Warbirds

After nearly two years in the making the arrangement will allow the aircraft of the museum to be operated at the direction of the RAAF and to ensure the museum’s future. This comes as a lead up to the RAAF’s 100th anniversary celebrations in 2021. The year 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the Temora Aviation Museum.

For visitors to the museum’s activity days they will notice no change. The aircraft are still all to be based at Temora. The Temora Historic Flight Club will continue as the museum’s flying operations entity and selected civilian pilots flying the TAM aircraft will be offered appointment to the RAAF Reserve as ‘specialist capability officers’ to satisfy the various legal and regulatory requirements.

The museum’s top management will remain as before: Chief executive Murray Kear, general manager Peter Harper and chief engineer Andrew Bishop.

The arrangement covers an initial period of five years starting July 1 and will be reviewed annually.

Oldest Flyer up for Sale

The April issue of Aviation Trader had an advert for the sale of 1929 DH60G, VH-UAE. Built in 1925 the aircraft is the oldest aircraft still flying in Australia. The sale advert tells that it has only done some 2,455 hours. Price on application. It was impressed into the RAAF in WW2 as A7-88.

Another historic aircraft up for sale was Graham Hosking’s Ryan STM-2, VH-AWG. With c/n 459 and the wartime serial of S-23 on the side it is for sale at $US150,000 plus GST.

Yet another aircraft of interest in Stampe SV4B VH-SGV, for sale by Chris Harrison in the Latrobe Valley, Vic. With c/n 633 it is for sale at $110,000.

Museum Notes

DHA-3 MkIIIA Drover VH-FBC, has turned up in the RFDS hangar at Broken Hill. The aircraft is destined to be part of a museum of former RFDS aircraft. The aircraft, dismantled at present, was in the Bankstown Air Museum at Bankstown airport. The museum has collapsed with the aircraft in its care being dispensed to various new owners, some to fly and most to go to other museums. Also in the RFDS hangar is Beech Kingair, VH-MWK, and a former Army Nomad, A18-306. It is said that the Nomad was obtained for spares but may be dressed up as a RFDS aircraft. Another Nomad, the former VH-MFS, was mounted on a small rise next to the RFDS base. It has now been taken in for rejuvenation work having been outside in the weather for some years.

Register

The former Army Bell 206B-1 Kiowa helicopters are turning up around the country. A17-029 has become VH-IKH with Ian Smart of Kellyville, NSW. It was registered on April 11. Kiowa A17-031 has been registered as VH-JJP with Pentridge Pty Ltd of Kings Meadows, Tasmania. It was registered on April 12. A17-011 became VH-VJP also to the same owner on April 24. Kiowa A17-028 became VH-LTL on April 9 to Combo International, Malvern, Vic. Kiowa A17-015 became VH-NPY to West Coast Seaplanes of Broome, WA on April 1.

On April 2, Douglas C-47B VH-NVD, Bell UH-1B Iroquois VH-NVR and Bell UH-1B Iroquois VH-NVV, all changed ownership to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society of Albion Park, NSW. These aircraft have been transferred from the Australian Navy.

From New Zealand we learn of the registration of a Russian built Polikarpov Po-2 biplane. Some 20,000 to 30,000 were built between 1928 and 1952. The aircraft, ZK-POL, carries serial 046 with the markings 641-046 on the tailplane. The aircraft was registered on April 15 to The Red Start Aviation Trust of Wakefield. The aircraft is powered by a Shvetson 5 cylinder radial producing 93kW (125hp). This is the second Po-2 to grace the shores of New Zealand. The other machine was imported and then exported and now flies with the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden in the UK.

First Flights

It has flown! That was the cry on April 29 at Latrobe Valley airport when owner , Paul Gliddon of Kalamunda, WA took to the air in his rebuilt Percival proctor Mk1 VH-UXS. The aircraft was previously VH-DUL. The wooden structure aircraft had been rebuilt at Latrobe Valley by Brian Turner and his son.

Another first flight is that of historic DH60M VH-UQH. The aircraft took to the air on April 1 with pilot Sean Davis from the Caboolture airport in Qld. This Moth was built in 1931. It became G-ABHY and was flown from the UK to Australia in the then record time of nine days 3 hours and 40 minutes. The pilot was none other than the famed C W A Scott. For this achievement the King awarded Scott the Air Force Cross.

The aircraft stayed in Australia and became VH-UQH. It had several owners in Qld, SA and WA and was written off in a storm at Winning Pool Station, Carnarvon, WA on 22 March 1953. Aviation historians Geoff Goodall and Melvin Davis discovered the remains of the machine in a shed in Trayning, WA in 1981 mixed in with the remains of a number of former agricultural Tiger Moths.

Ed Field became aware of the machine and subsequently bought the remains of the aircraft. It has taken him over 30 years to restore the aircraft. CASA has allowed the historic aircraft to fly under original markings of G-ABHY.

Ed put the aircraft back on the register on October 1996 so confident was he that he could rebuild the biplane back to airworthy condition. He has now succeeded!

Ryan STAVH-ROM, imported from the UK where it flew as N14986 was assembled at Caloundra and made its first Australian flight on March 13 with Tony Chamberlain as the pilot. Owner Peter Nelson later had the aircraft delivered to Caboolture a week later where he has a hangar.

Siai Marchetti S-211 Forced Landing

Marchetti S-211 jet trainer VH-CBL, formerly with the Singapore Air Force at Pearce WA, and since replaced by the Pilatus PC21, made an unscheduled forced landing short of Goolwa Airport in SA on Saturday 13 April.

Owned and flown by Jim Whalley, he and his passenger were unhurt in the event in which the aircraft landed short of the airport after the engine lost power. The aircraft then landed in a paddock, passed under a crop sprayer that removed the rudder and a section of the fin and came to a halt in the wet mud of the paddock.