Table of contents for May-Jun-Jul 2017 in Flightpath

Hot on the heels of the Hurricane’s first flight is news of considerable progress on the restoration of Spitfire Mk.IX MH603 (above) which has been under active rebuild with Vintage Fighter Restorations at Scone, New South Wales, since early 2010. The fuselage is now structurally complete and has been painted in the colours it wore while serving with 331 (Norwegian) Squadron RAF from early January 1944. The Spitfire was the regular mount of Captain Bjørn Bjørnstad DFC. The workmanship is first class and the wings are nearly complete and will be mated to the fuselage soon. As with all restorations, the multitude of fit out tasks will take some time and all of the details that are necessary tend to take longer than first thought, but it shouldn’t be too…

Neptune Aviation began conducting its final flight training program with their Lockheed P2V Neptune air tankers in Alamogordo, New Mexico, earlier this year. The type will be phased out at the end of the 2017 fire season. Photographer Keith Charlot had the opportunity to fly with a rare formation featuring two of the company’s four operational P2V tankers. With the Sierra Blanca Mountain range as the backdrop, Keith captured this memorable record of these hard working fire-bombers.…

The South African Air Force Museum’s Spitfire Mk.IX, stored since 2000 following a forced landing, is to be restored to static condition with hopes it will eventually return to flight. Built in May 1945 as a Mk.IXe, TE213 arrived in South Africa in 1947 and served (SAAF serial 5518) for seven years before being retired. It then served as a gate guard at AFB Waterkloof for 23 years. The Spitfire was placed in storage in late 1978. In the early 1990s the SAAFM began to seriously push for a restoration to flying condition. Following primary inspections, 5518 was transferred to AFB Swartkop where initial work was carried out before the project was transferred to Atlas Aviation at Johannesburg International Airport for completion. ‘The Spirit of Reutech’ flew again in 1994…

Every two years a dusty airstrip 25 kilometres inland from Gerald-ton, Western Australia, plays host to an eclectic mix of warbird, antique and contemporary aircraft, historic military and farming machinery, and an army of men and women in authentic Great War costume, many mounted on their ‘war horses’. This is the Valley View Air Display, a unique tribute to Australia’s military past, held on the site of the stunning ‘Leanes Trench Project’, a meticulously researched and constructed Gallipoli trench, re-created by the 11th Battalion AIF Living History Unit. Flying or on static display on 8 April this year were Tiger Moths, an AT-6D Texan, Yak 18, Beech 18, Auster, and the lovely white and red 1936 Stinson Reliant VH-UXL.…

“The Italian aircraft lacked any armour and the crews were not trained for the inclement weather conditions over the Channel” The participation of the Regia Aeronautica in the Battle of Britain may be considered a purely political decision instead of a military one. At the close of hostilities with France in July 1940, Mussolini decided to create an Expeditionary Corps to be sent in support of the Luftwaffe, and to wave the Italian flag, as it carried the war across the Channel for what was expected to be an easy victory. Consequently, on 10 September 1940 the Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI) was created, composed of bomber and fighter units based on available Belgian airfields, and viable for the short range of the Italian aircraft to be used. Generale di Squadra…

As outlined by Michael J Claringbould elsewhere in this issue, the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (‘flying swallow’, Allied reporting name ‘Tony’) was a comparatively rare type in relative numbers even in W.W.II. Even rarer, and included here, is the radial-engine development, the Kawasaki Ki-100 Type 5 Fighter (Go-shiki sentouki, or Goshikisen). No code name was allocated, as it was unknown to the Allies until after the war. During W.W.II captured ‘Tonys’ were prized, including one acquired by the Technical Air Intelligence Unit (TAIU) in Brisbane, Australia. This ‘Tony’ was shipped to U.S. Naval Air Station Anacostia, Washington, DC, later in 1944. Another example taken to the U.S. (and pictured here) was lost in an accident before the war’s end, a not unusual fate of exotic foreign types vulnerable to the inherent…

The all-metal de Havilland DH.104 Dove was designed towards the end of W.W.II primarily as a DH.89 Rapide replacement. The prototype first flew on 25 September 1945 and the type became a successful short-haul airliner and charter aircraft. The Australian associate company de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd at Sydney was assigned the fourth Dove built as the Australian demonstrator. It was assembled at Bankstown in October 1946 as VH-AQO. Meanwhile in Perth, Captain Charles W. Snook, founder and Manager of Airlines (WA) Ltd, had decided on the Dove to replace his fleet of biplanes and Avro Ansons. MacRobertson Miller Aviation Co warned that the type was untried in Australia, would be unsuitable for the hot climate and that the Federal Government route subsidies to Airlines (WA) Ltd would be squandered.…

