Warbirds

Located at Archerfield the aircraft have been in the name of the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy since January 5 2017.

The aircraft were previously with the Steve Hart’s Flying Fighters Pty Ltd, a flying museum. Flying Fighters still has eight aircraft registered to it. Hawker Sea Fury VH-SHF, T-28 VH-AVC, T-28 VH-SHT, L-39 VH-SIC, Cessna 172N VH-SPL, PA38 VH-CFR, PA38 VH-FLX and CAP 232 VH-SHI.

The aircraft to be auctioned all relate to a court action by the Australian Tax Office in which it was alleged that Harts Australasia had run a tax minimisation scheme. In 2006 Investment Magazine commented that the Justice and Customs Ministry had seized 11 historic aircraft including a Hawker Sea Fury, De Havilland Tiger Moth, four hangars, a Mercedes Benz motor vehicle and a number of residential and rural properties.

The outcome regarding the fate of the Sea Fury and the other aircraft is unknown at this stage.

North American B-25 goes on show

It was a long time since the last North American B-25 graced the tarmac at Parafield but April 8 saw a return of the type with the formal unveiling of the Reevers B-25 ‘Lucky Lady’ to a gathering of invited guests.

The aircraft, although incomplete, had been assembled and painted up in the markings of a NEIAF B-25 N5-131 with tail number 112916. The invited guests included a 93 old WWII pilot who had flown the type during the war. Included in the guests were family members of squadron personnel, their friends and Dutch and Australian officials.

The B-25 Mitchell is to be restored to airworthy condition and eventually flown here in Australia. When completed it will be in a different colour scheme to the olive drab of the unveiling day.

Originally serial 44-31508 the aircraft was obtained in the US and after being dismantled was shipped to Adelaide. It will be rebuilt to flying condition. When completed it will be the only complete B-25 in Australia.

Maryborough Auction of John Fisher collection

Maryborough, Victoria, was the site for the auction of the John Fisher Collection of Aviation History on Sunday April 30. John Fisher was an aviation enthusiast who flew his Tiger Moth from London to Sydney in 1996.

John unfortunately died in the crash of his aircraft at Maryborough in January 2012 along with his passenger. Before his death John had a vision of having a De Havilland Tiger Moth rebuilding centre and museum at Maryborough and to that end he gathered up a huge collection of Tiger Moth parts and Gipsy major engines.

Following his passing his widow, Catherine, ran the De Havilland Old Aviators Flying Museum at the airport but has now decided that it is time to sell the collection and move on with her life.

The auction of the collection was conducted by auctioneers Mossgreen. Following several days of inspection of the lots to be auctioned auctioneer Jon Dwyer commenced the bidding at 12 noon sharp and continued unabated for many hours. There were some 363 lots put up for sale. Observation indicated that there was enough material to build or rebuild at least six Tiger Moth aircraft. In addition there was a Portuguese built DHC-1 Chipmunk, VH-POR, Lycoming Auster J5G, VH-JSG, De Havilland FB 9 single seat Vampire, marked as A79-417 but in fact R1380 from Zimbabwe and the fuselage of Thruxton Jackaroo, previously RAF N6907 and G-AOIO. This had been imported into Australia in the 1970’s but never rebuilt to fly.

The illustrated catalogue gave buyers a guide to the lots and a possible price. A number of the lots deserve attention. A miniature Victoria Cross went for $3000. A Campbells NZ flying helmet went for $2000. A Sopwith Camel propeller for $9000. In addition all items had a 24% buyer’s premium and most had GST to be paid as well. Tiger Moth propeller $3800. A De Havilland Goblin jet engine $4200. A Spitfire panel (original or replica?) with instruments went for a staggering $18,000 while a CAC Boomerang instrument panel with instruments went for $900. A fuselage said to be that of Tiger Moth VH-JCF $7500 and another fuselage for VH-UDH $1500. The Chipmunk was passed in at $75,000. The Vampire sold for $14,000. The Auster was passed in at $48,000. It looked like new and had a Lycoming 0-360 engine with 945 hours to run. RAAF style bone dome helmet $1000. Bofors anti-aircraft gun, $4200. Torana target drone $4600. Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah radial engine on a trailer, $6000. Aircraft tug $3200.

The Thruxton Jackaroo fuselage was sold for $4200. One report had it that the fuselage will be going to New Zealand and to be rebuilt to fly with a 145 hp Gipsy Major Mk 10 Chipmunk engine in it for extra performance. The Jackaroo was not a great performer with a load of people on board. A Gipsy Major engine, complete, $11,000. Nil hours since a rebuild. There were also a numerous boxes sold as job lots that contained instruments, fittings, hardware, windscreens, incomplete engines, crankshafts, cylinder heads, cylinders, magnetos, carburettors, cowlings, tools etc. Some were passed in while the majority sold for almost give away prices.

