Props & mags FROM THE PRESIDENT APRIL Pieter van Dyk

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1 Props & mags APRIL 2015 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AVIATION MUSEUM 66 LIPSON STREET, PORT ADELAIDE P.O. BOX 150, PORT ADELAIDE, SA PHONE (08) FROM THE PRESIDENT Well, we re past the Easter milestone. It s been a very busy year and there s more of the same to come, so we are going to need everybody to continue to pitch-in and help. At the same time we have to pace ourselves and avoid event burnout it s vital that we all continue to enjoy what we do and keep our enthusiasm levels up. If you look back at the year so far you can t help but be impressed by what we have achieved. The events of course All British Day in February, then the Clipsal 500, then the Big Event when we staged our WW1 Commemorative Family Day a couple of weeks ago. It wasn t quite as big as we d hoped (perhaps proximity to Easter, the cricket final and general public event saturation in March resulted in the smaller crowd than expected) but it was very hard work and a great success nevertheless and very gratifying to see so many volunteers turn out on the day. Most recently, the Merlin and the shop were enjoyed by a record crowd at the Barossa Air Show last weekend. But the Museum is much more than just events there is a hive of activity always going on behind the scenes: the Anson, Battle and Sheppard CS2 restorations plus the myriad of other small jobs around the workshop; the acquisition of the hot-air balloon and Comanche; the work of the Display Committee on the First Flight to Australia and World War II displays; the behind the scenes stuff like updating the Members Handbook, the Strategic Plan and the F-111 Loan Status Report required by RAAF Heritage; on-going work in our rapidly-expanding library; production of this newsletter; etc etc etc you get the idea. So what s ahead of us? We have the Verve Creation corporate event in the hangar at the end of the month, the Mannum Ute and Truck show in June and who knows what else John Roberts will cook up for us before the Port Festival and our Engine Run and Open Cockpit Day towards the end of the year. Are we having fun or what???!!! Pieter van Dyk PRESIDENT SAAM s Shop at the Barossa Air Show (more pictures p.5)

2 S.A.A.M. COMMITTEE MUSEUM PATRON: THE HON. ALEXANDER DOWNER AC PRESIDENT: PIETER VAN DYK VICE PRESIDENT DAVID BYRNE TREASURER: JOHN HILLIER SECRETARY: MIKE MILLN COLLECTION MANAGER PAUL DAW COLLECTION MANAGER AIRCRAFT WAYNNE LEE MEMBERSHIP ROD KOPP PUBLIC RELATIONS JOHN ROBERTS Dates for your diary.. GENERAL MEETING 18th APRIL 2015 at 1.00pm This will be preceded by a BBQ LUNCH at 12 noon - Cost $5.00 HISTORY GROUP MEETING at 10.30am EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING 2nd APRIL 2015 NOTICE WORKSHOP WH&S ISSUES Although we have had very few accidents in the last 2 or 3 months, we would like anyone who sees or hears of a near miss or anything that could lead to an accident to report it by making an entry in the front desk diary. Near miss incident reports are very important in helping us to identify where measures to improve safety are needed in order to reduce the risk of accidents to our visitors and members. For members working in and around the museum, we have a range of safety equipment you can use including overalls, gloves, goggles, masks and safety boots. I encourage you to use them, so please contact me and I may be able to equip you. All of the powered machines in the workshop have 3 switches: Start, Stop and Safety. A number of members are using the Safety switch as a Stop button. Please note that the Safety switch is a Lockout switch that cuts power to the machine in an emergency. If you use it as a normal Stop switch, the next person to press the Start switch will be frustrated when the machine will not start. So please make yourself familiar with the 3 switches and how they operate! Graham Bell WORKSHOP MANAGER WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS Left: Michael Macklin of Pennington, holds an RA-AUS Pilot Certificate, plays table tennis, has worked as a PC Tech in his own business and prepared to help with IT. WORKSHOP MANAGER GRAHAM BELL 2 Right: Ian Macklin of St. Agnes, retired in 2010 and has experience in repair and servicing forklifts; service and repair of speed cars.