The Australian International Airshow this year celebrated ‘Air Power in Action’ and was well supported by the RAAF with a large ADF contingent showcasing the services’ latest aircraft and their mission roles. Of course there were vintage, veteran and warbird aircraft too. The RAAF Museum at Point Cook flew their DH.82 Tiger Moth, Sopwith Pup replica and CAC Winjeel, with the biplanes supported by Nick Caudwell’s Sopwith Snipe replica. The Temora Aviation Museum (TAM) brought down their CAC Wirraway and Boomerang, Spitfire MK.VIII, Lockheed Hudson and Gloster Meteor. Doug Hamilton, one of the regular Temora display pilots, flew his Curtiss P-40N Warhawk down to join the fun. Historic commercial aviation was represented by Charlie Camilleri’s DHA Drover VHDHM, Jeff Trappett’s C-47 Dakota VH-AGU, and the HARS Super Constellation which flew…

An imported former RAF T Mk.4 XW271 Harrier jump jet made its Australian public debut at Avalon airshow in February. Freshly painted in its service scheme, the jet is owned by Advanced VTOL Technologies (AVT), a VTOL specialist company in Ballart, Victoria, and was on static display near the main entrance. This is the only privately owned Harrier in Australia and is one of only thirteen surviving examples of the T4. On retirement from the RAF in 1994, the Harrier was transferred to RNAS Culdrose and served at the School of Flight Deck Operations. In September 2007 it was placed at the Royal Navy Fire training area at Predannack airfield. It arrived in Australia in 2015 and the staff at AVT have since restored the Rolls-Royce Pegasus and run it…

In a remarkable coup, airworthy British-based Gloster Meteor T.7 WA591 (G-BWMF) has been obtained by the World Heritage Air Museum (WHAM). Currently the only dedicated airworthy trainer version of the Meteor, the loss to the UK is notable, as the Meteor has little North American heritage, despite Gloster’s remarkable sales record with the type internationally. The sale overseas, in part possible due to a lack of booking opportunities for the current operators and a lack of any interest from potential British-based buyers, has been seen as a consequence of the effective collapse of warbird jet operations in the UK as the result of the tragic crash at the RAFA Shoreham Air-show in 2015 and further issues and restrictions. A spokesman for the World Heritage Air Museum stated: “One of our…

The Flying Dutchman Foundation (FDF) was founded in 2013 to honour Dutch pioneers of the past, present and future. On 9 January, the organisation’s Douglas DC-4 was moved from its hardstanding to an apron on Rand Airport to begin its return to flight. A significant aircraft in South Africa and the Netherlands, the DC-4 (c/n 42934) flew with South African Airways from March 1946. Registered ZS-AUA, it remained with the airline until 30 September 1965 when it flew the carrier’s last scheduled DC-4 flight. It then served with the SAAF until returning to the civilian register as ZS-NUR in late 1995. The Dutch Dakota Association (DDA) acquired the aircraft in January 1996 and it became a popular airshow attendee in Europe. It returned to South Africa, again as ZS-AUA, in…

A Dutch recovery team successfully recovered the remains of a Vickers Wellington Mk.IC in late 2016. Remarkably, they accessed the underwater crash site by building and draining a coffer dam in the IJsselmeer. The wreckage was first discovered during a sonar survey by a sand mining company in 2014. There is no active Dutch government MIA recovery program, but the discovery of several 500lb bombs meant a recovery would take place. Leemans Special Projects, an environmental risk management organisation, has developed specialised equipment to locate and isolate the smallest parts of a crash site, including human remains. Evander Broekman, project leader for the Wellington recovery, said it is important work best done by specialists. “Everything is removed. No single bolt will be left. Every tiny piece can be a clue…

Look at a Robin and you are immediately struck by several familiar features. A high wing, extensive glazing and enclosed cabin can be found on many aircraft that inhabit today’s airfields. In 1928, however, they were something to behold. Up until then the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company had primarily concentrated on chasing military contracts and designs. Its legacy from the Great War, the JN-4 ‘Jenny’ and the OX-5 inline engine, had set the organisation on the path to aviation greatness. The late 1920s was the calm before the storm in more ways than one. The Robin was the company’s first concerted effort to build a civilian aircraft. While the first four were built at the New York factory, management decided to move production to another facility so the New…

