“ Buff s and Pig s ”

the official members newsletter of

APRIL 2014

AHSNT OFFICE BEARERS DIARY DATES

PRESIDENT PUBLIC OFFICER Sunday 27/4/14 Tony Simons Kay Goon Open Cockpit Day at AAHC 0427 187 356 0418 527 416 Members assistance required please 8931 2576 (H) [email protected] [email protected] Tuesday 13/5/14 ARCHIVIST VICE-PRESIDENT Craig Bellamy AHSNT Committee Meeting Craig Bellamy 0403 872 205 0403 872 205 8985 4881 (H) Tuesday 10/6/14 8985 4881 (H) [email protected] AHSNT Committee Meeting [email protected] GENERAL MEMBER Tuesday 24/6/14 SECRETARY Alan Cairncross AHSNT Members Meeting Julie Mastin 8927 3273 (H) Note: 6:00 pm at the Workshop 8946 6835 (W) [email protected] [email protected] Tuesday 8/7/14 MEMBERSHIP LIAISON AHSNT Committee Meeting TREASURER Richard Spillett Richard Spillett [email protected] Tuesday 12/8/14 [email protected] AHSNT Committee Meeting WEB MASTER CURATOR Ron Ninnis Ken Lai [email protected] Wednesday 23/8/14 0401 148 672 Nominations close for Committee [email protected] representatives for AGM

Tuesday 2/9/14

Page 1 of 4 AHSNT Annual General Meeting 6:00pm at AAHC

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

MEMBERS MEETING The Members Meeting held at AAHC was a great success, especially with the Air Cadets joining us later in the evening to enjoy a sausage sizzle as a ‘thank you’ from the Society to the Cadets for their assistance with Open Cockpit Days and the like. Members and the cadets took the opportunity to view the cockpit of the F-111 which was opened for the evening. Eight members and committee attended along with forty five air cadets. The next members meeting will be on the 24th June at the Workshop. Any suggestions for the theme of the evening would be welcomed.

OFFER FROM MR ALEC WILSON In the March Newsletter I outlined a proposal put to the Society by Mr Alec Wilson from Supermarine Aerospace in Albury to acquire some of our Spitfire parts. This was the subject of much debate at the March Members Meeting. The Committee has supported the proposal, however there was an objection raised by one member. The proposal will be supported, but subject to some additional negotiations with Mr Wilson, particularly around the returning of parts to the AHSNT once his project is completed, and his ability to manufacture replica parts for us to use in our displays in the Heritage Centre.

OFFER FROM THE HISTORIC AVIATION RESTORATION SOCIETY HARS have written to us with a proposal for exchange of various aircraft components. Their request is for us to provide them with Beaufighter, Kittyhawk and Spitfire engines and components in exchange for them providing us with a completed Beaufighter cockpit nose section, a restored Bristol engine and the completion of the missing fuselage section of the B-25 Mitchell on display in the Heritage Centre. The Committee considered the proposal and has supported it in principle, however a counter proposal has been put to HARS. We will consider an initial exchange of Beaufighter parts and engines (retaining one of the engines for us to display “as is”) in exchange for their Beaufighter cockpit section and completion of the Mitchell fuselage. The Committee’s position is that the completion of the Mitchell is an opportunity too good to pass up on. Completion of the restoration of this aircraft is beyond the current and foreseeable capacity of the membership. This will provide us with one of but a very few complete B-25D aircraft that has seen combat, and will significantly enhance the display in the Heritage Centre. The matter was discussed at the March Members meeting, with overall support for the counter proposal.

DISPOSAL OF ASSET The Jet Commander aircraft on display on the hardstand at the AAHC has now deteriorated to the point that it presents a public safety risk. We now have more members of the public going outside to look at the aircraft on display, and this has increased the risk.

Page 2 of 4 The disposal of the aircraft was discussed at the March members meeting. It was noted that whilst the aircraft type was only produced in small numbers, thus making ours a ‘rare’ bird, it was noted that the aircraft has no connection to the NT and no provenance can be established. Members ratified the proposal to dispose of the aircraft.

OPEN COCKPIT DAY Members are asked to note the Annual Open Cockpit Day to be held on April 27th at the Heritage Centre. Members are asked to attend please to assist with various duties, including visitor escorts and manning food and drink counters.

MEMBERSHIP Welcome to our newest member, Shaun Northcote. Shaun was introduced to the Society by Alan Cairncross and has already made himself a valuable contributor to projects at the museum and the workshop.

