Annual Subscription - £A1,10«G Registered in Iustralia for Transmission by Post As a Periodical
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THE AVIATIOK HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA JOUEHAL Annual Subscription - £A1,10«G Registered in iustralia for Transmission by Post as a Periodical ¥0L. II lo. 12 DECEIVIBEE 1861 MOHTHLT KuTES Due to the traffic betvreen Australia and Heiv Zealand not reaching ex- pectations, both Qantas and TEAL intend to re-assess their relative positions with regard to future operations. The general manager of TEiiL, F.A, Reeves, has. stated that, although December figures were likely to show a record, the percentage increase over the past year would not be as great as anticipated. On Mthe December, 1961, the new Qantas air cargo terminal at Sydney Air port was opened by the Secretary of the Department of Trade, Dr, W.I. Westerman. The building, which was built at a cost of £250,QUO, contains the most modem equipment in the Southern Hemisphere for handling the wide range of cargo that passes through the terminal. On 17tha December, 1961, Ansett-ANA commenced'new services between Mel-r bourne and country centres in Victoria and Hew South Wales, Operating under the name Victorian Air Coach Services, the fares for the flights were considerably below the normal rates. The aircraft used for the services are DOUGLAS DC-3C's which have,' 36 seats in nine rows of four seats. Three DC-3C's are in use - VH-AHJ, AKP, AHQ - and a fourth, VH-AIO, is to be converted (see page II,8l), During December, lAH divert operating from the EAK Ijoom defence vessel, BMAS ELmbla, recovered wreckage of VIC SEES VISCOUKC VH-TVC from Botaay Bay, (see page II,90). Preliminary investigation indicates that the starboard wing failed in the air and the fuselage and port wing plunged at high speed into the Bay* Consequent upon DCA's restrictions on the operations of AVED AISuN Mk.I aircraft (see page 11.57), Woods Ainmys, Ltd., "The World's Shortest Overseas Airline”, ceased operations temporarily, if not permanently, on 31st, December, 1961, The air line operates se3rvices between Perth, W.A,, and Eottnest Island, a holiday resort about 12 miles off the coast. At Eottnest Island, the Premier of Western Australia, D, Brand, and a crowd of nearly 1000 fare?relled Jimmy Woods on the last flight. The veteran pilot started the service in 1948 and used two AVEO ABSOH Mk.I aircraft (VH-WAB "Wilhelm De Vlaming" and VH-WAC "The Islander"), During thd past 13 years,. Woods has made between ^ 12,000 and 13,000 flights without an accident, though not entirely without incident. Future operations by Woods Airways will depend on negotiations at present under way for a replacement aircraft, either by charter or purchase, lacEobertson-Miller Airlines, which had provided competition on the route in recent years, at first with DE HAVILLAKD DOVES and later with DOUGLAS DC-3C's, has announced that ten flights per week (instead of the previous five) will be flown with DC-3C's during the summer months. bfit; A«HsSsA. Journal y8 - December lySl In mid-Decemberj, 1961, AVRO AISOI C,19 TO-BIX -was noted in the hangar of Brovm and Brain, Ltd,, at Moorabbin.Airport, Melbourne, Ihe rear fuselage had been damaged when the tailwheel struck a limestone outcrop during a forced landing which was caused by engine failure near Lancelin, HIA, on 22nd» llarch, 1961, After initial doubts on the economics of salvage due to the difficulty of access to the area, the aircraft was recovered and taken to Maylands Airport, Perth, shortly after the accid ent, It is understood that Brown and Brain intend to cannibalise this AliBOll, To overcome the restrictions imposed on iiHSUh Mk,I aircraft, the firm intends to fit metal ^vings to the fuselages of their AHSOIS ¥Ii-BAB, BAP and BSF, They will also modify three AHSulS for clients. The first two aircraft tdiich are modified v^ill be fitted with Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah Mk,15 engines (of which the firm has four with some 1000 hours to major overhaul) and the remainder will be fitted with Pratt and Yihitney Wasp Juniors* The first two aircraft will be re-engined with Wasp Juniors when major overhaul of the Cheetah Mk*15*s falls due* Aerial shark-spotting patrols are being maintained again over beaches around the Australian coastline during the summer holiday season. In Melbourne, the oil-firm of B.P. (Australia) and radio station SAW charter CESSIA. 175A ¥Ii-EGZ (with GESSEA 175A VH-WCM as a standby) and another radio station 3UZ charters CE3S1®. 