A few faces in the 120 or so people at the auction were well know but there were bids being taken from people unknown to this writer. David Gardner from the RAAF Museum at Point Cook was a bidder. He purchased a number of lots that will assist with the ongoing running of the museum’s heritage flying aircraft.

It was of interest that there were not obvious bidders from well know DH rebuild shops from around Australia. Maybe they have enough parts in their stores to keep their rebuilds going. In all it was an interesting day.

Curtiss P-40 kittyhawks onto us register

A group of Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks have been added to the US Civil register. Some of the aircraft have Australian connections. In March the following were put on the register. N822GH P-40E, ex 40-400 crashed at Diamond Head, Honolulu, 7/1/44. N811CH P-40E ex 41-36157 crashed Dobobura, NG, 18/6/43. N811FH P-40E ex 41-36171 crashed NG. This aircraft had been at Darwin in 1942. N811EH P-40K ex 42-45963 crashed NG. More research may give the NG wrecks closer tie ups with Australia in NG in WWII.

All the Curtiss P-40s were registered to Jason M. Hodge of Greenwood, California. While these aircraft are in all probability only rebuild projects by placing them on the register it gives them provenance and records a serial against a registration. It would not be the first time that an aircraft rebuild project has had its identity taken by another aircraft and placed on the register.

Register news

From New Zealand we learn that the TVAL Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe ZK-SNI, c/n 0112, was struck off the register on March 10 as exported. At the same time the TVAL of Masterton put an Albatross DVa-1 ZK-ALB, c/n 0147, on the register on March 15. TVAL also put an RE8-1, c/n 0004, on to the register on April 28. The replica business in New Zealand just keeps going on and on.

In Australia Stinson VH-STN 108-3 had a change of ownership on April 27 to Stephen Guilmartin, Kyneton, Vic.

Taylor J-2 VH-FZL, c/n 1754, changed ownership to Jeffrey Long of Bayswater, WA, on March 30. Convair 340 VH-PDL, c/n 137, was struck off the register on April 13. The last registered operator was Pionair of Condell park, NSW. CAC CA-25 Winjeel serial A85-404 was placed on the register as VH-NSJ on April 21 to Stephen Bowtell of Morayfield, Qld. It is ex ZK-WJL.

Piper L4H, VH-XFA, c/n 11891, had a change of ownership to Richard Haynes of Daylesford, Vic. on April 27.,

Passing of war hero Peter Isaacson

It is unfortunate to record the passing of Australian wartime hero, Peter Isaacson, on April 7 at age 96. Born on 31 July 1920 in London, United Kingdom, he arrived in Australia at age six. After working as an office boy at the Age newspaper he enlisted in the RAAF in 1940. He completed his training in Australia and Canada and was subsequently posted to No. 460 Squadron RAAF at RAAF Breighton. Yorkshire as a Sergeant Pilot. Initially he flew Wellington bombers before the squadron transferred to Lancaster bombers.

Sergeant Peter Isaacson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal in November 1942 after many night attacks on the enemy. He was later to be commissioned as a pilot officer and posted to No. 156 Squadron RAF. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in March 1943. After 45sorties with Bomber Command he flew Lancaster Q-for-Queenie to Australia with the view that it would be used as template for local production in Australia. This never took place.

On October 22 1943 Isaacson flew the Lancaster under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the largest aircraft ever to do so. He was threatened with a court martial but that never took place. Not withstanding the publicity the escapade generated addition support for the war loans effort.

After the war Isaacson remained with the RAAF Reserve retiring in 1969 with the rank of Wing Commander. Isaacson returned to the media industry working with the Argus newspaper and then setting up his own chain of community newspapers. He passed away in Melbourne at age 96 following a short illness. During his career he was awarded the AM DFC AFC and DFM. A true Australian hero in wartime and in the media industry.

IN BRIEF

● The Temora Aviation Museum Warbirds Downunder Airshow will be returning in 2018. The show, probably the biggest warbirds gathering in Australia, will be staged at Temora, NSW, on October 12 and 13 2018. The event had previously been staged in November but to try and avoid the warmer weather conditions experienced during the previous events it was decided to move the date to October. On Friday October 12 there will be an evening airshow followed by a full airshow program on Saturday October 13. An even not to be missed by warbird enthusiasts.

● A new book on aviation, including agricultural aviation, in the Walcha area of NSW, has been released. Published by its author local historian, Bob Walsh, the A4 sized book entitled ‘Aviation at Walcha’ can be obtained from the Walcha Newsagency. It is $25 a copy plus P&P. Walcha was one of the first areas in Australia to use an aircraft for commercial crop dusting. That first aircraft, Tiger Moth VH-PCB, is today preserved in the Walcha Pioneer Cottage hangar in the town.

● Aviation administrator Peter Lloyd has donated a wooden propeller from a Supermarine Walrus to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The propeller is in fact one of two propeller blades that make up a cross as the propeller unit on the Bristol Pegasus pusher radial engine that powered the Walrus amphibian. A restored Walrus (or Seagull V) can be seen at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook.

Contact Dave by email: [email protected].