Warbirds

There was a theme of Cessna aircraft, from old to new. The oldest Cessna in Australia is the replica Clyde Cessna CC-1 of 1912 vintage but it is still being rebuilt in Adelaide and unfortunately did not make the show. The oldest Cessna on display was a model 120 of 1947 vintage, RA registration 24-7934. The next oldest was a 1956 Cessna 172, VH-ZKN, c/n 28461 Nearby was a slightly younger 1956 built Cessna 172, VH-SNU, with c/n 28627. Owner Dennis Edwards was keen to talk about his aircraft to anyone who wanted to know about the factory fresh looking straight tailed Cessna with venturis on the fuselage side.

It would have been nice to have had all the Cessna singles altogether in one area to be able to show off the oldest to the newest but it was not to be. Spread around the static display area were a variety of models 172s, 180s 182s and 185s along with a model 305/L-19 Bird Dog and a Cessna 190, VH-AAL, and a 195, VH-VLD. There was even a Cessna 180D painted up as ex army, A98-063.

The most recent Cessna was a model TTx with glass screens and all the bells and whistles that round gauge real Cessna’s do not have. A Waco cabin biplane, a Stinson Reliant added to the antique scene.

The new HARS Convair, decked out in a TAA paint scheme, was due at Avalon but ten minutes out of Albion Park one engine had issues so the aircraft returned to base.

Other aircraft of note were a Hawker-Siddeley Harrier T-4, XW271, which was parked adjacent to the entrance gate. This type has never seen military service in Australia and was bought and transported to Australia. The intent is to get it to engine running standard but not to fly it. GAF/English Electric Canberra, A84-232, was also at the front gate. The Southern Nights in their four T-6 Harvard’s performed formation aerobatics in a way that jet metal does not. For those seeking relief from jet noise there was a Merlin tank engine that did several starts.

There were three cockpits to look at or even clamber aboard, a DH Dove nose, a Mig 21 cockpit and a Hawker Hunter cockpit. The Australian National Aviation Museum had the fuselage of its newly acquired CAC built Mustang on display. Jeff Trappett from Latrobe Valley had his Douglas C-47B, VH-AGU, in the air and static. It has a camouflage colour scheme that makes it very different. In the warbird area there was a Spitfire, Curtiss Kittyhawk, Hunting Jet Provost, N-A T-28 Trojan, CAC Boomerang, Gloster Meteor, Hudson and a Grumman G-111 Albatross amphibian. On the Friday night HARS flew the Lockheed Connie with its engine exhausts glowing in the dark. All told there was a sampling of antique and warbird aircraft to please the average enthusiast and that was in addition to the heavy metal and jet hardware. A veritable feast for the enthusiast.

And if you missed Avalon this year the word is out that the next Avalon promises to have more antique, warbird and light aircraft content. We look forward to that.

Hars News

HARS is continuing with its rebuild of the tri-motored Southern Cross replica. The intent is to get the aircraft back to airworthy standard. It suffered wing damage years ago in Adelaide following an undercarriage issue. Recently long-time supporter and benefactor of the HARS Aviation Museum, Dick Smith, donated the sum of $125,000 towards the continued restoration of the aircraft.

Late last year a HARS team travelled to the Tucson, Arizona, to recover parts and working on HARS project aircraft held at the Pima Air and Space Museum. HARS have a Convair CV-340 there that was being worked on before the South African Convair was sourced and flown to Australia. HARS noted that there were four Neptunes in another yard in Tucson destined for the scrappers but not before yielding valuable components to support the HARS aircraft back in Australia. Parts from two Neptunes were obtained while the HARS team felt that the other two aircraft were in such good condition that it was considered best to offer them to the Pima Air and Space Museum for preservation rather than allow them to be scrapped.

HARS has an excellent working relationship with the Pima Air and Space Museum running for over twenty five years starting with the recovery of the Lockheed Connie, now flying in Australia. May that relationship continue as it assists HARS in no mean manner to keep its aircraft flying.

The museum is very big and well worth a visit. Take a sun hat and a water bottle. The sun can be hot.

L-39 Albatross Gear Collapse

A touch of excitement at Bankstown airport on February 24 when the nose gear of Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross, VH-KVZ, collapsed on take-off from runway 11C. The aircraft ran off the end of the runway and finished up on the grass. The left gear leg appeared to have collapsed as a result of the excursion onto the grass. The two persons on board were uninjured. Built in 1976 the ex military jet fighter trainer is used for air adventure flights.

Register News

From New Zealand comes several items of interest. Piper PA22-150 VH-BRG has become ZK-PCR. With c/n 22-6716 the aircraft is owned by A. Craig of Dunedin and was put on the NZ register on February 14.

As noted in the March AA two BAC-167 Strikemasters are to be exported from NZ to the USA. The first of these to be struck off the register, on January 25, is ZK-NTY, c/n 310.

TVAL, otherwise known as The Vintage Aviator Limited, is in the news again with two exports and one newly registered aircraft.

The new aircraft is ZK-AFS a Sopwith Pup, c/n 0008. It was registered to TVAL on February 27. TVAL has produced another Pup, ZK-PPY that first flew in may 2012. In all 1770 Sopwith Pups were built during the First World war. Four originals survive plus a number of replicas aircraft. The Sopwith Pup is powered by an 80 hp Le Rhone rotary engine. The exported aircraft are ZK-KOZ, a BE2e-1 with c/n 752. It was struck off the NZ register on February 22.

The other machine was ZK-TFZ also a BE2e-1 with c/n 753. It was also struck off the register on February 22. Both biplanes have been in the UK since June 2014 flying with the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden.

Hawker-Siddeley FR74S Hunter, VH-FRH has changed hands from HARS to Greg Ackman of Camden, NSW. Greg has in the past donated aircraft to the Queensland Air Museum so it will be interesting to see where the aircraft ends up. The register records the change of ownership for March 8.

Fairey Battle Restoration

One of the most interesting restoration projects in Australia is that of a Fairey Battle, in the South Australian Aviation Museum at Port Adelaide. Having obtained a derelict fuselage structure many years ago the museum has been actively restoring the aircraft in recent years. Parts have been collected within Australia as well as overseas in order to complete the project. In recent times the tailplane and rear fuselage has been receiving attention. When completed this will be an interesting aircraft if only that it was a single engine bomber but noting that it had a wing span of 16.46 metres and a length of 12.91 metres. It is a big machine. It had a crew of three. The engine was a Rolls Royce Merlin II with 768 kW (1,030 hp).

There only four other know Fairey Battle aircraft in existence, one in the UK two in Canada and one in Belgium.

In Brief

● Parafield, South Australia, will have the Reevers Pastoral North American B-25J ‘Lucky Lady’ on display on Saturday April 8, (Veterans viewing day) and Sunday April 9 (General Public). The recently imported aircraft is under restoration and has not been completed as yet but given that veterans may not be around by the time the restoration to an airworthy standard has been completed the aircraft is to be put up for static display now. The aircraft has been painted up in the colours of a wartime 18 Squadron Dutch Netherlands East Indies Air Force (NEIAF) B-25. Also on display will be the F4U Corsair restoration project of the Classic jets Fighter Museum.

● At West Sale, Victoria, two Jet Provosts have recently been noted. VH-JPE, (XW374) a JP T.5A, stripped down to bare metal, is parked near the museum while VH-YZC (XW408) a JP T.5A was on the tarmac.
The Jet provost was built by Hunting-Percival, then a part of BAC (British Aircraft Corporation). 500 were built. The type later was developed into the BAC-167 Strikemaster.
Contact Dave by email: [email protected]