3 KATE CLEMENTS PRESENTATION At the General Members Meeting on 21 March we agreed to invite author Kate Clements to make a presentation to us about her honeymoon flight from Scotland to Parafield in Kate has agreed, so please put the function in your diaries 2:30pm Saturday 16 th May, immediately after the General Members Meeting. I know it will be a very interesting talk so please stay and make Kate welcome. The photo above of the aircraft her husband George flew on the trip with Kate as navigator was taken at Parafield by Nigel Daw after it was sold. Kate s book is in the library, but here is a sample chapter. This is probably the only recorded instance of in-flight refuelling of a Beagle Terrier! Cairo - Beirut, Lebanon Time of departure: GMT Flying time: 5hrs 21mins Flying conditions: Low cloud near coast, poor visibility. Wind direction and velocity: 300 /20knots. Chapter 8 BEIRUT Mid-flight fuel top up and a sick pilot Wednesday 10 July 1968 That day s flight was to be one of the worst we would experience. Before the dawn take-off, George made sure we had packed all the necessary gear that would enable us to add fuel to the belly tank in mid-flight. I sat in my seat with the large plastic container containing approximately five gallons (twenty-two (litres) of avgas on my knee. The joystick from the controls on my side of the aircraft had been detached and was on top of the luggage in the rear seat. This was how we took off for Beirut and not one of the airport staff questioned the safety aspects of this set-up. We left Cairo International Airport without incident. Flight regulations required us to follow a route that took us north to the Mediterranean coast, report our position over Baltim on the coast, then set a heading direct for Lebanon. The flight to Baltim was slow and took longer than expected. It was on this section of the trip that George started to feel ill.we reported over Baltim as required and altered our heading for the trip to Beirut. Because of the dense sea mist, we had no clearly defined horizon and so flying conditions out over the sea were extremely poor. 3

4 As Charlie Golf was not equipped with a fuel gauge that gave a reading for the belly tank, we had to make our own calculations to determine when it was nearing empty. When we believed we had used up as much of the fuel as was safely possible, George switched over to the wing tanks and we proceeded to carry out the strategic process of in-flight refuelling. George opened the door on his side of the aircraft and with his shoulder held it ajar against the slipstream. He then reached down and unscrewed the cap off the fuel tank and brought it inside. I passed him the hose pipe and held one end while he fed the other end down into the belly tank. The external wind pressure on the door held the hose securely in place. I then handed him the other end of the hose pipe with the funnel firmly jammed in the top. As he held the hose steady I precariously tipped the avgas into the funnel and down into the tank. At first some fuel spilled over us. However, I soon got the pour under control and we managed to successfully transfer the five gallons of avgas into the belly tank. Once the container was empty, George removed the hose from the belly tank and replaced the cap. He then switched from using the fuel in the wing tanks, back to the fuel in the belly tank. I tossed the hose, funnel and container onto the back seat. This whole manoeuvre was done with George gripping the joystick on his side of the aircraft between his knees to keep Charlie Golf on course and flying straight and level. Finally, I opened all the air vents to get rid of the overpowering avgas fumes. Although the refuelling was successful, our troubles continued. Given the flying conditions and lack of obvious horizon, George was finding it harder and harder to focus. Keeping Charlie Golf on straight and level and on the correct compass heading was becoming progressively difficult as his nausea and dizziness worsened. He was obviously very ill, but, fortunately, I was able to take control of Charlie Golf when the circumstances required. He later admitted to hallucinating and seeing false horizons. To add yet another dimension to these dramas, the Beagle Terrier single-engine aircraft is more or less the sister-craft to he Auster. Aircraft enthusiasts would know that the Auster is regularly used by military and air defence as a spotter plane, or spy aircraft. As Egypt and Israel were at war, for us to fly such an aircraft from Egypt, heading towards Lebanon along the Israeli coastline was asking to be intercepted or shot down by Israeli forces. Thus we stayed out over the sea as far away from the coast for as long as was practical. However, because of the state George was in and the unwavering sea mist, we decided that to alter course, find and follow the coastline, was the lesser of the two evils. At this point in the journey we reckoned we were approximately two hours from our estimated time of arrival into Beirut. By this time we were both in a state of panic. The coastline seemed to elude us, although we were absolutely certain we were on the correct course. We were well and truly eating up the fuel in the wing tanks when we noticed a slight shift in the weather conditions. White, fluffy clouds were forming at about two thousand feet. I felt sure this had to be a sign of land close by. Lo and behold, the coast appeared on our starboard side. Relief was welcome but short-lived. I now had to plot our exact position. Oh, God! Could it get any worse? We were flying up the Israeli coast approximately two or three miles south of Haifa. The likelihood of being shot at had increased tenfold. This did not improve our morale one bit. Not to be daunted, we trekked up the coast listening intently to every beat of Charlie Golf s Gypsy Major Ten engine and just waiting for that first splutter that would indicate an empty fuel tank. At the same time, we were watching the landscape intently for an alternative airfield. We reasoned that there may be one on the Lebanese side of the border where the oil pipeline met the coast. No such luck. By this time, our starboard wing tank indicated we had one gallon remaining and the port wing tank indicated three gallons. Now we really were panicking and praying for nothing less than a miracle. Even George, who normally thrived on these challenges, was showing the stress and strain At last some relief. We had radio contact with Beirut, so we requested, or perhaps begged, for a straight-in approach due to lack of fuel. Recognising the gravity of our situation, the air traffic controller on duty immediately cleared the runways of all other traffic and granted a straight-in approach for Charlie Golf. Just to see the airfield brought absolute overwhelming feelings of relief. Despite this, my mind was racing. I was going over and over in my head the procedures for landing Charlie Golf, should George pass out and I was forced to bring the aircraft down solo. 4

