a good collection that relates to that time.

Altogether a four visit air museum tour for the aviation enthusiast to travel to and enjoy.

Contact Dave by email: [email protected]