Aero39 Cover_V 4/06/13 10:11 AM Page 1
• RAAF IN ACTION: IRAQ 2003 • SUPER HORNET RIDE • DC-6 RESCUE • FATHER OF STEALTH ISSUE 39 JULY/SEPTEMBER 2013 Aust $10.95 NZ $9.95 (inc. GST)
Sabre v MiG
Over Korea
Airbus A330
Widebody Winner
Twin Otter
A Classic Returns
B-24 Liberator
WWII Heavy
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Historic aircraft WARBIRDS &
HISTORIC NEWS •
F-111C A8-134 arrives at the South Australian Aviation Museum at Port Adelaide on 18 March. With its wings and tailplane removed, it left Amberley Qld aboard a low loader three days earlier, travelling via Goondiwindi, Gilgandra, Nyngan, Broken Hill, Cockburn, Burra and Gawler, a distance of 1200km. bcpix
RAAF F-111s distributed Most of the ex-RAAF F-111s that have been allocated to museums and other establishments for static preservation have now been delivered to their new custodians or are scheduled to be transferred during the course of 2013. Their status as of late May 2013 is noted below. Sopwith Pup ZK-PPY ‘Betty’ snapped at Omaka’s Classic Wings show in March. John Freedman
TVAL Update Since the article published in AERO Issue 36, six new-build World War I aircraft have been added to the NZ register by The Vintage Aviator Limited. They are: Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b-1 ZK-FEB; Albatros D.ll ZK-JNB; Sopwith Pup ZK-PPD; Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8-1 ZK-RES; Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe ZK-SNI; and Albatros DVa-1 ZK-TVE. TVAL’s November 2012 show at Hood Aerodrome featured five new aircraft: two Sopwith Pups (including the newly-flown ZK-PPY) but neither could display due to high winds; the new Albatros D.Va-1; the RE.8-1 which had replaced a similar type exported to the RAF Museum in 2012; and a second FE.2b-1 painted as a night bomber. The Sopwith Snipe was due to make its public appearance at TVAL’s April 2013 show but again the weather was not suitable. The new Snipe replaces the example that went to Kermit Weeks in 2012 and the Albatros D.ll is the latest addition to the fleet.
F-111C A8-109: ex- USAF F-111A 67-109; to HARS Albion Park NSW, arrived 8 April 2013, repainted in original camouflage. F-111C A8-113: ex-USAF F-111A 67-113; allocated to Aviation Historical Society of NT, Darwin, due 2013 repainted in original camouflage. F-111C A8-125: to RAAF Museum Point Cook Vic May 2011, in storage. F-111C A8-126: to RAAF Amberley Heritage Centre, on display. F-111C A8-129: to Queensland Air Museum Caloundra Qld 21 May 2013, repainted in original camouflage. F-111C A8-130: still at RAAF Amberley Qld, not yet allocated. F-111C A8-132: to ARDU RAAF Edinburgh SA, arrived 12 August 2011, in ARDU colours. F-111C A8-134: to South Australian Aviation Museum Port Adelaide SA, arrived 18 March 2013, repainted in original camouflage. F-111C A8-138: to RAAF Amberley Qld as possible gate guard. F-111C A8-142: to RAAF Wagga Wagga NSW, arrived 14 June 2012, repainted in original camouflage and awaiting new building before going on display. F-111C A8-147: for Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome NSW, due in 2013, repainted in original camouflage. F-111C A8-148: to Fighter World Williamtown NSW, arrived 5 May 2013, repainted in original camouflage. F-111G A8-272 ‘Boneyard Wrangler’: to RAAF Museum Point Cook Vic, arrived April 2009 as the only preserved F-111G, on display.