5 By this time we had stopped looking at the fuel tank gauges as they all indicated just about empty. We were now listening to every beat of that engine up front. The final approach to the runway of Beirut Airport took us directly over the sky scrapers and high-rise buildings of the city. If Charlie Golf s engine had conked out at that point, it would have been an unmitigated disaster and our days would have been over. Once at the airport perimeter, it was an immediate descent onto the runway. Amazingly, George, as sick and disorientated as he was, executed a perfect landing. The feeling of elation and relief was unimaginable. We had just completed a total flying time of five hours and twenty-one minutes and, with the starboard fuel gauge reading empty and the port fuel gauge reading one and-a-half gallons, we had just enough left to enable us to taxi to the nearest apron. THE BAROSSA AIR SHOW 5 5

6 WING TIPS PROGRESS Sometimes things go right and sometimes they don t. But this time all went as well as could be expected. We successfully fitted the mainplanes to the Sheppard fuselage. Smiles all round and then we took them off! We have found that we are missing the front rake members of the cabane struts. For the uninitiated these are the two struts that are attached to the firewall below the surface of the front fuselage and rake backwards and upwards to the top front of the cabane. So if you have seen them, we need them, but are going to make new ones in case you Alignment check before fitting don t come forward. Some clever wood work is required to make the fairings for these struts and we have the expertise to do that. The control cable circuit for the ailerons is going to be a challenge as we don t have a clue as to what goes where. More photos may solve some of the mystery and the Library people are helping out there. From the photo in the Museum Hangar the controls are similar to those of a Piper Cub in that most of the cables are external and run up and down the rear side of the wing Wings fitted struts. The balance cable appears to run across the top outside surface of the mainplane. The ailerons are covered and have had their first coat of dope applied. The port wing is covered and the fabric has had its first shrink and will receive its first coat of dope next. Repairs are complete on the starboard wing and fabric will be installed soon. The wing struts are in mint condition and after a clean and polish will be ready when the wings go on. OVER AND OUT (ANSON CREW) 6

