The most colourful of all Fairey Fireflies were the target drones. Operated by the Royal Navy out of Malta, they were used for various missile trials. For more, see this editions feature article; “Droning On”. Contents: Presidents Message Droning On Heard at the Hangar Door From the Editorial Desk I have always believed that aviation is an international pursuit. Aviation has brought Our Committee the world together and allowed people access to the four corners of the globe. So Dave Prossor President why is it, that when we start looking at aviation history we go all tribal?. We TBA Vice President immediately form into camps, specializing in one‟s own national history or particular Joe Vella Secretary aircraft types or aviation events. That‟s all well and good, but it tends to be a little Robert Van Woerkom Treasurer limiting. How many times can we eulogize Bert Hinkler or Charles Ulm ?. David Knight Membership Secretary We are the Aviation Historical Society of Australia, not the Australian Aviation Peter Fitton Committee Historical Society. Such parochialism is out Member of place in the modern world where the world is accessible at the touch of a keyboard. This is the harsh reality of the modern Australian Aviation Historical Society Inc. world. Younger enthusiasts don‟t look to P.O. Box 461 the AHSA for inspiration and information. Lilydale, Victoria, Australia 3140 Likely the society is seen as a bunch of A.B.N. 60 092 671 773 septaugenarians, utterly immersed in the minutiae of Australian aviation history. The Website: www.ahsa.org.au younger enthusiast doesn‟t know about the Email: [email protected] history of the AVRO Avian in Australia and Editorial email: [email protected] doesn‟t care. To survive in this environment one must cast a much wider net which is why you see the content which appears in Outlook. This is the start of appealing to a new audience and it‟s a long term process which will take time to show results. I know that this view The views expressed in this publication are will not be well received in certain quarters; those of the authors and do not, necessarily, but, as I have written before: this is a brave represent the views of the Aviation Historical new world and be under no illusion; fail to Society of Australia Inc. adapt to the changing circumstances and this world will pass you by, without so much as a second thought. Keith Gaff Dip. Mktg; Dip. Bus. Mgt; Dip. eComm; Cert 4 TAE 40110 EDITOR Dave Prossor The election is over and we are into a new AHSA year. We welcome Joe Vella as our new Secretary and Peter Fitton as a committee member. New faces and new ideas. We have had some great speakers at the past monthly meetings, Mike Falls, Adrianne Fleming and Michael Veitch. Overall they have presented an interesting cross section of what is happening in the Australian Aviation system and of aviation history. Adrianne gave an interesting insight to the flight training movement. There may be a pilot shortage but that really should read a shortage of experienced employable pilots. Not all make the cut. The latest issue of our Journal, Aviation Heritage, is out and has some very interesting articles. Neil our editor has done good as some would say. As per my note below Neil always welcomes more contributions for AH. I am looking at getting together with the Presidents of the Qld and NSW AHSA bodies later this year to exchange ideas and see what we can do to improve our organisations and promote the AHSA at large. I guess at the end of the day I am keen to see an increase in members, new members and of course contributing members to AH. It has been pleasing to see a number of new aviation book titles appearing in the last few months. In particular Australian related aviation titles. A number of those books are on some part of Australian aviation history, both military and civil. We can only welcome them. I managed to fly to the Birdsville races in early September. 