On a sad note, it is with regret that I advise the members that Kay Goon has announced her intention to leave Darwin later this year. Kay has been an invaluable contributor over many years as our Finance Officer and Public Officer. Kay is happy to finalise the 2013/14 annual statements and audit processes for this year. The Committee will now be calling for a new Finance Officer – hopefully we can attract a suitable candidate in time for that person to spend a few days with Kay to have a handover and learning period.

FINANCIAL MATTERS Trading results have been as expected during February and March, as it is traditionally a quiet period for visitors. We had some unplanned expenses for March, notably $4000 worth of arboricultural work to improve safety in the car park and to allow the newer larger tourist buses to negotiate the turning area without scraping against the large trees in the area. We have also received a quote of $6000 for works to extend and enlarge the bus turning area. This was sent to NT Government with a request for funding. Consistent with their recent attitude to the Society, they have subsequently declined to fund the cost of these works. Results for February show a small loss for the year to date, however this reflects a $40,000 positive turnaround in financial results from previous years. On the good news front, reports are that caravan parks are already starting to receive the annual influx of visitors and we are seeing visitor numbers on the rise already. With good results in April, a positive outcome for the Open Cockpit Day, and an early start to the tourist season, we are confident of returning to at least a break-even position compared with last year.

MUSEUM MOMENTS

BOMBING OF DARWIN DVD DISPLAY AREA The “theatre” area for the Bombing of Darwin DVD has been re-aligned through 90 degrees and now runs parallel to the souvenir shop wall. Temporary panels have been installed between the theatre area and the Sabre, and some camouflage netting put in place. Staff member Bill Morgan is busy preparing large scale cut- outs of the Japanese aircraft that flew in the raids on Darwin to be displayed in and around the theatre area.

NEW BETTY DISPLAY Owen Veal and Bill Morgan recently completed a new display in the Heritage Centre utilising the sections of Betty bomber along with a profile cut-out of the complete aircraft and a display case with a complete model of the Betty and some recovered artefacts. Well done Lads ! We look forward to seeing your next project come to light.

UPGRADES TO B-52 LIGHTING Past and present Curators Alan Cairncross and Ken Lai have been busy installing LED lighting to the B-52 cockpit and other access areas. Results are quite amazing – congratulations to all involved.

NEW AIRCRAFT VIEWING PLATFORMS Congratulations and thanks to Richard Spillett and some of the workshop crew for their efforts in refurbishing and building new aircraft access platforms.

Page 3 of 4 One large platform has been done to allow ongoing access to the F-111 cockpit. Smaller platforms were constructed for open cockpit day to allow access to the Tiger Moth and the Dove.

INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE UPGRADE Craig Bellamy, along with Bob Alford and other aviation historians, has been working feverishly over the last few months to satisfy the requirements of the NT Government and the sign writer in relation to the funding grant we received for upgrading all of the interpretive signage for our displays at the Heritage Centre. This has been a long and exhaustive process and on behalf of the Committee and members, my thanks go to Craig and his helpers for the amount of time and effort they have put into bringing this project to fruition.

UPGRADES TO WEBSITE My thanks are extended to Ron Ninnis who has been using his spare time to continue to provide improvements to our public website. Ron is on the sick list at the moment, so best wishes are extended to Ron from all of us.

MUSEUM PLANNING DAY The Committee, Heritage Centre staff and workshop participants will be having a planning day at the AAHC on Sunday 4th May from 0900. This will be used to plan the coming years’ activities in relation to upgrades at the Heritage Centre, new and refurbished displays, and other projects or programs we see that have merit to improve the overall look and feel of the Centre.

It is the AAHC that drives all funding sources for the Society, and so anything we can do to make our visitors’ impressions of, and experiences at, the Centre will be worthwhile. Members are also encouraged to come along and participate on the day, especially if it drives an increase in active members getting involved in Heritage Centre and Workshop projects.

WORKSHOP WANDERINGS

Members comments on these projects is welcomed, as is anyone who wants to volunteer to participate.

Workshop projects on the forward agenda are as follows:-

 Bell 47 restoration (metal work, welding, general construction work)  Merlin engine rebuild (metal work, engineering work)  Museum vehicle (Falcon) refurbishment (painting, welding, metal work, mechanical)  Steel storage racks (steel fabrication & welding)  Mosquito seat clean-up (metal work, sanding, painting)  Mosquito propeller restoration (woodwork, sanding, painting)  B-24 ball turret (engineering, metal work, general construction)  Woodworking room build (carpentry, general construction, painting)  Archives cataloguing (librarian skills, cataloguing)

Tony Simons Editor

*F-111 photograph Courtesy of the RAAF and Mick Raftery

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