P-39Q Airacobra N6968 The Airacobra is operated by the Central Texas Wing based in San Marcos, Texas, and returned to the sky in 2015 after almost five years under rebuild following a landing accident in July 2010. Damage was significant as about 75% of the wing leading edge, the left main landing gear door, the centreline drop tank, both wing flaps, and a small portion of the left horizontal surface were damaged. It was nonetheless flown back to San Marcos with the landing gear locked down. The repair process took considerable time and was a great effort by the CAF mechanics and volunteers. Numerous technical issues and problems delayed returning ‘Miss Connie’ to the sky. It finally made its first flight on 15 March 2015. The aircraft, a Bell P-39Q-5-BE…

“Both groups soon found themselves confronted by a wall of thunderstorms” The evolution of this fighter reflects an impressive and independent attempt by Japanese aircraft designers to better the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The only non-original part of the new fighter was the 1,100hp (820 kW) inline Kawasaki Ha40 engine (a licence-built copy of the Messerschmitt’s DB 601 Aa). The Ki-61 was trialled in combat on Australia’s northern doorstep in New Guinea. An enigmatic aircraft, there is much about its operational use that will remain lost to history. By early 1943, the Japanese army was struggling in the South Pacific, termed the ‘Southern Front’ by the Japanese military. A reinforcement strategy saw the Army commit two ‘Hien’ regiments (Hiko Sentai) to New Guinea. Throughout early 1943, the 68th and 78th Sentai…

The steep topography and geographic isolation of villages in the Adelbert Range overlooking Papua New Guinea’s northern coast meant their inhabitants there did not encounter Europeans until a series of Australian patrols in the early 1950s. An Australian patrol officer, J.G. O’Brien, based at Madang was informed by villagers at Megiranu, during one of his patrols in the 1960s, that they had encountered a European before the first patrols to their area. This unusual individual had been found wandering a ridgeline and wore clothes different to the Australians and missionaries who came after him. It was clearly remembered that he had abrasions to his elbows and knees. The villagers had given the stranger food and water before escorting him along ridgeline paths that led to the coast. After the stranger…

The Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia once again returned to Echuca, Victoria, on the weekend of 17-19 March 2017 for their annual fly-in. Generously and efficiently hosted by the Echuca Aero Club, it was another sun-blessed and all-around successful event. Although not perhaps matching the variety and scope of aircraft types of recent years (twin engine types and Warbirds were notably in smaller numbers than before) there was still a good variety of types present. Counts estimated over 150 aircraft with many regulars as well as some new to the event, including a couple where owners and workers had been burning the midnight oil to get the aircraft finished or ready to attend. The owners of some of the new restorations were rewarded for their tireless efforts when the 2017…

A Beechcraft Staggerwing used in Antarctica from 1939 is being restored to airworthiness in Wanaka, New Zealand. It is one of just two surviving Wright R760E-2 powered D17A models. The aircraft (c/n 357, NC20788) was fitted with skis, scientific equipment, cameras, and a UHF radio, and loaned to the United States Antarctic Service for Admiral Byrd’s 1939-1941 expedition to the continent. While marketed to the business executive market, the custom hand-built biplane proved a rugged design and that, coupled with its speed, comfort and enclosed cabin, made it an intelligent choice for the harsh environment in Antarctica. It had been intended to operate the aircraft in conjunction with the famed, but flawed, Snow Cruiser. The Staggerwing soldiered on, performing incredibly well, and finally returned to the U.S. in early 1941.…

An aircraft of a type once very familiar to Australian enthusiasts may fly again this year in the United States. Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair N89FA has been progressively worked on over the past few years with a view to it being ferried to the west coast of the country and a new life. The Carvair, ‘Fat Annie’/‘Miss 1944’, was originally built as a Douglas C-54 (serial 44-9023) and was converted by Aviation Traders at Stansted Airport in the U.K (the ninth such conversion). The forward fuselage was lengthened by eight feet, eight inches (2.6 metres), the flight deck raised to provide an uninterrupted cargo hold, and the tail redesigned. It returned to commercial work in mid-1963 as G-ASHZ and retained this identification until it was bought by Falcon Airways in…

