■ ■ The Journal of the llatibn Historical Society of Australia Inc ■ ■ f00,3653P, AREN 092.673-773 ■ ■ ■ m m ■■ i I ■ i ■ ■ m m mi ill ■ ■ ■ I ■ ■ ■ ill If— 11I I t .-J ■ H *■; ■ I m m f\ I 11 ^ .1 ■ ■ . / i ■ 1 ■ ■ WA DH 60’s * ff i Amelia Earhart at Darwin _ 'j ■ ■f I ■ The Journal of the AVIATION HISTORICAL SOCIETY of AUSTRALIA Inc. A00336533P, ARBN 092-671-773 Volume 33 - Number 1 - March 2002 EDITORS, DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITORIAL Bill and Judith Baker Welcome to the 33’^“ Volume of The Journal/Aviation Address all correspondence to; Heritage'. The year 2002 is well under way and I have some The Editor, AHSA, good articles lined up for this year. Of course there is not be P.O. Box 2007, enough to last the year, so keep sending your contributions South Melbourne 3205 Victoria, Australia. in. Please note my wish list to give you a few ideas. It is 03 9583 4072 Phone & Fax interesting to see, however, that only about 5% of our E.mall: [email protected] members provide items. Now I know that a lot of members www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/ahsa.html are pursuing various projects that will interest us all, so write Subscription Rates; it up. Times running out for some of the interesting events Australia A$45. and people in the aviation past. Record it now. Rest of World A$68. If you have some queries that you cannot solve, make Overseas payment to be in Australian use of the Newsletter. currency by International Money Order or The biggest problem facing the Society, and I have Bank Draft. Overseas personal cheques mentioned this before, is MEMBERSHIP. No group, be it a cannot be accepted. Historical Society, Bowls Club or a Rotary Cub, can survive if it doesn't expand its membership base. We have over the Articles for Publication; last couple of years grown about 15%, but this is not enough Are to be on an Australian theme. to give the members the services which they desire and to The Editor reserves the right to edit any lower our fees, we must expand. Over to YOU!! article accepted for publication. Payment is not made for articles. Editors wish list; Please include sufficient postage for the Priority 1: First to Fly in Australia^ Still waiting, waiting.) return of originals if that is required. Any facet of Australia’s aviation history, Malaya, GAF A - H and the Computer; Contributions for Nomad, Korea, Vietnam, anything that interests you and can the Journal are most welcome in any form, be printed. How about the history of Airbus in Australia? Or but if you have a computer, exported on a some photos out of your collection for the Members Photo 3V2" disc in ASSCII format (plain text), or Page? Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands come WIN 6, would be just great! (Include hard under our banner also. Anything!! copy also). However Macintosh discs can be Cover: A beautiful, evocative picture of the early morning translated. All photographs submitted will be pre flight preparation of RAAF DH60 A7-9. This aircraft copied and the originals returned within 5 became VH-UAO. days of receipt. Disclaimer; Next Issue; Volume 33 Number 2 will be in your letter-box in the first week of June 2002. 1. Whilst every effort is made to check the authenticity of the material and advertising Contents; printed, the Publishers, Editors, and the 3 WA's DH60 Moths Edward Fletcher Aviation Historical Society of Australia and its 15 No. 2 Air Trials Unit Milton Cottee Office Bearers cannot accept responsibility 18 Seventy Years Young - DH 82 Mac Job for any non-performance. 19 R,A, (Bob) Gray Greg Banfield 2. The views expressed in 'Aviation 29 Move Over Red Baron John Laming Heritage' are not necessarily those of the 38 Amelia Earhart at Darwin M.J. Flannagan AHSA or its Editors. 41 Australian Waco Biplanes Bob Fripp Meetings of the AHSA; AVIATION HERITAGE Melbourne Branch: The fourth Wednesday in every ISSN 0815 -4392 month, 7:30 at the Airforce Association, 4 Cromwell Street, Print Post Approved PP 320418/00017 South Yarra. Further information - Keith Meggs 9580 0140. