Warbirds

Given that Don has had this collection for some time one has to wonder how many other like collections there are around the country waiting to be restored to flying condition or being held in storage for some enthusiast to come along a get a rebuild project to breath life back into.

Winjeel wonders

CAC CA-25 Winjeel VH-WMD/A85-413 has changed ownership from Peter Best of Malua Bay, NSW, to Paul Lostroh of Rosewood, Qld. Hopefully we will see the aircraft back on the airshow and fly-in circuit.

Another Winjeel that is up for sale is A85-417. It is up for sale as part of a package deal by Don Brown of Kongwak, Victoria. The machine was stuck off the ADF register in May 1970 and later sold to Peninsula Air Services at Moorabbin airport. It was one of six placed on tyres and part dismantled next to the then PAS hangar in February 1971. Later bought by Don Brown and placed in storage where it has been ever since. The emergence of this ‘lost’ machine gives real meaning to the expression of finding an old aeroplane in a barn.

Another Winjeel up for sale in VH-WIJ/A85-436 of Roger Richards of Melbourne.

The machine is currently hangared at Kyneton, Vic.

De Havilland spar issues

A major issue for the owners of some De Havilland aircraft surfaced in mid August with CASA issuing an emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) in relation to De Havilland DH-60 Gipsy Moth, DH-82a Tiger Moth and DH-83 Fox Moth aircraft.

In the UK the CAA found that wing and aileron spars manufactured by Croydon Aircraft Co Ltd of New Zealand may not conform to the specification required. The affected parts having been sold as individual items to customers for repairs and aircraft restorations. The AD spells out that if aircraft are found to be using suspect spars they are not to be flown involving high G loadings or aerobatics. The number of spars involved is unknown but suspect spars could have well been sold to customers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

Given that there have been issues with the structure of the Tiger Moth in recent years, particularly when involved in aerobatics; the respective aviation regulators have raised concern that the subject spars may not be strong enough for the flying involved.

The AD does not specifically mention grounding aircraft with the subject spars but should that happen and a spar replacement be required it will impose an unexpected cost burden on owners and operators of the subject three types of aircraft namely the DH60, DH82a and DH83.

Register news

One we may have missed out on is that of Fairchild 24 C-8-C ZK-ABE. This fabulous aircraft, built in 1934, was imported into New Zealand in 2009 and has been a rebuild project ever since. With c/n 2605 it was placed on the Kiwi register on February 8. It is owned by Trevor Collins of Blenheim. The machine has previously carried American registrations of NC31/NC18617 & N18617. A real antique brought back to life.

More Kiowas for museums

Following on from the news of ADF Kiowa disposals in the last AA warbirds we can now advise that the Australian national Aviation Museum has acquired three CAC/Bell Kiowa helicopters.

The aircraft arrived at the museum on Friday August 25. Helicopters are easier to move than fixed wing aircraft! The firm of Mick Liston from Green Hill Valley Pty Ltd transported the machines from Damascus Barracks in Pinkenba Queensland to the museum at Moorabbin airport.

The Kiowas that the museum has obtained are serial A17-006, A17-045 and A17-055. Bell built A17-006 c/n 44506 was delivered in 1971. It was transferred to the RAN in 1988 as N17-006 and then returned to the Army in 2000. CAC built A17-045 c/n 44545 was delivered in 1976 while A17-055 c/n 44555 was delivered in 1976. It was the second last CAC built Kiowa. The last Kiowa was written off in Tasmania.

The museum plans to assemble A17-055 to a complete display condition to sit alongside Wirraway A20-10 to have the oldest Wirraway and the youngest production CAC products displayed together. The museum’s prime charter is to preserve Australian built aircraft. This it is doing very nicely. A second display Kiowa airframe will also be built from the remaining airframes.

Based on the civilian Bell 206 jet ranger a total of fifty-six Kiowas were to see service with the RAN, Army and ARDU. Allocated CAC production number CA-32, the first twelve were built in the United States with the remainder produced at the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in Melbourne.

These acquisitions now completes the CAC built aircraft collection, with the museum already holding examples of the Wirraway, Wackett Trainer, Boomerang, Mustang, Winjeel, Sabre, Ceres, Macchi, Pazmany and Ikara.