John Sessions’ Historic Flight Foundation (HFF), based at Paine Field to the north of Seattle, has recently added an airworthy de Havilland DH.89 Rapide to its collection. Registered as N683DH, it was originally delivered to the RAF in 1944 as Dominie NR683. It was civilianised by de Havilland after W.W.II and sold on the civilian market as G-AHXW in 1946. It served with British European Airways until 1953 when it was sold to Fairey Aviation at White Waltham where it was used as a survey aircraft until 1968. It was sold to the USA in 1971, shipped via Rotterdam, and registered N683DH in a nod to its original RAF serial. After being flown for a while in a wartime RAF camouflage scheme, it was donated to the EAA Museum in…

The Rolls Royce Merlin from a New Zealand ace’s crashed Spitfire, that lay buried in northern France for more than seventy years, has been delivered to the homeland of its pilot. The engine has a remarkable story to tell. On 6 September 1943, ‘Johnny’ Checketts and 485 (NZ) Squadron RAF, while escorting bombers over France, were attacked by twenty Fw190 fighters. Checketts’ Spitfire (Mk.IXb EN572) was hit. ‘Johnny’ was badly burned, but managed to bail out and landed safely in a field. He was hidden with a French family while his wounds were treated. With help from the French Resistance, ‘Johnny’ evaded capture for nearly two months before crossing the Channel to England by fishing boat with twelve other escapees. In March 2015, a French aviation enthusiast group, Somme Aviation…

Douglas DC-6B VH-INS was ordered new by An-sett-ANA and registered on 24 August 1956. Christened ‘Beltana’, it remained in service until May 1967, stored at Essendon and sold in mid-1968. It was listed on the Taiwanese register in August of that year and retired into storage in 1977. Stripped of all useful parts, it was finally scrapped in 1986. [John Hopton p1789-0225-015] DH-84A Dragon VH-SNB was built in 1942 and was the first Dragon produced by de Havilland of Australia. It flew as A34-13 with the RAAF and was converted to an air ambulance post-war, despite having been modified as an ambulance transport in 1943, for use by the Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service. As VH-ASK, it was finally replaced by a DHA Drover in 1954. It became VH-SNB in…

It is easy to assume that the number of surviving examples of a type is a reflection of production numbers, or how useful, or even famous or popular an aircraft was. While these are all reasons for rates of preservation, they are also overlaid by the more significant factor of both when a type was produced and where it was used. The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is a perfect example of this. Far less widely used or critical in combat than its forebear, the Bell P-39 Airacobra, the Kingcobra was used by the Soviet Union and otherwise in secondary roles in the Continental USA. Because of this US use, the Kingcobra has been disproportionately better represented than the P-39 in survivor numbers for many years, despite not seeing frontline combat use…

The most complete example of a Kawasaki Ki-61 ‘Hien’, on public display for decades, has been restored by its manufacturer. Engineers from Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), who work in the same factory that built the engines for the Ki-61, but now build motorcycle engines, volunteered their time to work on the former Imperial Japanese Army fighter. The aircraft is a variant of the Ki-61-II, the high altitude interceptor developed from the original design. As a Ki-61-II-Kai (No. 5017), it was powered by a Kawasaki Ha-140 (a licence-built DB-605). Considering the type was the only mass-produced Japanese fighter with an inline engine, and this example is a variant of which only thirty were built, it is an incredibly rare aircraft that was thoroughly deserving of a detailed restoration. Found at Itami…

This past autumn, Westpac Restorations publicly unveiled their most recent warbird restoration in the form of Lockheed P-38 Lightning ‘White 33’. Of more than 10,000 built, it is one of only 22 survivors and one of eight still flyable. In the world of restored warbirds, ‘White 33’ stands out not just because of its pristine, better-than-factory restoration, but because it is an actual combat veteran that was flown by some of the great aces in the Pacific theatre during W.W.II. It doesn’t end there, as one of the aircraft’s wartime pilots, Colonel Frank Royal, a former CO of the 39th Fighter Squadron, was reunited with his old mount. When first introduced in 1938, the XP-38 was like no other aircraft then in service. Its sleek twin engine and twin tail…

With the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains as a magnificent backdrop, the 42nd Annual Cable Air Show was held in Upland, California, over the weekend of 14/15 January. The event, believed to be the first of the 2017 American airshow season, included aerobatic displays as well as solo and formation flyby routines by a variety of vintage, classics and war-birds. It also included displays of vintage and classic cars and motorcycles. Among the featured performers at the show were Tony Higa in his Pitts S-1 biplane, Sammy Mason in a Boeing PT-17 Kaydet, Tim Just at the controls of his Extra 300S, Dan Buchanon and his NorthWing hang glider, and Vance Breese with his Predator rotorcraft. The featured pilots, skydivers and RC model aircraft flyers performed twice each day with practically…