Warbirds

The Boeing is an historic machine. It was built in 1964 as c/n 18740 as a Boeing 707-138. It was handed over to Qantas as VH-EBM City of Launceston. After Qantas use it became N108BN followed by N707XX and then to Travolta as N707JT.

It will be a welcome and interesting addition to the HARS collection.

WARBIRDS FOR SALE

Got some dollars to spare? A number of local warbirds are up for sale as shown on the Platinum Fighter Sales website.

The 1940 Ryan STM-2 VH-AWG was sold by Graham Hosking. The aircraft, based at Tyabb, Vitoria, has not yet turned up on the civil register with a new owner but is reported to be staying in Australia.

The Hawker Hurricane IIB VH-JFW, a Canadian Car & Foundry-built machine is up for sale at £1,450,000 (A$2.7m). With c/n 60372 the aircraft first flew with the RCAF as 5481. Sold off as surplus, it had restoration work performed in Canada and the UK. It variously had the registrations of G-ORGI and N678DP allocated before it came to Australia. Here it had further restoration work carried out at Scone. It became VH-JFW. Now it is up for sale. Will it stay in Australia?

The Chance Vought F-4U-5N Corsair VH-III is also up for sale. Do you have $3,450,000 dollars? With BuNo. 123168 the 1951 built machine went to the Honduran Air Force as FAH603. It went back to the USA and was traded by the Disney people to the RNZAF for services in helping make a movie. The RNZAF had no use for it in its museum as it was the wrong model. The machine was traded to Graham Hosking for a Curtiss P-40F project, which is now in the RNZAF museum. Arriving in Australia in the middle of 1996 it took some time to get it back in the air. It made its first post-restoration flight on 4 May 2014 at Darwin. The aircraft has done little time since it went back into the air. The engine is a Pratt & Whitney R-2800-99W series radial.

Platinum also has an ex Royal Australian Navy Fairey AS-6 Firefly up for sale. The aircraft is currently in California. It is registered as N528WB. With the RAN it was WB518. The price is said be ‘make an offer’. The engine is a Roll Royce Griffon 74. The machine has done some 1,100 hours total time. In 2019 the aircraft was displayed at Oshkosh. In 2002 it was the Oshkosh Grand Champion – Post WWII.

The website also has a civil aircraft of interest, Cessna 195A, VH-ONV. With a total flight time of 4,560 hours the classic machine is advertised for US$99,000 (A$144k). It is powered by a 275 hp (205kW) Jacobs’s radial engine.

A sold aircraft of interest is Avro Avian, N7083. The aircraft has been sold but the FAA US aircraft register simply advises ‘Registration pending’.

TEMORA WARBIRDS AIRSHOW 2020

Temora, NSW would appear to be the place to be at on October 17 and 18, a Saturday and Sunday, 2020.

The Temora Aviation Museum will be holding its 5th Warbirds Downunder Airshow, this time to celebrate 100 years of the RAAF. The airshow will be the largest warbird airshow held in the Southern Hemisphere. TAM is promising to fly most of its historic fleet. That includes piston-powered aircraft, radial-engined aircraft, jets and the only Lockheed Hudson flying in the world. Based on previous events this will truly be an event not to be missed.

While a year away the organisers are saying plan early to be there.

VIETNAM IROQUOIS CRASH

An historic Vietnam era Bell Huey helicopter crashed with the loss of five lives on September 8. The aircraft, VH-UVC, a Bell 205 UH-1H was flying from Brisbane to Bankstown. It stopped for a refuel at Coffs Harbour then flew south. Around last light it crashed into the sea some 3 nm south of Birubi Point, Anna Bay near Port Stephens. The crash occurred soon after last light. Poor weather was in the area. The owner/pilot of the helicopter was David Kerr of Brisbane Helicopters Pty Ltd of Kenmore, Queensland. The Huey was painted up in an olive drab paint scheme with the markings ‘United States Army’ on the tail boom and the markings 65-10100.