With Kiowas in the news the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre at Caboolture, Queensland, obtained no less than five of the type in late August. The Kiowas obtained are A17-005, -007, – 033, -034 and -035. The AAHC was most fortunate as it had only 50 km to transport the machines, a short distance compared to the transport distances for the Queensland Aviation Museum, the Australian National Aviation Museum and the South Australian Aviation Museum to transport their Kiowa helicopters. Few if any of the machines are complete but with the spares packages and a bit of swapping around good quality display machines will be built up. The AAHC already has another type of helicopter for its collection, a former Royal Australian Navy Westland Wessex, N7-223, side number 24.

Qantas Founders Musuem

From Longreach, Queensland, comes news that the long awaited Lockheed Constellation has arrived from the Philippines and is now in storage at Longreach airport awaiting TLC and to be reassembled. The big airliner was noted in August in the storage yard adjacent to the museum’s B747 and B707. Longreach has had a drought running for some five years so the aircraft is in a dry environment while in external storage. Now comes the big job to assemble the machine, get it on its undercarriage and cleaned out. It was sitting at Manila airport for many years and no doubt needs a good clean out. If the HARS can do that for their Connie then the QFM will be able to do likewise.

On the rear of the fuselage in the former US registration of N4247K while on the upper fuselage is the faded marking United Sates Navy over painted by World Fish & Agriculture Corp.

Also of interest at the QFM collection is that of the Catalina. The aircraft is now in a grey upper paint scheme with the markings G-AGIE on the rear fuselage and the number 4 on the lower fin. Just forward of the registration is a blue and white roundel. The name ANTARE & Qantas Empire Airways in painted below the cockpit window.

Now there are many simulators around, some for professional pilots and others for would be pilots. The aircraft types are typically prop jets and turbo prop aircraft but at the QFM they have a Bristol Fighter simulator! For those keen on a later model aircraft one can fly an F-35 simulator at the museum. The QFM is growing to be a major tourist attraction in the centre of Queensland.

Passing of Joe Drage

August 9 saw the passing of well known aircraft collector and air museum operator, Joe Drage, aged 86.

Joe was a bulldozer operator who in the 1970s flew to work in his cabin Tiger Moth. He had a keen interest in antique aeroplanes and was able to buy aircraft as they became available. His next aircraft was an Avro Cadet. He then purchased a total of 21 aircraft and put them in a large hangar at Wodonga.

This became the Drage Historical Aircraft Museum. The museum opened in 1972 and ran for 13 years at that site. The museum grew but the land was eventually compulsory acquired and the museum collection was purchased by the Wangaratta City Council. The intention being that the air museum would become a major tourist attraction for Wangaratta.

A hi-tech Strarch display hangar built at the new Wangaratta airport and the aircraft moved to there on January 27 1984. The new museum was formally titled Airworld but this soon became known to most as Drage Airworld.

The museum became a meeting spot for aviation enthusiasts and the on-site restaurant helped. It is unfortunate to record that the new highway swept past the museum and the expected visitor rate did not happen. The museum suffered from a lack of publicity and forward thinking and interest waned. In 2002 the aircraft were sold off in two lots and the hangar building became a centre for rebuilding warbirds.

While few if any aircraft were actually rebuilt for the museum they were preserved and kept in Australia. Now those aircraft have gone to new owners keen to rebuild them to flying status and display them in the air again.

While the dream that Joe had of a national aviation museum at Wangaratta did not come to plan he did help in preserving valued aircraft for future generations to see and appreciate.

In brief

● DC-3 VH-ABR took to the skies again on August 14 at Tullamarine, Vic. The crew comprised Captain Alan Searle and Captain Jim Duff. The machine had not flown for some 10 years.

● Lockheed SP-2H Neptune, A89-272, is to be displayed at the HARS facility and air museum at Parkes airport, NSW. The former maritime patrol aircraft has been held for some years at the RAAF base at Townsville, Queensland. Obtained by HARS it has been dismantled and transported south to Parkes. Then comes the big job that of reassembling the large aircraft and restoring it to display condition. Volunteers are welcome.

Contact Dave by email: [email protected]