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED NSW Branch: The first Wednesday in every month 7:45 © 2001 by the Publishers; Studio 1 at the Powerhouse Museum, enter from the THE AVIATION HISTORICAL Macarthur Street end. Further information Warwick SOCIETY OF Bigsworth 02 9872 2323 AUSTRALIA INC., Queensland Branch: The last Friday in every month 7:30 at the RQAC Archerfield. Meals available. Contact Richard Hitchins, 07 3208 9810 SOUTH MELBOURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA AHSA Aviation Heritage PRE-WAR CIVIL AIRCRAFT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA By EDWARD FLETCHER DH 60 MOTH The Aero Clubs Moths, VH-UGO and VH-UFK with Harry Bakers VH-UJH ready for a mass take-of at May lands in 1930. Previous articles in this series have commenced with a made a flight between the UK and Australia and one in the short history of the development of the aircraft under reverse direction. Several still exist in museums and as review. However, the genesis and development of the de restoration projects but one, VH-UAO, is still airworthy at Havilland DH 60 Moth has been so well described by the age of 73 and has had an unbroken residence of sixty several authors that repetition here would be tedious. The nine years in WA. But let us go back to the begifining in reader is directed to local author Bruce Winley's excellent 1925. publication "Aussie Moths" for a detailed account of the Two prototypes and eighteen pre-production Moths creation of the DH60 and its several variants. Suffice to were produced before regular manufacture commenced. say that the advent of the Moth in 1925 heralded a new Eleven of these went to the newly-subsidised British aero era in light aircraft. It was sturdy, easily repaired clubs and three came to Australia for evaluation-one to the economical to operate and not unduly expensive. It was Civil Aviation Board where it was registered as G-AUAE In an aircraft for its time as nations became more an more November 1925 and two to the RAAF in 1926 as A7-1 and air-minded and young people with a sense of adventure A7-2. wanted to fly. The DH60 was the ideal trainer, and continued to be used throughout the world until the advent In February 1926, Major Norman Brearley, managing of the second World War when its role was taken over by director of West Australian Airways (WAA) travelled to its subsequent development aircraft, the Tiger Moth. Melbourne from Perth to discuss aviation matters with the Hundreds of men and women learned to fly on the aircraft Controller of Civil Aviation and, while there, was given the In the twenties and thirties and many went on to civil or opportunity to test fly their newly-acquired Moth. On his military careers in aviation. return to Perth he was loud in the praise of the aircraft and told the press that WAA would shortly be calling for pupils The first Moths were fitted with Cirrus I engines which to learn the art of flying, making use of these new de were superseded by those with Cirrus 11 and Cirrus ill Havilland low-powered two-seaters. He added that the power plants and were known as Cirrus Moths. When Defence Department Intended to order six more of these supplies of this engine became scarce, de Havilland aircraft and lend them to Australian Aero Clubs for flying engaged the man who had designed the Cirrus, Major training. Halford, to produce an entirely new engine, the Gipsy I. Like its predecessor, the Gipsy was modified to a Gipsy II Brearley was the President of the WA section of the and III, inverted and then enlarged to the Gipsy Major, an Australian Aero Club but it was a section in name only. engine which carried on to the Tiger Moth. With the This is not surprising as in June 1926 there were only advent of the Gipsy engine, the fuselage frame was twelve registered aircraft in the West and he owned nine produced either in wood or metal, the latter being of them. The other three were all privately owned and considered more suitable for the tropical climates. The were not airworthy so there was little incentive for the club wood variant was known as the DH 60G while the metal to become active as there was nothing to fly and no one to model was dubbed the DH 60M. instruct them. Brearley was aware of the subsidies for training being paid by the Department and decided that he Sixteen DH 60 Moths came to Western Australia, all would form a flying school and commence pilot training but one in the pre-war period. They were owned by a while the Aero Club sorted itself out. WAA (who were complete cross section of the aviation industry being used agents for de Havilland in WA) ordered two Cirrus Moths as ab initio trainers, charter aircraft, commercial from the Stag Lane factory and announced the terms passenger and mail carriers and one even as an air under which instruction would be given. The school was to ambulance. In addition to the resident aircraft, there was a be named The Perth Flying School. considerable number of transient visitors ranging from Australia to UK record breakers, round Australia flights In January 1927 the local press announced that Major and on one momentous occasion, no less than eleven Hereward de Havilland had sailed for Fremantle on the SS arriving virtually simultaneously as entrants in the 1929 Otranto accompanied by two de Havilland staff members, East-West Air Race.