The cause of the accident is unknown. The ATSB is investigating. It is reported that the wreckage of the machine was recovered some three weeks after the event. Some of the deceased occupants were also located.

The helicopter was built by Bell as a model 205 UH-1H. It had a c/n of 5144 and a US Army serial of 65-10100.

SCONE WARBIRDS AIRSHOW 2020

The Bengalla Warbirds Over Scone biennial airshow is on again. The show will be assisted by Paul Bennett Airshows, Vintage Fighter Restorations and Pay’s Air Service. The airshow is slated for Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, 2020. Past WoS events have been a great success and the 2020 event promises to be just as good.

The Scone event in September and the Temora warbirds show in October will provide warbird enthusiasts two great shows to attend.

Both events are just a little different from each other so don’t expect to see everything at just one of them.

REGISTER NEWS

The register has been active with a number of movements.

From New Zealand were learn that Bristol F2B replica, c/n 1, was put on the NZ register as ZK-PRK on September 17 to the NZ Warbirds Association, Papakura.

Former Australian Yak-3U, c/n 001-3/2005, ex VH-YOV, was put on the register on October 9 to M.K.O’Sullivan of Blenheim as ZK-YOV.

Convair 440/580 ZK-CIF, c/n 381, was taken off the register on October 8.

In Australia Cessna 195 VH-KXR, c/n 7872, was struck off the register on September 13 as it was exported to the USA. HARS C-47B VH-NVD was struck off the register on September 18 having been withdrawn from service. A change of ownership of VH-BBL, Beech D17RM, c/n 6763, took place on October 4 to new owner Arthur Pipe And Steel of Albury. We now know that Cessna 170B VH-WRT that was struck off the register on July 2 has become ZK-JCG.

Warbird Yak-3U VH-YOV was struck off the register on August 23 having been exported to New Zealand where it became ZK-YOV. Cessna 140 VH-COO, c/n 10805 has a new owner of Dale Chaffer of Croydon, Vic as of August 31. Fairchild F24W VH-CMB acquired a new owner from August 17 as Jessica Bailey of Alexandra Hills, Queensland.

The RAAF Museum at Point Cook, Victoria became the registered owner of a number of the Temora Air Museum aircraft on August 26. They were Wirraway VH-BFF, Spitfire VH-HET, Spitfire VH-XVI, Ryan STM-2 VH-RSY, and DH82a Tiger Moth VH-UVZ. The next day, August 27, saw a further group of TAM aircraft transferred to the RAAF Museum. They were Lockheed Hudson VH-KOY, CAC Boomerang VH-MHR, DH115 Vampire VH-VAM, Cessna A-38B VH-XVA and Handley Page Canberra VH-ZSQ.

Yet another change of ownership and registration change was that of Fokker DR-1 replica VH-EIN on September 19 to Raptor Aviation of Brighton, Vic. The aircraft previously had the registration marking VH-MYR.

Siai Marchetti SM1019E VH-PAC, c/n 009, was struck off the register on 19 September having been sold to the Philippines.

IN BRIEF

The November 2 Nhill Airshow went ahead in spite of the adverse weather. The show started later than planned and the programme was modified due to the weather. Paul Bennett Airshows assisted with a warbirds show, aerobatics, aircraft displays and even parachutists. The airshow was to assist in raising funds for the Nhill Aviation Museum. The museum already has a CAC Wirraway on display and is moving to complete the restoration of an Avro Anson, a type that was operated at Nhill during the war.
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Air museums across Australia all hold special event days and that was the case with the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October when it held its annual open cockpit day. Not to be confused with Tiger Moths and open cockpits, the event allowed interested persons to sit in the cockpit of a number of the museum’s aircraft. The day was a success with a good number of visitors and their families. There were also two book sales locations where excess books from the museum’s collection were on sale. Other air museums in Australia also hold similar events. Readers should contact their local air museum to find out when they hold an open cockpit day. They are interesting and fun events.

‘Based on previous events this will truly be an event not to be missed’