Philip,

when working on the Save Point Cook campaign I was put in touch by Duxford IWM staff with a David? Peter? Don? Francis who had researched/written books on RAF Airfield building heritage?? he may well know of any UK groups with hands on experience, our own National Trust here in Australia has become very active in Airfield heritage in the last 5 years but actually been registering and protecting sites such as Point Cook since @1980, but not hands on in terms of preservation/restoration and maintenance management of asbestos etc, but those issues are being assessed directly by Dept of Defence and other direct owners, and I am aware the UK Dept of Defence have listed buildings for preservation within active RAF stations so I assume the RAF/AM? must have its own internal expertise to develop conservation and management plans for those buildings.

The biggest problem appears in wooden frame structures aging or failing due to water damage/rot, or added problems of weight as asbestos cladding becomes porous and absorbs tons of water into the cladding when it rains (cause of a WW2 Hangar failure at Werribee associated with the Australian B24 project).

Obviously asbestos is a problem in its own right in terms of flaking sheets causing passer by and tenant health and safety problems and incurring very high costs to remove/replace resulting in Dept Defence attitudes of demolishing being the best way to “bury” such maintenance problems.

(I once found the UK AM list of RAF buildings to be preserved on line but I didnt save the link in favourites)

regards

Mark Pilkington

regards

Mark Pilkington

RAY PARER

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Homewood
And one Junkers W-33 was registered in Aussie (as VH-UIW), imported by J.S. Taylor and G.S. Bond and assembled at Point Cook. The W-33 was fitted with floats, flown to Salamaua in New Guinea, and then reverted to wheels. It entered service with Pacific Aerial Transport Ltd of Wau. It says its pilots were known to include Ray and Kevin Parer (whoever they were).

Weren’t Ray Parer one of the contestants in the 1934 McPherson Robertson Air race to Melbourne? The last one to make it across the finish line several weeks after the others (or something like that)!

T J

T J & Dave

Ray Parer and Godfrey Hemsworth did compete in the 1934 air race, flying a Fairey Fox race #35, however they formally withdrew from the race at Le Bourget due to time lost for repairs, but flew on successfully to Australia in anycase.

Departing Mildenhall UK on 20 October 1934, they suffered engine problems at Paris, when mystified mechanics could not restart the engine for nearly 10 days until contaminated fuel was discovered in the tanks.

Setting off for Italy they suffered engine overheating when crossing the Alps and inadvertently overflew an Italian Naval Base while seeking a place to land and were detained by the authorities. Eventually departing Italy they were treated with similar suspicion in Greece and suffered more engine overheating and fuel contamination, the problems with officialdom and engine problems continued until finally they arrived over the finishing line on 13 February 1935, 116 days after the race started, (the Comet flew the course in under 71 hours, and the DC-2 was 19 hours after that, which included the unscheduled stopover at Albury for the night.)

However Ray Parer is far better known for the fact that he and J McIntosh were the first to fly from England to Australia in a single engined aircraft, departing Hounslow UK on 8 January 1920, and arriving in Darwin NT on 2 August 1920, taking 206 days in a similar incident filled trip in a war surplus and tired DH9 G-EAQM which survives today in the collection of the Australian War Memorial.

(they departed 2 months after the Smith Brothers completed their 1919 flight in the Vimy, and 8 years ahead of Bert Hinkler in the first solo flight in Febraury 1928, and Amy Johnson two years later in 1930 as the first female solo flight.)

regards

Mark Pilkington

A quick scan of Appendix 7 Aircraft registerd 1921 -1946 in “Flypast” Parnell & Boughton CAA AGPS 1988 yields the following:

Regist.date reg marks make/model manf.serial registered by
20MAR1928 G-AUGZ JUNKERS W34B S/N 2601 GUINEA AIRWAYS
4DEC1928 G-AUJD JUNKERS W34B S/N 2604 GUINEA AIRWAYS
25JUNE1929 VH-UKW JUNKERS F13L S/N 2044 EYRE PENINSULA
8FEB1930 VH-UIW JUNKERS W33 S/N 2575 TAYLOR & BOND
5MAR1930 VH-UNM JUNKERS W34D S/N 2610 GUINEA AIRWAYS
5MAR1930 VH-UNO JUNKERS A50 JUNIOR S/N 3507 HJ BERRYMAN
31MAR1930 VH-UNR JUNKERS W34D S/N 2611 GUINEA AIRWAYS
6NOV1930 VH-UPL JUNKERS F13L S/N 2075 SKY TRAVEL
25MAR1931 VH-UOX JUNKERS W34F S/N 1368 GUINEA AIRWAYS
25MAY1931 VH-UOU JUNKERS G31 S/N 3011 BULOLO GOLD
10JUN1931 VH-UOV JUNKERS G31 S/N 3012 BULOLO GOLD
10JUN1931 VH-UOW JUNKERS G31 S/N 3010 GUINEA AIRWAYS
9JUN1934 VH-URQ JUNKERS G31 S/N 3000 BULOLO GOLD
7MAR1935 VH-UTS JUNKERS F13KE S/N 2074 LUTHERAN MISSION
2MAR1936 VH-UCC JUNKERS A50 JUNIOR S/N 3517 PJ PARKER
14MAY1937 VH-UYA JUNKERS JU-86 S/N 086/0952 EFH BEINSSEN