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HISTORIC AIRCRAFT NEWS
WARBIRD AND HISTORIC BRIEFS The only North American-built P-51D in Australia (VH-FST) has been purchased by Ross Pay of Scone NSW. It will join Ross’s other flying Mustang and Kittyhawk and his Spitfire project. The Mustang needs a new Merlin engine before it can fly again. They’re starting to breed! A tenth Cessna 190/195 is now on the Australian register, VH-NWB owned by Sydney-based Brett Kondziolka. Six Cessna 190/195 were present at the AAAA National Fly-in held at Echuca on 13-14 April. Well-known Stampe SV.4 VH-BVU which was owned by the late Dick Nell has found a new home. Purchased by Kevin Bailey to join his fleet of vintage aircraft in Perth, it was delivered from Goulburn NSW to Perth via the AAAA National Fly-in at Echuca. With the centenary of the start of World War I approaching, several Great War replicas are being built in Australia. A Sopwith Snipe is under construction at Tyabb Vic by Nick Caudwell and was recently registered VH-SNP. In Queensland, a new group called the Australian Vintage Aviation Society has been formed to build and fly WWI replicas. Its latest aircraft to fly is a Sopwith Pup replica on the RAA register as 19-7339. Top: Stampe SV.4 VH-BVU now resides in Perth WA. Peter Hallen Above: Australia’s only US-built Mustang, P-51D VH-FST, has joined Ross pay’s collection at Scone NSW. Wendy Wilson Below: Merlins everywhere: a last look at Mosquito KA114 at Masterton NZ in late January before it was dismantled and shipped off to owner Jerry Yagen in the USA. Two Spitfires and a Mustang provide the escort.
HARS CONSTELLATION TEMPORARILY GROUNDED The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society’s (HARS) Lockheed Super Constellation VH-EAG joined its Neptune brethren on the ground just before Easter when CASA issued an Aircraft Survey Report (ASR) on the aircraft. It was prohibited from flying until certain safetyrelated non-compliances were resolved “in accordance with approved data.” It has been confirmed by CASA that the ASR was issued because some hydraulic lines were found to be of the incorrect material with the elevator controls the critical area. The Connie was cleared to fly again on 10 May, “certified by an appropriately qualified LAME and the records sent to CASA for verification,” according to the regulator. The Neptune is subject to an ASR issued by CASA last December (see Aero Issue 38, p.16), that one covering structural matters relating to the wing spars and other components. It remains grounded. Photo: Wendy Wilson
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SUPER HORNET FLIGHT
Rhino RIDE!
STORY: NIGEL PITTAWAY PHOTOS: KEVIN FLYNN (BOEING) & GILLES DENNIS (TAKEOFF SHOT)
Have you wondered what it’s like to fly in a fast jet, how you would tolerate the ‘g’ forces and associated sensations, or how it feels to literally hang in your straps while gazing down (or up!) through the canopy at the ground below? This writer was recently privileged to fly in a Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet (‘Rhino’) at LIMA 2013 in Malaysia, experiencing all the above – and more!
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SUPER HORNET FLIGHT
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Far left: “Does Sir dress to the right or left?” Shad and Reggie, experienced Boeing support guys, “transform me from dishevelled journalist to ‘Top Gun’ lookalike.... I’m quickly issued with a t-shirt, flight suit and boots.... next comes the important g-suit fitting....” Left: “.... Reggie and Shad strap me in, attaching me to the seat at eight points, including thighs and ankles. They plug in the g-suit hose, oxygen regulator and microphone lead as Grippy climbs aboard and begins the pre-flight check ritual.”
THE TEMPERATURE is already 30 degrees as I park the car a few minutes before 7.30am and Malaysia’s tropical humidity ensures I arrive at Boeing Flight Operations covered in sweat. As my flight will depart just before the air show’s opening ceremony, my suit-up process must begin immediately for an 8.30am walk to the jet. I’m introduced to Shad and Reggie, experienced Boeing support guys who will transform me from dishevelled journalist to ‘Top Gun’ lookalike without delay. Thanks to their practised eye, I’m quickly issued with a t-shirt, flight suit and boots and left alone for a moment to change and consider what I’m getting myself into. Next comes the important g-suit fitting, ensuring zipper tabs aren’t touching skin. “You’ll know if they are when the ‘g’ comes on,” advises Shad drily. Then the survival vest, which also secures me to the seat and doubles as my parachute harness should the unthinkable happen and we have to eject. >>>
Above: Takeoff: “I’m pushed very firmly into my seat as the jet leaps forward.... and feel another kick in my spine as the afterburners light.” Far left: “My pilot for the flight... is Lieutenant Chris Snyder, callsign ‘Grippy’, an instructor with the US Navy’s East Coast Fleet Replacement Squadron, VFA-106. Grippy begins a thorough preflight briefing...”