7 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN AVIATION MUSEUM SIGNIFICANT AIRLINE PROFILES CONVAIR 240, 340 and 440 AIRCRAFT IN AUSTRALIAN CIVIL AVIATION Following the end of WWII, a requirement soon became apparent to both airlines and aircraft manufacturers to meet the growing demands of the short to medium range market. Passenger traffic on Australia's domestic routes had grown threefold between 1945 and Several manufacturers in Europe and the United States, anticipating this need, already had plans well underway with general design work based on a twin piston engine aircraft with a capacity to uplift about 30 passengers. From the field that included Vickers and Airspeed (UK), SAAB (Sweden) and Martin and Convair (US), Convair's design emerged a clear leader with the potential for further development. Prior to its post-war name change to Convair, a division of General Dynamics, the company had been known during the war years as the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, manufacturer of the B-24 Liberator and PBY Catalina flying boat. Airlines of SA CV-440 VH-BZN taxiing at Adelaide Airport January 1970 Convair responded initially to a specification from American Airlines for a DC-3 replacement with its model 110. However, as the sole 110 didn't meet American's requirements, a redesign led to the model 240, which first flew in March The Convair 240's innovative design included a pressurised cabin for 40 passengers, tricycle undercarriage, air stairs that could be located forward of the wing on either port or starboard side and a rear ventral air stair that retracted into the fuselage under the tail. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp R2800-CA18 engines of 2,400hp, (the same power plant used in the P-47 Thunderbolt and F6F Hellcat) plus water methanol injection for brief bursts of additional power. Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) was almost 42,000lb/19,050kg, cruising speed 235kt/436km/h, range 1,560nm/2,895km and ceiling 25,000ft/7,620m. Other innovations included hollow steel reversible pitch propellers and heated windshields. As the CV-240 introduction proved so successful, further development took place over the next few years resulting in the expanded models 340 and 440. When production ceased in 1959, in excess of 1,000 Convair aircraft had been built for both commercial operators and the US military. Trans Australian Airlines (TAA) Convair CV-240 VH-tas. The type was introduced in 1948 and served until replaced by Turbo-prop Fokker Friendships in It set new standards, reflected both in passenger comfort and technical aspects. Australia's involvement with Convair aircraft began in 1946 when the recently established 7

8 Trans Australian Airlines (TAA) placed an order for five Convair 240 aircraft, each costing $US295,000. TAA's first CV-240 arrived in Melbourne in September 1948 and shortly thereafter flew on a demonstration flight from Melbourne to Sydney carrying 40 passengers in 1hr and 45min. This was the first pressurised air service in Australia. In the following month, October 1948, Convair services commenced on Australia's east coast. In the early days of the Convair becoming operational, the aircraft became the target of a negative campaign that cast doubts over the validity of various performance specifications. As a result, for reasons either political or commercial or both, Australian National Airlines (ANA) struggled on with its ageing DC-3/DC-4 fleet. Its "new" DC-6 aircraft did not arrive until 1953, by which time TAA had already signed a contract ordering six "next generation" Vickers Viscount aircraft. Despite the unwarranted criticism, TAA's CV-240 proved most successful. In fact, it has been claimed that this was the aircraft that established TAA, assuring a firm base from which to grow. Indeed, three years after the airline's establishment in 1946, TAA began returning a profit, no doubt helped by the CV-240's appeal. TAA retained its Convair fleet until the arrival of the Vickers Viscounts; the last Convairs were finally removed from TAA service in late Ansett was the other major Australian airline to operate Convair aircraft, specifically the CV-340 and CV-440. Ansett purchased three CV-340s and six CV-440s between 1954 and 1959, no doubt having witnessed the success of TAA's CV-240s. Initially Ansett CV-340s operated on the Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane trunk route but with the acquisition of ANA and its six DC-6/DC-6B aircraft in 1957, Ansett was in a position to utilise the Convairs on intrastate routes via its subsidiary airlines. Both passengers and Ansett were to reap the benefits of improved flight standards within the states and the potential for on-carriage to a final interstate destination. The CV-340/CV-440 proved to be reliable and robust aircraft. To increase seating capacity, the CV-340 had a fuselage stretch of 4ft 6in/1.38m and the CV-440 6ft 10in/2.09m, resulting in accommodation for 44 and 52 passengers respectively. Within the CV-440 cabin, the first two rows either side of the aisle faced one another to form a family compartment. MTOWs for the CV-340/CV-440 were approximately 21,340kg/47,000lb and 22,290kg/49,100lb. Both aircraft retained the Pratt & Whitney R2800 power plant of 2,500hp/1875kw, which gave a cruising speed of k t / k m h a n d 226kt/418kmh over a range of n m / k m a n d 1370nm/2540. One advantage for Ansett on acquiring ANA, was that both Convair/DC-6 aircraft were powered by the same Pratt & Whitney R2800 engine. When required, an engine change took about eight hours. In early 1958, Ansett gained control of Butler Air Transport (BAT) based in Sydney NSW. Part of its fleet consisted of three Airspeed Ambassadors, which were returned to British European Airways (BEA) by mid-1958 and, in part, were replaced with CV-340s. In late 1959, BAT was renamed Airlines of New South Wales (ANSW), resulting in both CV-340 and CV-440 types operating throughout NSW. The last Convair service took place there in July In early 1958 Ansett gained control of Butler Air Transport (BAT) which in late 1959 became Airlines of NSW (ANSW). In this period Ansett CV-340 and CV-440 aircraft flew throughout NSW and the name Butler added to the Ansett livery.