175B VH-SICT, Beaches near Perth, West Australia, are being patrolled with CESSHA aircraft of the Royal Aero Club of 1.A, which are chartered under the joint sponsorship of two radio stations and an oil company. During December, the CAC WACi\ETI TEAIHEE xvhich is being modified by Yeoman Aviation (see page 11,5?) was noted at Banlcstown Airport, Sydney, r/ith an all-metal, swept tail fin. On lEth* December, 1961, the first production ¥ICTA AIE TOUEEE made its first flight at Bankstovra Airport with Fit, Lt, E. Green at the controls. It is registered TO-MA and initial tests have shovm that it has a better performance than estimated. This aircraft v/ill make a demonstration tour- in January, 1962, and the second production AIE TOUEEE is expected to he completed in the middle of the same month, Mark numbers have been Allotted to versions of the AIR TuDEER as folloT/s Mk,l Wooden wing- 65 hp Continental A-65 Original prototype Mk,2 Metal wing 100 hp Continental U-200 Early production 'VH.-MFA to MTC Mk,S Metal wing 110 hp Lycoming 0-245 Later production ¥H-1£V1) On 16th» Deceiaber, 1961, a ne-w agency for Piper Aircraft; was officially opened at Moorabbin Airport,_Melbourne, The new agency, Pipeair Ltd,, was formed by a Melbourne car dealer and motor-racing driver, G*W, Patterson, who had recently pur chased the McLenzie Flying School and the agricultural aviation firm, Farmair. Most of the Flying School's fleet has been sold and the only aircraft which has been re tained is the PIPER CAEIBBEAK VH-GMH. On 16th. December, a PIPER PA-28 CHEROKEE Yli-FGH (c/n 28-56) arrived at Moorabbin on loan from Commerce International Ltd, It was present at the official opening of the agency and was used as a demonstrator un til Pipeair's CBEEOKEE VH-GhD (c/n 28-112) arrived on 22nd* December, The Pipeair fleet, which is largely registered in the GW series, at present comprises the CAEIBBEAI VH-GMH, COLT 1/H-GWA, GHERUiLEE VH-GID, and COMAMiliE PH-GIP, A*Ji«S*iU Journal 99 - December 1961 On 24th9 December, 1961^ BEECH D-17S VH-AFP arrived at Moorabbin Air port, Melbourne, for performance trials for certification in a new role* It has been modified for seeding operations by the addition of a large hopper at the rear of the eabin* The aircraft, ¥Jhich is painted silver with red trim lines, will be operated by E. Tadgell in Queensland, On 23rd« December, 1961, DOUGLAS DC-3C YH-AGU was noted at Perth Air ports, (f.Ajj ?fith the name Westralian Aerial Surveys on the fuselage. On 16th, December, 1961, AUSTER J-lB AIGLET ¥H-ABP was reported miss- ing on a flight from Geraldton to Camavon, W,A, (see also page )e Ihe aircraft could not be located for several days and this resulted in possibly the most in tense aerial search ever Eiounted in Western Australia, Aircraft which took part includ mm GOmiAHDER SeOE YE-CAW, CESSHA 310F YIUBBY, aero 145 YTi-DUB, PIPER APACHE 160 YIl-BUA, DOUGLAS DAKOTA A65- of the RAiiF, and several private a,ircra,ft.. The burnt—out wreclcage of the AIGLET (which had been engaged on a charter flight from Perth to Onslow in the'north-western area) was located by tPie APACHE on 20th» December about 10 miles north of Geralia Station homestead and only 20 miles from the point where it had been last reported in flight by a stockman on an adjoining station. The pilot and three passengers were killed. On 15th® December, 1961, CESSHA 180A G-AFTJ, piloted by G, Youl, passed through Adelaide on a delivery flight from England to Cressy, Tasjmnia® Last owner of the aircraft was motor-racing driver, J * Brabham, and -nreviotis identities of tbiis CESSIA are EI-ALO, G-APYJ, H347IC, and H9714B, A long-range tanlc was - fitted in the cabin for the flight and this gave a range of 1100 ajiiles, Youl was dogged by bad weather, minor mechanical defects and official delays so that the planned duration g of 10 days became nearly a month® He departed from Luton, Bedfordshire, on 19th. , HoveELber for Paris but was forced to return due to rain, fog and a faulty radio. Eventually, the flight proceeded, with delays, via Lyons, lice, Brindisi, Athens, and Damascus® The aircraft reached Singapore on 8th* December and flew via Djarlmrta and Timor to Darvfin where it arrived on 14th® December® The flight con tinued via Alice Springs, Adelaide and Melbourne® and Youl arrived at Western Junct ion Airport, Launceston, Tasmania, at 4*55 pm on 16th» December* The longest stage on the flight was Darr/in~Alice Springs (850 miles) and th.e longest overwater stage was Timor-DaxTivin (550 Eiiles), On 8the December, 1961, CESSM 320^ SKYHIGHT arrived at Darwin, H»T«, on a delivery flight from the U.SoA, via the Atlantic, Europe and Asia, It was piloted by Fi. McWilliams, Cessna’s Regional Sales Manager for the Pacific Area, and the aircraft was purchased by lew Zealand interests® It was noted at Banks- to^TO Airport, Sydney, on 16th® December, and later flew to Hew Zealand via Bris bane and Norfolk Island, arriving at New Plymouth on ZOth® December* This ¥/as the first SICYNIGET- to be seen in Australia, SK.'i In mid-December, a RYAN ST-M ^ms floTOi from Darwin to Melbourne in TAA's DOUGLAS DC-4 YH-IA ® The aircraft, wh,ieh was formerly YH-AGV and v/as