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B-24 LIBERATOR | STORY: STEWART WILSON
B-24
Liberator Produced in greater numbers than any other US combat aircraft, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber was one of World War II’s most capable and versatile aircraft, used also as a transport, tanker, reconnaissance and maritime patrol aircraft. Main: No American combat aircraft has been produced in greater numbers than the Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Apart from its operational successes, the B-24’s industrial story is significant because it was subject to a mass production programme which was large even by US standards in World War II. This is preserved B-24J N224J ‘Witchcraft’ operated by the Collings Foundation in the USA. It was originally built as 44-44052 and delivered to the RAF in November 1944 as Liberator B.VII KH191. John Freedman
DESPITE ITS MANY VIRTUES, the B-24 never quite achieved the public fame of the other main USAAF bomber of World War II, the Boeing B-17 Fortress. It’s interesting to look at different aircraft types of the same era and role and examine which of them became the ‘household name’. In the case of American heavy bombers of World War II, most think of the B-17 Fortress before the B-24. The B-17 attracted the ‘glamour’ and publicity, immortalised in books and on film – it was the American bomber of the war. Yet perhaps the B-24 should have attracted a greater share of the accolades. It was a later and more innovative design than the B-17 with several features which were advanced for the time including tricycle undercarriage. It was subject to a massive industrial effort, manufactured in considerably larger numbers than
the B-17 (compared to which it had notably superior payload-range performance), was used in a greater variety of roles, and flew with 15 Allied nations. The B-24 equipped 46 USAAF Bomber Groups at its peak and in September 1944 no fewer than 6043 were on strength, 24 per cent more than the peak B-17 force. The bomber also equipped 41 RAF squadrons, served on all fronts and formed the backbone of the Allies’ heavy bomber force in the war against Japan in the Pacific, India-Burma and elsewhere. Although the B-17 was dominant with the Eighth Air Force operating from England over Europe, the B-24 was also there in numbers, equipping two Bomb Wings in mid-1943. It was the North Africa and then Italy-based Fifteenth Air Force’s primary heavy bomber and in the Pacific, B-24s were operated by the Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces. The first USAAF Liberators deployed to the
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B-24 LIBERATOR
South-West Pacific were the B-24Ds of the 90th BG, arriving in Australia in October 1942. The first USAAF B-24s to see action were those based on Java in January 1942 when Japan was invading the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Five aircraft bombed Japanese airfields and shipping. Another significant ‘first’ raid was in June 1942 when twelve 10th Air Force B-24Ds based in Egypt attacked the Romanian oilfields at Ploesti, proving the bomber’s long range capabilities. It was a target that would be revisited by Liberators on many more occasions. THE WING’S THE THING In 1938 it was becoming clear that Hitler’s Germany was heading towards war, while Japan’s aggression in China and Manchuria was also setting off alarm bells. Even the then steadfastly isolationist and neutral United States was prompted into some action
regarding the state of its armed forces including the Army Air Corps. The Consolidated Model 32 four-engined heavy bomber’s development stemmed from this period although design studies for such an aircraft had been undertaken by Consolidated as early as 1935. By the late 1930s the benchmark US bomber was the Boeing B-17C Fortress, and the aim was to produce an aircraft capable of carrying the B-17’s load further, higher and faster. It wasn’t until January 1939 that the Model 32 began moving towards a firm programme. In that month, Consolidated was invited to prepare a design study for a bomber with performance superior to that of the Fortress. Under Consolidated’s design chief engineer Isaac ‘Mac’ Laddon, the key to the Model 32’s design was its range, and the means to achieve that >>>
Above: The prototype Consolidated Model 32 (XB-24) at its rollout on 26 December 1939. First flight was three days later.
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QAM DC-6 | MAIN STORY: RON CUSKELLY
Douglas DC-6
The Queensland Air Museum’s quest to return a significant airliner to Australia.
The Caloundra-based Queensland Air Museum has launched a highly ambitious project, aimed at returning to Australia the last surviving Douglas DC-6 which flew with British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA). The museum is trying to attract sponsorship to have the aircraft shipped to Australia for display. Below: British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Douglas DC-6 VH-BPG Adventure, the aircraft the Queensland Air Museum is hoping to return to Australia. Bill Larkins
ONLY EIGHT AIRCRAFT carried the livery of BCPA, four Douglas DC-4s and four DC-6s. Of these, only one survives and it is barely clinging to life. Former BCPA DC-6 VH-BPG Adventure currently lies on her belly like a wounded eagle at Lanseria International Airport in South Africa. How she got to be there is a long story. ADVENTURE’S ADVENTURES When VH-BPG finished her brief service with BCPA in May 1954 (she was delivered new in December 1948), she went on to an equally glamorous life in New Zealand with Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), today
known as Air New Zealand. Registered as ZK-BGB and renamed Arawhata, she continued carrying passengers across oceans for another seven years. After this she was passed on to the Royal New Zealand Air Force in May 1961 as NZ3632. With the RNZAF she continued carrying troops and cargo for another three years after which she was advertised for sale. She departed New Zealand for the last time in April 1964 under the American registration N254N. A brief spell with Pacific Western Airlines of Canada saw her with the new identity CF-PWP. By 1971 she was back in the USA doing passenger charter work out of Burbank, California with Mercer Airlines as N80MA.