9 South Australia's association with Convairs began in Following the Ansett acquisition of BAT in 1958, the latter airline continued operating a Sydney-Broken Hill-Adelaide return service with its Viscount aircraft. Adelaide based Guinea Airways, unable to operate on equal terms with Its DC-3s, elected to terminate its former ANA handling agreement, transferring it to TAA instead. As part of the arrangement, TAA positioned a CV-240, VH-TAR, into Adelaide to compete on the Broken Hill service, commencing on 28 July TAA CV-240 VH-TAR This aircraft was leased to Guinea Airways in July 1958 to counter the Vickers Viscounts operated by Butler Air Transport on Adelaide- Broken Hill return services. In 1960, the recently formed Airlines of SA would operate its own Convairs to Broken Hill. Following Ansett's purchase of Guinea Airways in late 1959, the latter airline underwent a name change to Airlines of South Australia (ASA). In early 1960, two Ansett CV-440s were introduced into the existing ASA fleet of four DC-3s, all based at Adelaide airport. Both Convair aircraft gave good accounts of themselves over the next 12 years until their retirement. Scheduled services saw the Convairs operating to Broken Hill, Kingscote, Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Edinburgh/Woomera. During the 1960s, Woomera in the State's north became the Australian focal point for military and civil programmes involving the launching of rockets/satellites, tracking and recovery, among other sensitive activities. In order to manage and staff these scientific programmes, large numbers of personnel, either from local or overseas sources, required transportation both to and from Woomera. The Weapons Research Establishment (WRE), now known as DSTO (Defence Science Technology Organisation) located at Salisbury SA, were highly involved with the movement of these personnel. Consequently, ASA's aircraft, particularly the Convairs, were contracted to carry vast numbers of passengers to and from their northern destination. In late 1961, ASA's Convairs commenced operating a fortnightly service to Proserpine, North Queensland, via a refuelling stop in Charleville, Queensland. On arrival, Proserpine (PPN) destined passengers were ferried by launch to Ansett-owned Hayman Island with Adelaide bound passengers travelling in reverse. Unfortunately, this service ceased in August 1965, requiring South Australians to travel in future via the east coast with another carrier. Airlines of SA CV-440 VH-BZF flying over Adelaide s south-western suburbs Circa

10 With the early 1970s dawning, time was beginning to run out for the two ASA Convairs, VH-BZF and VH-BZN, as they were the last of type still operating RPT (Regular Public Transport) air services in Australia. Both Ansett and TAA were now increasing the numbers of Fokker F-27 aircraft into their fleets, as jets and turbo-prop powered aircraft were becoming the new order of the day. A worldwide trend was underway, as major airlines began disposing of their piston engine aircraft. In February 1972, both Convairs were ferried to Melbourne for onward disposal. By the late 1970s they were reported as lying derelict in Bangkok, a sad but not untypical ending for many former passenger aircraft at the end of their working life. The 14 Convair 240, 340 and 440 aircraft brought a new era in air travel to post-war Australia. Passengers appreciated both the aircraft s reliability and the comfort of a pressurised cabin, the first in Australia. More importantly, they were well regarded by the technical and cabin crew who flew them. Dean Robinson History Group member South Australian Aviation Museum March 2015 SOURCES: Eric Allen, Airliners in Australian Service Barry Berkinshaw Samuel Brimson, Ansett: The Story of an Airline Nigel Daw, Adelaide-West Beach Airport Jim Evans and Nigel Daw, An Iconic Airline: The story of Airlines of South Australia Stewart Wilson, Ansett: The story of the rise and fall of Ansett Peter Yule, The Forgotten Giant of Australian Aviation 10

11 WWI COMMEMORATIVE FAMILY FUN DAY 11

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13 To all those celebrating their birthday this month, we wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY and hope you have a great day. 13.