1700 nm round trip. Of my two companions was a 160 hour PPL holder. He learnt a lot on the trip. At the races there were some 65 visiting aircraft plus the corporate charter aircraft. The number of aircraft present compared with some 350 a few years ago. While the overall number of aircraft is increasing the decrease in aircraft numbers at the races can only be a reflection of the times. Oh, you asked about the race? I lost my bet! We are keen for all members to have access to a PC in order to receive the newsletter and the other material that we send out. It costs big time in man hours and costs to have to print, fold, bag, apply a stamp and post out printed material. Indeed it has been suggested that in future new members should tell us what their email address is in order to receive E material. And a last minute reminder that the annual AHSA BBQ is to be held at the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin airport on Saturday 14th December. High Noon as Gary Cooper would say. A good event for all members to attend and enjoy a chat over a sizzling sausage. Food and soft drink supplied but for catering purposes please do let the Secretary or I know is you are attending. RSVP. Free entry for AHSA members. Do not forget to check the book sales area of the museum. NEW BOOKS New aviation book releases in Sept/Oct: „Anzac Aviator‟ ... biography of Ross Smith, by Michael Molkentin. „On A Wing And A Prayer‟..the 1934 Melb Centenary Air Race, by Di Websdale-Morrissey. „Turning Point‟…Milne Bay 1942 RAAF campaign, by Michael Veitch. „RAAF Black Cats‟… RAAF Catalinas in WW2, by Robert Cleworth. „Ken‟s Men Against the Empire‟, Vol. II is now available for preorder, by Lawrence J. Hickey and Col. James T. Pettus, USAF (Ret). COMING EVENTS „Heritage of the Air‟- Modernism, Machines, Migration & Memories. A conference to be held on 14-17 Nov in Canberra reflecting on 100 yrs of aviation culture, history, heritage & design in Aust & the region. Comprising of: 4 Keynote speakers 33 Conference program items Workshops & program linked tours at a price of $25 to $60 each 8 Registration categories at a price from $95 to $460 each Search on: www.aicomos.com/ program or Heritage. NHILL SHOW Saturday November 2nd. Air displays and ground action for all ages. NARROMINE. AusFly 17-20 Oct. Aircraft of all sorts. Latrobe Valley Aero Club 70th Anniversary Air Display. Sat. 26th Oct. TEMORA AIR MUSEUM. Showcase Weekend. Oct. 12 & 13. HARS Tarmac Day. Albion Park, NSW. Oct. 11-13. CONTRIBUTIONS Both our journal, Aviation Heritage, and the newsletter, Outlook, need contributions to keep them alive and to record the passing parade of aviation history that involves Australian aviation, both civil and military. Indeed one can think of the AHSA publications as a co-op whereby members contribute for the benefit of members and others. Given that members are encouraged to contribute to our two publications think of it as just a little goes a long way. Member contributions for both publications are always welcome. NOTEBOOK The Friends of the RAAF Museum want it known that this year‟s George Merz Memorial lecture is to be held over until April/May 2010. REPORTS David Knight, our membership secretary reports that for the last year we have tallied up a membership of 277 members compared to 287 for the previous year. Some members are still trickling in. David reports that there is always some attrition due to deaths and other priorities which is usually accounted for by new members but as David reports we are not growing. A good reason for all members to sign up a new member. Our treasurer, Robert Van Woerkom, reports that overall we ended up with a modest profit of $3038 compared with a prior year profit of $7382. Our funds at 30th June 2019 have increased accordingly. Last year we also made an effort to explore synergies with our interstate affiliates and attended two meetings in Sydney, incurring an increase in meeting expenses. We also continued our investment in equipment last year with the purchase of a projector for our monthly meetings (a computer was purchased in the previous year). We are well placed to continue funding the next phase of digitising „Aviation Heritage‟ to create a searchable data base on the internet. The committee is also considering another project, but our volunteer manpower resources remain extremely stretched and we would welcome any volunteer assistance. PRESIDENTS CHAT In July my manager and I took a holiday to Ireland. It was billed as a rail and town tour. We enjoyed the rail travelling part and visiting various seaside towns around the Irish coast. I managed to get a flight in an elderly 1977 Cessna 172N at the National Flight Centre at Weston outside of Dublin. An interesting flight on how not to conduct a flight. At an antique shop I bought an antique wooden propeller that fits a „Lucas Aero Dynamo Mk.II‟. Now if someone has one of those I would be pleased to hear from them. At Belfast I visited the Titanic museum. Now the Titanic is a bit hard to bring to the surface but the museum is a new-build museum describing the life and times of the construction of the Titanic. Outside the slipway where the Titanic was built has been filled in but is where one can walk on the area where the ship was built.