Marc Joel Atrero

Australia’s Messerschmitt flies again The world’s only flyable Messerschmitt Bf 109G made its first major public appearance for 49 years on 2 May – and two Australians played a vital role in its preservation. The 8f 109G “Gustav” wa”” captured by Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes and Wing Commander Ken McCrae at Gambut in Libya in

50 Years Ago … August 1 – New Guinea. No 20 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron RAAF is formed at Port Moresby under the command of W/Cdr Bill “Hoot” Gibson DFC, formerly of 10 Squadron in the UK. On the 14th it will obtain six of the RAAF’s seven new Catalinas from 11 Squadron’s ‘B’ Flight. 11

Turbine Airtrainer Continues Flight Test Program New Zealand’s Pacific Aerospace Corporation’s CT-4C is about as far removed from the original Victa Airtourer of the fifties as a Skymaster is from Concorde. The origins of the CT-4 Airtrainer light primary trainer can of course be traced to a design by Australia’s Henry Millicer. This won the

Avro Lincoln I doubt that there are too many naval pilots who can claim one hour of command time in a Lincoln! This rare honour came about as a result in a change in policy at CFS during my instructor’s course, on how best to give an introduction to asymmetric flying. Prior to our course,

Qantas Cuts Reflect Boom and Bust Cycle of Aviation The loss of over three and a half thousand jobs at Qantas, eventually a similar number at the CAA and probably a thousand more between ATI and Australian this winter reflects the perennial boom and bust cycle that afflicts aviation. A decade ago similar redundancies were

Paris 89, Farnborough 90 and this year’s Paris Salon all have one thing in common – they were all saved from being publicity disasters by the presence of the Russians. Indeed the flying display at Le Bourget this year, sans the Soviets, was something more closely resembling a mid eighties Schofields. There was once a