Historic Pix Posting Day Sunday 24 July

Part 2…

It’s not just any old Mustang, but a proper Aussie Built one, by Commonwealth aircraft Co at Fishermen’s Bend, Melbourne – yes, just up the road, and on our way home we drive over the Westgate Bridge which takes us over and past the site of CAC and the GAF factories (Government Aircraft Factory – Beauforts and Beaufighters) now a nondiscript industrial estate (sorry about the photo with the fence, best we could do, I’m afraid) but with one building with a ‘Boeing’ sign, the rump of the Australian aero industry. It’s not every day you drive over as historic aviation site.

Back home, it’s time to get on with the current book, on the Westland Lysander, and here’s a photo of one of the book boxes – it’s getting there, but one pic that isn’t going in is of a bunch of RAAF lads training in Canada (Mrs JDK’s country) from the Australian War Memorial collection;

ID Number: P01573.009
Summary: JARVIS, CANADA. 1943-06. MEMBERS OF NO. 84 AIR BOMBER AIMERS COURSE, NO. 1 BOMBING AND GUNNERY SCHOOL, EMPIRE AIR TRAINING SCHEME. LEFT TO RIGHT: `HOPPY’ HOPKINSON (FROM BALLINA, NSW), PAT ROSS (FROM MOSMAN, NSW), ROY STEARMAN (FROM DEE WHY, NSW), 423926 LEADING AIRCRAFTMAN MATTHEW LOVELL TAPP (FROM NEWCASTLE, NSW), NORM THEODORE (FROM BRISBANE, QLD), RUSS CARNE (FROM MARYBOROUGH, QLD). NOTE LYSANDER AIRCRAFT IN BACKGROUND. (DONOR M. TAPP)
Copyright: clear

I wonder how many of these chaps survived the war?

Well, as the Mustang pilot said, that’s what I do on Sundays. What was yours like?

Cheers!
James

PS – I include a shot of the Supermarine Walrus in the RAAF Museum too. Can you tell me what’s the connection between it and the Bell Iroquois in the background? And before there’s any remarks from the cheap set, that Iroquois is a lot more a historic warbird than most Mk.XVI Spitfires; as it was one of the few at the Battle of Long Tan in Vietnam, a real Vietnam vet.

Thanks for the idea of a ‘historic aviation Sunday’ picture, Rocketeer.

As ever, I got carried away, so I hope you’ll indulge me a short ‘photo essay’. 😉

At 12.00, Midday, we drove past Flemmington Racecource, Melbourne, Australia. If we’d been there on a certain day in October in 1934, we would have seen a lot (most of, in fact) of Melbornians there to greet a certain Messers Scott, Black and their aircraft the de Havilland Comet G-ACSS. I didn’t take any pictures today, as we had a place to get to, but here’s some taken by the Pathe Newsreel cameramen back then. We knew how to treat aviation heroes, but the really important arrival was aircraft No.2 – the DC-2 of KLM, flown Parmentier & Moll – that was the future of aviation.

Anyway, we drove out of Melbourne to the Western side of Port Philip Bay, to one of the most historic aviation sites in the world – RAAF Point Cook, home of the RAAF Museum and a military airfield in continuous use since the first flight there in March 1914. We were there to see a few old aeroplanes, and on every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, at 13:00 hours, EST, they fly one of the museum’s active aircraft (a programme I can’t think of any other service and state level equivalent museum undertaking). There is the Museum’s Winjeel, or Pup replica, or today, the Museum’s CAC Mk.23 Mustang. (They have a number of guest aircraft too, from private owners and other museums).

It’s always a great little event and seeing (and hearing) the crowd’s reaction is very enjoyable – lot’s of “oos” and “ahh”. “Look! He’s tumbling upside down!” was my favourite remark from one watcher.

They introduce the aircraft, the pilot (FLT.LT O’Connor, RAAF Reserve) and he and Geoff talk us through how the aircraft works, and what’s going on. While he’s in the air (a barrel roll, a loop, aileron roll, several different passes) the pilot tells us what he’s doing over the PA and Geoff elaborates for us. After he’s landed and taxied in, there’s a chance for questions – one of which is (almost) always “Are you ever sick?”

More…

Rocketeer,

Well here is my offering. This was always going to be a family day for me so it had to be something accessible locally.

A recent acquisition, it was either this or the 20D. 🙂

It is behind glass, so no flash and you get a self portrait of an IxusV3.

In true hostage tradition I give proof of date provenance.

Mark

Ok, I’ll start then….in lieu offinding something better to post….here is my Spitfire cockpit (3/4) section.
It grew from spare instruments etc that were ‘left over’ from the Hurri, after a while I decided to add to it. Later this year it will probably be pulled apart to make it into a full fuselage section from Frame 5 (firewall) to Frame 13 (just aft of aerial). What I tend to do, is to wait until I have sufficient parts to expand the section….need a fair few more! Sorry it is quite boring…and some will have seen it before. The alternative was my 10 year old daughter rivetting part of the cockpit floor! (Daddy is so proud!)…over to you…

What a beaut* idea!

As we get to Sunday before anyone else (‘cept the Kiwis) I’ll have to see what we can do from Sunny (I hope) Melbourne!

Cheers
James

*Substitute desired exclamation as preferred.

Excellent chaps! Historic aviation will cover anything however tenuous! Could even cover a vet you speak to p’raps. Looking forward to seeing postings!

If all goes to plan, I shall be at North Weald on Sunday. I’m sure I can find something suitable there.

Geoff.

Nice idea, looking forward to Sunday mine might have to have a fairly tenuous link to historic aviation but I’ll give it a go!

Looks like this will be fun! Im going to be at two places of major historical importance.