Warbirds #386 | Vickers Vimy finds a new home

Vickers Vimy finds new home

Down south, the historic Vickers Vimy aircraft, which carried the Smith brothers from England to Australia in 1919, has been finally moved to its new home within Adelaide Airport’s updated terminal. With registration G-EAOU and the affectionate nickname at the time of ‘God ‘elp All of Us’, it took the Vickers Vimy — largely made of wood lined with fabric — 28 days to complete its 18,000 km journey to Australia.

The 100-year-old original biplane carried the first all-Australian aircrew, including South Australian brothers Sir Keith and Sir Ross Smith along with mechanics Jim Bennett and Wally Shiers from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Darwin — via Singapore at Batavia — in December 1919. The plane was initially in the custody of the Australian War Memorial and was finally put on display in its then-present condition in 1959 at Adelaide Airport. The aircraft saw repairs and a minor spruce-up upon arrival in Adelaide from Canberra after the trailer carrying it across the border catching alight shortly after entering South Australia. The plane was later fully restored in the early 1980s by aircraft maintenance engineer Norman Pointing and had been displayed in a purpose-built temperature-controlled building near Adelaide’s long-term carpark ever since.

However, the Vickers Vimy has now been delicately moved 2.1 km from its previous home into the new terminal building, where it will now live permanently. Most recently, the plaques that lined the pathways around the previous memorial building have been removed and relocated. The new dedicated display will open to the public later in 2022.

RAF Tornado touches down in WA

Out west, Australia’s first Tornado display is now on show at the Aviation Heritage Museum in Bulls Creek. Earlier this year, Britain’s Royal Air Force announced it had donated the retired WWII-era Tornado GR4 to the WA-based museum. The donation is a major win for AHM, being the only donation of this type of aircraft made outside the UK. To celebrate its arrival, the Museum hosted a community and family weekend from 2–3 July with ticketed tours on offer.

Brisbane Airshow takes flight

After over two years of postponements and cancellations, the Brisbane Airshow finally went ahead on 9–10 July. Numerous warbirds were on display, including the Hudson, Mustang, Kittyhawk, and Boomerang. The Queensland show saw its planned events in both 2020 and 2021 cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, with the 2021 show delayed to October — which was yet again cancelled in light of the pandemic.

The show was later pegged to take place for the first time since 2019 on 2–3 July, however this time, the venue at Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield was washed out. The show was postponed by just one more week and finally ultimately went ahead as a sold-out showstopper. A lucky amount of ticketholders from the 2021 show were awarded a joy flight in a P51D Mustang, which later wowed the audience with an aerobatic display, later joined by a Hudson and Kittyhawk for a fabulous formation performance.

Australia’s newest airshow bound for GC

Elsewhere in Queensland, the Gold Coast is set to soon house its own airshow, with California’s iconic Pacific Airshow due to fly Down Under in August 2023. The event will take place over three massive days in Surfers Paradise, with Red Bull Air Race world champion Matt Hall already signed on as the show’s first ambassador.

Dates are yet to be set, much to the dismay of eager aviators keen to book in ahead of the crowds — however should be announced by the end of August 2022. The three-day affair will involve numerous aerial displays from around the globe, along with food and market stalls, entertainment, hospitality programs, VIP parties, and meet-and-greets, according to its organisers.

The event is run by Code Four, the Los Angeles-based company that launched the original Pacific Airshow in Huntington Beach, California in 2016. By 2021, three million visitors attended the California show, which has included aerial displays by the US Navy Blue Angels, US Air Force Thunderbirds, Royal Air Force Red Arrows, and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds.

Amberley opens its gates

Sooner than this, though, the ADF has promised to open up the gates of RAAF Base Amberley to the public for the first time since 2008 this coming October as part of the 2022 Ipswich Amberley Air Tattoo. Dates are currently set for Saturday 29 October to Sunday 30 October, with ticketholders to enjoy RAAF flypasts and static aircraft displays. One can assume the Roulettes will make an appearance, too. All-day passes are on sale now for $10 per ticket or $40 for a group of up to five people, while kids under the age of five can enter for free. Up to 20,000 passes are on offer per day, but non-ticket holders can still enjoy the action from multiple designated viewing hubs in Ipswich, Springfield, and Rosewood — free of charge, of course.