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Adventure’s days as an airliner came to an end in 1972 when she was converted to a tanker for fighting forest fires. She continued in this vital role for another 20 years with several different operators. With the phasing out of piston-powered tankers in the early 1990s, N80MA was converted to a freighter and found her way to Africa. In 1994 she turned up in Kinshasa, Zaire where she was operated by the Air Transport Office as 9Q-CPL and later EL-WNH. Clearly she had fallen on hard times and this former queen of the skies was now consorting with undesirable elements.
Indeed, she found herself engaged in sanctionsbusting operations on behalf of UNITA rebels who were in conflict with the government of Angola – she was now a gun-runner! By the late 1990s she had outlived her usefulness and was stored, seemingly in good condition, at South Africa’s Lanseria International Airport. Sadly, the DC-6 was destined never to fly again and gradually fell into disrepair. As so often happens in these situations, the aeroplane was forfeited to the airport operator who subsequently used it for fire fighting >>>
Above: “Facts About The DC-6” – a BCPA brochure using VH-BPG as the model. We can’t help but marvel at the spacious accommodation that was the norm back then – oh for the good old days! QAM
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AeroSHOWS
OMAKA CLASSIC FIGHTERS ●
OMAKA DELIVERS AGAIN The biennial Classic Fighters show at Omaka Aerodrome near Blenheim on the northern end of New Zealand’s South Island continues to be a great event for enthusiasts. Held over the Easter weekend of 29-31 March, it once again offered a terrific mix of warbirds and historic aircraft, plus some more modern types courtesy the RNZAF and of course the entertaining battle re-enactment scenarios that New Zealanders are so keen on. For the public, the show ‘proper’ started on the Friday evening with the Twilight Extreme display and carried on through Saturday and Sunday. Although Jerry Yagen’s Mosquito was on its way to the USA by the time of the show, there were still plenty of highlights including the Omaka debuts of Bill and Robyn Reid’s magnificent Avro Anson and Wanganui Sea and Air Charters’ de Havilland Venom. After the disappointment of Chariots of Fire’s FW 190 Omaka debut two years ago - where a couple of issues prevented it from displaying – the fighter was on full song this time and delighted the crowd. Overall, another thoroughly enjoyable and well-presented Omaka in a great setting with its grass runways and the hills behind. And there’s the bonus of the fabulous Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, a must see for visitors.
Third time lucky? Swiss-built de Havilland Venom ZK-VNM looked great in its RNZAF markings and was a very welcome debutant at Omaka 2013. The jet was naturally unable to operate from Omaka’s grass runways and flew from nearby Woodbourne for its displays. Ryan Fletcher
Below: Fighter formation – FW 190, Doug Brooker’s Spitfire Tr.IX and Brendon Deere’s Spitfire IX. John Freedman
Right: Something a little more modern from the RNZAF – one of its Boeing 757s put on a spirited display at light weight. John Freedman
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AERO SHOWS
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Left: There’s always been strong WWI representation at Omaka, and 2013 was no exception. Here’s a couple of Royal Flying Corps aircraft, Bristol Fighter and Sopwith Triplane. John Freedman
Main: For most, the star of the show was Bill and Robyn Reid’s Avro Anson, photographed here during the show. It deservedly won the Grand Champion award and is a wonderful restoration with meticulous attention to detail, inside and out. John Freedman Below: P-40E and P-40N ‘sharkmouths’ lined up between displays with a Nord N.1002 (Bf 108) behind. Ray Berghouse
Left: Graeme Frew’s Auckland-based Yak-3U ZK-VVS was at Omaka in 2011 on static display while its restoration was being completed and it made its Omaka flying debut this year. It is one of the new Yaks built in Russia in the 1990s and powered by an Allison engine. It was snapped on a photo sortie conducted during the show. Ray Berghouse