Beyond this list are the 3 JU52/3M’s imported into New Guinea under Australian VH- Markings by Bobby Gibbes SEPIK AIRWAYS

Of the above:

1 A50 Junior survives intact previously airworthy but inactive??
1 F13 remains derelict at Alexishaven PNG * also reported as W34 VH-UKW
1 JU52/3M remains derelict at Baiyer River PNG

I dont think I have missed any?? so thats 19 registered in Australia

regards

Mark Pilkington

Hi Fallen, I bet men are “fallen” for you all the time 😀

In anycase my big blue book on “World Airforces Inventories” published in 1988 suggests the Chilian Air force then consisted of the following aircraft engaged in some form of “trainer” role:

28 x Cessna A-37 (light attack & training) – being superceded
20 x Cessna T-37B/C (trainer)
8 x Cessna T41 Mescalero (trainer)

These were all? due to be replaced by Embraer EMB Tucano’s, Halcons and Aviojets

already in service were:
80 x ENAER T-36 Halcon (basic/aerobatic/Instrument trainer)
26 x CASA Aviojet (trainer)
32 x Hawker Hunter (fighter bomber/trainer)
15 x Northrup F5E Tiger II (interceptor/trainer)
10x Piper PA-28 Dakota (trainer)
5x Pitts S-2A Special
1x Sequoia Falco (trainer)

Navy

10x Pilatus PC-7(turbo trainer)

Army
16-18? x Cessna R172 Hawk (trainer)

No mention of T6 etc left on inventory or recently retired as of 1988?? I have another book which identified Chile originally had 19 x T6G from the COIN and MDA grant programs, I havent got any independ source for T-33’s or T-34s? to know if Chile every had any but assume both these types had already been replaced by the T41 and T37s in anycase as no qty of T6/T33/T34 are reported in any form in the big blue book as still hanging around. (which is reported in the book where that occurs in other airforces)

so I guess the A-37 and T-37 are the most likely unless you know more about the type of training?? hope this helps

regards

Mark Pilkington

Mark12,

thanks for the update, I agree Ian’s work is of very high quality, even in those areas where I was on the other end of the rivetting, but it would need a lot of review to ensure materials etc were airworthy level, especially knowing the “sandblasted” structure, with stretched skins and multi overdrilled rivet holes in frames and stringers that existed due to yet earlier efforts of restoration in SA etc, prior to when Ian commenced working on it.

I had lost track of its ultimate location and fate, and am pleased I can still recognise Ian’s primer on the windscreen etc and his scratch built cockpit door.

It is a shame Ian’s own former RAAF Mark V was lost to us in the Duxford B24 swap and will now sit for-ever in USAAC colours rather than its own very historic colours, and that was a work of very high level.

regards

Mark Pilkington

This is the ex- Peter Sledge fuselage rebuilt to static by Ian Whitney in the 1980’s at Point Cook, I didnt know it had got lost in Worthing?? for someone to find.

Knowing this aircraft from personal experience of witnessing that rebuild over a number of years, I would be keen to know how much work has been re-done on the fuselage in its subsequent travels, or if it is essentually as completed by Ian, with my own contributions in the rear fuselage riveting still in place as well.

regards

Mark Pilkington

Technology advances in cockpit floors

I understand The “Hali” was subjected to many creature comfort improvements in the rapid move from bi-plane to modern enclosed cockpit monoplanes, and from wood and fabric to stressed monocoque aluminium structures.

I believe the lino was selected as being more durable than timber parquetry or tongue and groove “oak” floor boards, and certainly easier to mop after a mission.

Lino was also found to be much lighter than the clay or marble tiles first proposed, releasing valuable weight capacity for other things such as bombs, and avoiding the risk of “grout” cracking during service.

However top secret files yet to be released from the Air Ministry suggests the final advantage was the additional role it gave to provide the crew with a various of choices relax on the way to or from the target by playing checkers, chess, draughts etc, without having to crowd around the navigators table.

(An alternative Snakes and Ladder pattern was trialed but considered too limiting in the choice of games).

your’s (firmly with tongue in cheek)

Mark Pilkington