Copied across from a posting by Barry Clay on “Wings over Warwickshire” (Tip: Don’t go there, it is an egg-beater obsessed forum, most of the postings are about the registration numbers of R22s)
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Tom Wilkes got more than he bargained for whilst making a cross country delivery flight in a Cessna 172 across the Australian outback,happily cruising along he caught sight of a fast moving piston engined aircraft to his port side,suddenly the all black painted aircraft a P-51 Mustang devoid of any markings whatsoever got closer until it was formating with him ! shortly afterwards yet another appeared and parked itself on his starboard side,both pilots wore black bone domes and as he looked at them they grinned and then peeled away vanishing into the distance.
He reported the incident but nothing was known of these two black painted warbirds, but this was not the first time that they had been noted,as long ago as 1975 two similar aircraft again devoid of any registration markings were reported by another ferry pilot,the theory is that they are kept at farm airstrips far out in the outback away from the prying eyes of officialdom,flown by wealthy farmers,other aircraft including a Miles Messenger have been noted on occasions,it makes you wonder what exactly is out there and flying in the bush remarked a former DCA inspector,the aircraft could be easily hidden away in farm buildings and only known by the owners and their family.
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Moggy
By: EHVB - 11th July 2003 at 18:05
No! ( Don’t go driving 50 minutes for a Spit, real aircraft have 2 pilots 😀 😀 )
Check the FlyPast news pages for the coming months. Said already to much, going to delete the message now.
BW Roger
By: Mark12 - 11th July 2003 at 17:55
Well put us out of our misery Roger.
Is this the famous Spitfire story, Schreiner Aero or othewrwise, that surfaces every few years?
Mark12
By: Paul Cushion - 11th July 2003 at 17:03
No, No, this was in the nineties!!!!!! Not long ago!!!!! I know about the ex indian af machines, this was not one, it was too recent………
Quite an interesting subject for a thread actually….. does anyone know of any preserved aircraft that have flown when they have not supposed to be flown……..?
I know there were rumours of an EE lightning taking to the air in the us a few years back.
Paul.
By: Mark12 - 11th July 2003 at 09:47
The B-24 was one of the Indian Air Force machines in transit to the UK for the RAF Museum or David Tallichet as I recall.
In the 1970’s there was the ‘all white Spitfire’ in Australia that had allegedly ‘buzzed’ an Aero Commander belonging to the DCA, somewhere in the St Catherines area.
In 1986 I thought we had finally got this confirmed when two non aviation minded American backpackers submitted a letter and photo to a ‘a well known US warbird journal’ seeking confirmation that the aircraft they had seen ‘x’ hundred miles west of Dubbo, in the middle of nowhere, giving an impromptu air display was a Mustang – the photo showed a Spitfire in a hanger. Rather than print the story the editor, perhaps seeing a commercial opportunity, shared the story and photo with a few close associates, one of whom gave me a photocopies of both the letter and the photo as I was shortly Asia/Australia bound on things vintage aviation. The photocopy was faultless with just enough 1980’s ambiance items in view to confirm this was not a period photo. The 45 gallon drums, the AeroShell, the drape over the engine, the farm strip paraphernalia etc. A three blade Mk V with tropical filter, a typical Australian Spitfire – perfect. A close study of all possibilities, three blade Spitfires, world wide could not make a match. Had we finally found it?
Australia is a mighty big place and where would you start to look with such vague location details?. Over a dinner party in Sydney one evening I gently broached the subject to collector/restorer Rob Greinert who burst into much laughter. He had sent the letter and the photo to the journal to ‘spark it up a bit’ as he did not hold it in high regard. He had been involved with the production of a full size GRP reproduction of Clive Caldwell’s Mk V for a museum and during the finally finishing process had posed the photo. A wonderful hoax and boy did we all laugh and enjoy it.
By: Paul Cushion - 11th July 2003 at 01:25
A few years ago in Flypast, there was an interesting story about the crew of a jet who were flying over somewhere in the far east, when they positively identified a B24 Liberator flying the same heading and a little bit below them…….. The aircraft would not answer the radio and had no working transponder……
Any more information on this???
By: Bigglesworth - 10th July 2003 at 18:54
….if only
Shades of the ‘Red Baron’ around Paris:D during the 80’s.
Did the French Airforce ever catch him?
…. It would be fantastic of this story did turn out to be real:D
There have been so many stories of Aircraft being burried or hidden away in the Outback. Maybe there is substance to the ‘rumours’…..
😉 I’m with you Moggy on this…
Just what does happen to the Aircraft that get sent out of the UK due to ‘irregularities’ with paperwork etc.??….. they get shipped to Aus, painted black and flown by frustrated (by rules and reg’s) Airshow pilots;) 😀
Just waiting now for the reports of the all black P40:D
….Vulcan;)?!?
By: Bluebird Mike - 10th July 2003 at 18:52
LOL, I thought that was going to be a ghost aircraft story for a minute! 😮
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July 10, 2003 at 5:40 pm